The 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker talks about fatherhood and reveals that he has chosen the Snow Patrol member as the godfather of his first child Lyra.

• Jun 26, 2021

AceShowbiz - Ed Sheeran's best friend Johnny McDaid is his daughter's godfather.

The 30-year-old singer/songwriter, who has 10-month-old Lyra with his wife Cherry Seaborn, confirmed the couple have given the Snow Patrol band member the responsibility of being godfather, after Ed set his pal up with "Friends" actress Courteney Cox.

"I introduced her to my best mate Johnny, who I wrote Shape of You and Bad Habits with," Ed said on "The Hits Radio Breakfast Show" with Fleur East. "He's also godfather to Lyra, but yeah I introduced them like nine years ago."

"She just invited me round her house and I just kept going round and then one day I brought Johnny and he didn't come home."

Ed is also friendly with Sir Elton John, who used to regularly call him to make sure he was OK during the various coronavirus pandemic lockdowns - but the "Your Song" hitmaker still cannot pronounce his pal's name correctly.

"I'm done with trying to correct him," Ed sighed. "We've been friends - I mean he's someone also in the lockdown that used to ring me. But I think as soon as I became a dad, 'cause he's a dad as well he rung me so much to check up on me and I had a friend pass away in March that he knew as well, so he was ringing to check up on me. He's great. But yeah I'm forever 'Ed Sherran' to him."

Elsewhere in the interview, Ed admitted that being a father is "a shift," but it is "the best thing (he's) ever done." He also addressed speculation that Lyra's middle name is Antarctica because she was conceived there, with the star revealing they included it in Lyra's name because it is a "special" place for them.

"Me and Cherry always wanted to go to Antarctica, it was always on our list," he said. "It's the one continent I haven't gone to … so we went there and it's just an amazing place, it's really special to us, and obviously like we got home and Cherry was pregnant."

"Yeah it was just something we wanted to have in her name. I know people see it as a weird thing, but like … I mean it's less about where she was made and more about it being special."

"I just wanted to have a connection to it … I understand it's like awkward for kids to grow up and then she'll like watch this interview and be 'eww.' "