Love guru Tom:
Celebs Go Dating’s loveable receptionist Tom Read Wilson confides in Closer about his ideal man, and reveals all about his dates during lockdown
“I play piano
on Zoom dates!”
He’s a shoulder to cry on for unlucky-in-love celebrities as the receptionist on Celebs Go Dating, but Tom Read Wilson knows what he wants from his own relationships.
Revealing that his grandparents are his inspiration in his search for everlasting love, the 34 year old tells Closer, “The secret to good relationships is twofold – of course love, but in addition, clarity and humour. The relationships I’ve witnessed that really work are very different in character, but they’ve all had those two attributes in common. My grandparents were like that.”
LOOKING FOR LOVE
As the first person the celebs meet when they enter the celebrity dating agency, Tom is known for dishing out advice, before they’re faced with the often harsher words of coaches Anna Williamson and Paul Carrick Brunson. Usually coy about his own love life, he tells Closer he is currently single and looking for love himself – and that he’s enjoyed virtual dates during lockdown.
Tom, who studied at the Royal College of Music, reveals, “I enjoyed the Zoom dates during the first lockdown. It was great being able to show off my art on my wall in the background! I had three dates – they were rather special.
“One of them was a pianist. This is one of the unique things about virtual dating because you can go through the keyhole, where you’re like, ‘Oh gosh, I can see a guitar leaning up against the wall’, or a piano protruding. That’s exactly what happened. I said, ‘I don’t suppose you play?’
“He played for me and I responded by playing him a couple of my favourite songs, like Ella Fitzgerald and Edith Piaf, on my piano. He played me another tune for my efforts. It was wonderful. Being able to supply your own music and your own ambience is one of the advantages I’d never thought of before I did it!”
Tom, who is known for his charm and hilarious innuendos on the show, has previously revealed he has a soft spot for past CGD star Joey Essex. He’s compared him to a modern-day Shakespeare for making up his own lingo, such as “reem” (meaning good), and admitted he loved it when Joey “de-robed” and gave him his jacket on the show. But he also has his sights set on a Hollywood A-Lister.
He says, “My biggest crushes are Eddie Redmayne and Reggie Yates. Boy, they make me swoon and also, they’re so bright. They’ve got really swollen frontal lobes, which I love. Someone needs to get my brain cells dancing – that’s very important.”
Piano isn’t the only string to Berkshireborn Tom’s bow – he’s performed in a number of pantomimes, appeared on
The Voice in 2016, and has also been a relationship expert on morning radio for the past five years. Recently, he also starred in BBC’s Celebrity Best Home Cook, hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Dame Mary Berry, coming second to former politician and Strictly Come Dancing star Ed Balls.
ENVIOUS OF MARY BERRY
Tom, who is fronting Virgin Media’s campaign on social fatigue, says, “Ed is dazzling. The pirate ship he made for his son was a work of art. He made sails out of white chocolate, they were about a foot tall and I don’t know how he did it in the time. You could have exhibited it.
“And Dame Mary is impossibly chic. I was really envious of her bejewelled loafers and silk blouses. Our paths haven’t crossed since, but I can’t wait for them to. Sadly, we never got close enough to the judges to exchange digits.”
● Tom Read Wilson has teamed up with
Virgin Media to provide a series of lockdownlifting life hacks. Find more info at Virginmedia. com/tomstricks
‘Eddie Redmayne makes me swoon’