Kitchen Nightmares is my dream TV show

The presenter and singer, 53, chats about his love of Gordon Ramsay, watching Friends all over again with his son and his favourite telly snacks

What are you watching at the moment?

i’m absolutely loving slow Horses with Gary oldman. it’s such quality tv, the acting is brilliant. i’m really gripped. i’m bad at sitting down and watching box sets, my family always says, because i dip in and out and miss the plot. it’s just because my life is here, there and everywhere. But with this one, i defy them to move on without me.

do you have a favourite TV genre?

oh God, this is embarrassing. it’ll be cookery shows. i’ve watched all the ramsay’s Kitchen nightmares, the hotel ones, everything, the American ones, the British ones. i love the jeopardy of the Gordon ramsay ones – and they’re all the same. i know what’s going to happen, he’s going to fix it and it’ll be fine. the other thing i watched all the time during the pandemic was nothing to declare. My mum and dad got me into that.

Are they your guilty TV pleasures?

Yes! to be honest, i don’t watch that much tv. i watch a lot of sports but if ramsay’s Kitchen nightmares is on, then that’s me!

What’s your go-to snack while watching TV?

it’s got to be crisps. i can either be very plain, so ready salted Walkers, or i can go for Beef Hula Hoops. i definitely go for the savoury. Also, i have a fondness for dry roasted peanuts!

What’s your all-time favourite TV show?

i love Friends. i think it’s brilliant television. Funnily enough, my son and i have started watching it from the beginning again and, my God, it is amazing how much the actors changed during it.

Did you watch the reunion from 2021?

i did, that was bittersweet and also now it’s so sad that Matthew Perry has passed away. even though you’ve seen every episode 20 times, you can still watch it and find something in it. the only other thing i’ll watch all the time – i’m a child at heart – if i’m on a plane or something like that, is the simpsons.

You’re currently on tour around the UK and your show takes fans on a trip down memory lane – what do you revisit?

it’s a look at the past, the present and the future. the first half is dodgy haircuts and very bad clothes and that’s my career as a boy! there’s loads of footage of me as a kid, like my first time doing terry Wogan’s show. i’ve been looking at it with my hands over my eyes but it’s also been bittersweet. catch aled on his full circle tour. for tickets, visit awaywithmedia.com/tours/aled-jones

I love friends. i think it’s just brilliant television