Dennis Wise breaks silence on daughter Amber’s Love Island, cries over Sammy and says he wouldn’t be welcome home
AFTER a glittering football career as a player and manager, Dennis Wise will be remembered for many things.
But the Love Island boys would do well to remember one thing in particular as they try to woo his 19-year-old daughter Amber: his role in Wimbledon FC’s hilarious Crazy Gang in the 1980s.
9
9
9
Hardman Dennis, 56, watched as his girl was brought to tears by Sammy Root this week and he’s far from pleased.
In his only interview, Dennis told The Sun: “She’s never brought a boyfriend home so I haven’t had to bring the Crazy Gang side to the surface yet. But let’s just say Sammy wouldn’t be welcome home right now.
“He’s not the one. I think Amber felt taken advantage of and it’s disappointing to see that as a father.
“There are things I’ve looked at and said ‘Jesus!’ said. but at the moment i’m fine.
“I protect them, all fathers protect their daughters.
“I saw Amber make a comment about there being a lot of boys on the road and I was like, ‘I haven’t seen that before.”
Amber took part in dating show ITV2 last week as part of the Casa Amor relationship test and immediately caused a stir among the lusty boys at the villa.
Hours after strutting in the red bikini, she took part in a raunchy race game in which she had to mimic sex positions and make out islanders.
Dennis said, “The 10-second kiss was fine and then they did the sex positions and I was like, ‘Oh my God.'” I backed off from that.
“We told her, ‘Please don’t have sex, your grandma and grandpa and your friends are watching’.”
“She definitely gets that part of it. All I can think about Sammy is, “Be careful, Amber, and be smart.”
“Only time will tell but it has held up well and hopefully it will continue like this.”
Much has been made of Amber’s age, with viewers threatening to complain to regulator Ofcom about whether she was emotionally prepared for the show’s challenge.
Others have pointed out that some of the men involved are six years older than her.
But Dennis says Amber is older than Gemma, daughter of soccer friend Michael Owen, when she entered the mansion last summer.
Dennis said: “If I hadn’t thought she was old enough to handle this I honestly would have told her not to go in.
“Gemma [was] three months younger than Amber [is now]. Amber looks younger than she is, but Amber has her own opinion.
“She’s a strong girl, she’s not silly and if I didn’t feel like she could handle it, we would have stopped.”
Amber was approached by producers after 20-year-old Gemma tied for second place alongside 24-year-old fishmonger Luca Bish.
But it took Dennis a while to get the idea.
He said: “After Gemma showed up Amber was inundated with requests for various shows but when Love Island first got in touch it was about the winter show.
“But she had just started college, so that was a no, then they asked again about summer school.
“She didn’t tell me until after she’d spoken to them a couple of times, and it was a ‘no, please’ from me.
“She came to me with all the reasons why she wanted to do it, and finally I said ‘okay, fine.’
I saw Amber make a comment about “Lots of boys on the road” and I was like, “I haven’t seen that before!”
Dennis Wise
“When she made that decision, we fully supported her.”
Dennis and his wife Claire, 19, have spoken to ITV on the phone but say there are no special terms or arrangements for Amber like there have been rumored for Gemma.
Dennis continued, “I haven’t spoken to Michael about it, but I’ve thought about it. Amber gets along well with Gemma, they have known each other for a long time.
“Maybe I’ll call Michael now and have a chat – he wasn’t very enthusiastic, Michael, I don’t think so.”
Amber is Dennis’ only daughter. His eldest son Henry, 23, is a midfielder for the New York Red Bulls II football team and the youngest George, 15, goes to school.
All her life they have been closely associated with football kings and Amber now even works alongside big names Gianfranco Zola and Mark Hughes as a runner at Mola TV, an Indonesian sports streaming service.
Still, when Dennis discussed potential fame with his daughter, “I said go enjoy it, be true to yourself.” But I explained certain things to her, you know, just be careful with people.
“Your circumstances are different than others there, people know about Amber and me.
“There are people there who might be promoting themselves. So make sure someone isn’t with you for the wrong reasons.”
Dennis had a 2017 I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! his own taste of reality TV. and was involved in a bullying dispute.
Reality TV can go many avenues. Amber could fall in love with someone, she could do really well from a brand perspective, or it could be disaster.
Dennis Wise
He was accused of being unfair to his roommate and radio host Iain Lee in connection with a bushtucker trial, prompting a backlash.
He explained: “Reality TV can take many avenues. Amber could fall in love with someone, she could do really well from a brand perspective, or it could be disaster.
“Iain put it in a certain way. Iain and I were fine, I got him tickets to a Chelsea game and we met up afterwards.
“Things can be represented in certain ways, people can manipulate certain things at will.
“That’s what I said to Amber: when you come out, there are going to be certain people who are going to say certain things.”
Dennis played 21 times for England and Chelsea from 1990 to 2001.
The fierce central midfielder has won two FA Cups, a League Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
But it was during his time at Wimbledon, where he began his career, that he rose to prominence after helping the club win the FA Cup in 1988.
In March 1995 he was found guilty of smashing the glass of a taxi and hitting the driver. Then, in 2001, he beat his Leicester City team-mate Callum Davidson in a brawl.
It cost him his £3million contract.
For now Dennis is hoping that Amber, who wants to be an interior designer, will find a nice guy to take home after her stay in Mallorca.
His voice is initially with Welsh goalkeeper Scott van-der-Sluis, who plays for Irish club Shelbourne FC.
He added: “All you could ask for is someone who is nice and friendly and who you are happy to take home with you.
“I’m sure some crazy things will happen, but she will learn something from it.
“All of our kids will make mistakes over time, but we’ve all made mistakes.”
9
9
9
9
She could match Gem’s £1million win
GEMMA OWEN has had an impressive journey since joining Love Island as the first footballer’s daughter last summer.
Fresh out of the villa, she signed a six-figure deal with fashion empire Pretty Little Thing and added her own jewelry line with luxury brand Abbott Lyon.
9
9
The dressage rider also played to her strengths when working with the horse company Holland Cooper.
She is said to have amassed a fortune of more than £1 million.
However, her love life wasn’t going quite so well.
She split from show boyfriend Luca Bish seven months after leaving the villa.