Covid lockdown: Joe Wicks online PE classes to return next week

Joe Wicks is restarting his online PE lessons from next week, to help families keep fit during lockdown.

The personal trainer told the BBC he wanted to "give children structure" and help them feel "more optimistic".

He said live sessions would run on his YouTube channel at 09:00 GMT on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Schools across the UK are reopening later than normal, amid tighter measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Confirming the return of his "PE with Joe" sessions in an Instagram post, Wicks, known as the Body Coach, said: "We all need this for our mental health more than ever and exercising can help."

He told BBC Breakfast he had "a really emotional moment last night", after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown for England on Monday evening.

"I was thinking about all the children in the UK and all around the world that are at home in tiny little flats… and they feel like they miss their friends and they miss school," he said.

"And so PE with Joe three days a week is going to really help them get through those days and give them some structure and hopefully help them feel a little bit happier and a bit more optimistic."

Wicks first began his free online workouts during the national lockdown in March, with the sessions attracting millions of viewers.