5 MINUTES WITH...
Gordon Ramsay, 54, hosting his first-ever gameshow – which doesn’t involve food, and he won’t be turning the airwaves blue with his potty mouth…
Tell us about Bank Balance…
It’s a game packed with jeopardy because you’re up against the clock. It was literally given birth during lockdown because we were on it, 12 hours a day, five days a week… When the second lockdown came, I was down in my little bolthole in Cornwall and I was developing this thing again. Being part of the creative team was the bit that got me out of bed every morning at 5am, and I’m the happiest boy alive. How do you feel about being a gameshow host?
I didn’t go into this all cocksure about becoming a phenomenal gameshow host, I wanted to be me. And there’s something dynamic about being given a series at 9pm stripped across three nights, over three weeks, on the BBC. You wake up in the morning and you s**t yourself. There’s some big money at stake…
The contestants are real people, and you can see just how nervous they are. You know, £25k, £10k, £100k is quite life-changing money.
Their lips are quivering, they’re twitching… You have to calm them down, and I love that kind of pressure. I tell them, “I can’t answer the questions for you, but I’ll be really p***ed if you don’t win, because there’s some big money at stake.” I take it personally if they don’t do well, I feel bad.
How has lockdown been for you? Having a chance to spend this time with my family is unprecedented, so we were very fortunate – with all seven of us together. The only thing we’re missing now is Jack [Gordon’s 20-year-old son has joined the Royal Marines], but Oscar [his youngest son, who’s almost two] has become my best mate. I can literally change a nappy now with my eyes closed – though
I’m dying to cut his hair. I’m suggesting we go for a buzzcut, I’m just trying to get that past Tana at the moment…