‘I’ve had a great life – I’m so privileged to do what I do...’
Chris Tarrant may have turned 70 last year, but that doesn’t mean retirement is on the horizon. The TV presenter chats to Georgia Humphreys about travelling on the world’s railways, filming in challenging conditions and whether he would ever return to a c
THERE’S a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? catchphrase Chris Tarrant expects to hear every day.
“I haven’t been out of my house yet this morning, but I know before teatime somebody will say, ‘Chris, phone a friend,’” mimics the 71-year-old.
Tarrant spent 15 years hosting the ITV quiz, in which contestants battled through a series of questions to try to win the enormous cash prize.
Since the show last aired in 2014, though, his career has gone off on a very different track.
Ahead of a fourth series of Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railway Journeys, we hear more about the TV presenter’s train travels – and his life off-screen, too.
Track record
From Buenos Aires to Alaska, Japan to Australia, Tarrant has ventured thousands of miles to film the intriguing Channel 5 documentary show.
What inspires him to continue making new episodes?
“I don’t need to work and my family are all saying, ‘Dad, why don’t you just retire?,’” he divulges.
“And I say, ‘No, because I want to do just enough work a year,’ you know, to keep my brain working.”
It seems Tarrant didn’t anticipate its longevity.
“It’s weird – like everything in my life it was never supposed to last this long. I was still doing Millionaire and they said, ‘Do you fancy filming some railways?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, actually... I’ve lived in studios for about 20 years, so it would be nice to get out again.’ And then I suppose, it’s just built and built and built. It seems very popular.”
Feeling the heat
Reading-born Tarrant wanted to visit locations “closer to home” this time around – but arriving in Morocco to shoot the first episode, the star and his crew faced pretty extreme conditions.
“We checked the temperature one day on the car temperature gauge – 54 degrees!” he exclaims.
It was so hot, in fact, that his boot melted.
“The heel burnt off, basically,” he says. “It was like, ‘Come on, Tarrant, we’ve got a schedule.’ I went, ‘I know, but I’ve only got one shoe!”’
Exploring Morocco’s vast rail network, Tarrant takes a train to Casablanca, rides into the Sahara and even helps workers clear sand off the tracks.
How challenging was this particular journey?
“We were working quite well, Mike the cameraman and I were sort of getting it done,” Tarrant recalls. “But we were just slow, everything was ponderous. Everything I said I had to speak very carefully and think, ‘What am I saying next?”’
Taking it easy
Viewers also see Tarrant roll in and out of fascinating places such as Estonia, Israel and Jordan, embracing some “really uncomfy” travelling on little sleep.
Considering he suffered a stroke in 2014, does he have to tell himself to slow down sometimes?
“I know it doesn’t sound like it, but I kind of have [slowed down],” maintains Tarrant, who has since made a full recovery.
“You know, I’m not an idiot – I want to live. I was lucky. It [the stroke] was terrifying, I honestly thought I was going to die... It was the scariest – easily the scariest – moment of my life.”
He continues: “I don’t work as hard. I worked so hard for so many years, and I thought, ‘What the hell did I do that for?”’
And Tarrant affirms he is looking after his health in other ways too.
“I eat very carefully, I do a reasonable amount of exercise. I take lots of time out, I spend lots of time away on holiday.
“And I don’t drink any whisky anymore, ever,” he adds resolutely. “I just used to drink too much, I used to drink a lot of whisky. You get into it when you’re working.
“I was never drunk on air or anything, but I certainly used to drink a lot when I finished the show.”
Past haunts
When it comes to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Tarrant rules out a return.
“I don’t think you should ever go back,” he declares. “I definitely wouldn’t do it.”
Does he think the show would be too expensive to remake now?
“[For] loads of people, Millionaire absolutely changed their whole life. It was huge, but you can’t go back and call it, ‘Who Wants To Win 50 Quid?’
“You can’t do it. It’s stuck with that title and I think that’s the problem.”
Tarrant says he’s “very proud” of his time hosting the much-loved telly quiz.
“I’ve had a great life working, I’ve really enjoyed stuff, but Millionaire was amazing... I have huge fondness of the memories of the show.”
“I’ve been incredibly privileged to do what I do.”
■ Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railway Journeys returns to Channel 5 on Monday, November 6.