‘I make love twice on Christmas Day’
First Dates star Fred Sirieix reveals why he always feels more romantic at this time of year
He spends his time helping singles find their perfect match on hit show First Dates, but if Fred Sirieix
– who has been with his girlfriend for four years – was ever allowed to kiss someone else, he’d choose This Morning host Holly Willoughby.
Fred, 47 – who has children
Andrea, 14, and Lucien, nine, from a previous relationship – says, “Who would I kiss under the mistletoe? Well, if it could be any other woman other than my partner, it would have to be Holly Willoughby! I met her when she was a guest on Celebrity Juice [in 2016] and, yeah, she is lovely. She is a fantastic woman. I really like her and she is very kind, positive and straightforward. Of course it helps that she looks good, too.”
THOUGHTFUL GIFTS
He adds, “But my partner is gorgeous and she is all I want in a woman. She is very thoughtful and always puts a lot of time and preparation into what she buys me for Christmas. Sometimes, she will frame photos that we have taken with the children. Actually, she will think nothing of taking a bus or train to the shop to buy that specific present. It’s all about the effort she makes.”
Fred admits that Christmas always puts him in a more romantic mood, and filming the First Dates Christmas special proved no exception.
“I definitely feel more romantic at Christmas,” he says. “It’s freezing cold, you have mulled wine to warm you up, and you feel like cosying up to someone. The people who came on the First
Dates Christmas special all desperately wanted to find love, but you’ve got to be ready to look at somebody in a special way and be seen in a special way.”
Next year looks to be an incredibly busy one for Fred, with more episodes of First Dates and First Dates Hotel, plus another series of Gordon, Gino And Fred’s Road Trip, which sees Fred travel around the US with Gordon Ramsay and Gino D’Acampo – and they’ve planned a lads’ Christmas meal, before Fred celebrates with his family at his parent’s home in Limoges, France.
FRENCH TRADITION
He says, “We are all going out for lunch and, of course, we will be wearing our naff Christmas jumpers. We have such a laugh when we get together and there is always lots of festive spirit.
“The French tradition is to have a big meal on Christmas
Eve and we have a delicious seafood platter with some white wine and salad and chips.
“The kids don’t go to bed late because they always get up at the crack of dawn. The best thing about Christmas morning is when I can hear them run down the stairs and start to tear open their presents.
“We are like everyone in France – we make love a couple of times, we drink champagne and then we have lunch. That’s what we do, but that’s pretty typical in France.”
● The First Dates Christmas Special airs on Christmas Day at 9.30pm on Channel 4