Tom Daley's mother Debbie has jumped to the defence of her son following the critical comments made by British Swimming chief executive David Sparkes regarding the Olympic diver's reality show Splash!.
The 18-year-old has been handed a mentoring role on the ITV show, which picked up strong ratings but was panned by viewers, and Sparkes believes that doing TV work is detrimental to the teenager's training.
In an open letter to Sparkes via the Daily Mail Debbie said: "Splash! is an appropriate show for Tom. Yes, it can improve following the first show.
"However, a lot of grandparents, mums, teenagers and kids loved it. As you did not watch the show, I can tell you that it is a diving show and it promotes a key sport that is under your leadership."
Daley clinched a bronze medal in the finals at London 2012 last summer.
