‘I don’t try to be POSH OR INTELLIGENT’
After landing a new game show, Rylan Clark-neal sets his sights high
Walking into a room to interview Rylan Clark-neal can only be described as a whirlwind. His larger than life personality hits you immediately, as he chats away at the speed of light, entertaining us with his quick-witted asides and surprisingly potty mouth.
and it’s no wonder Rylan is champing at the bit to chat, as the 28-year-old has landed his first game-show host job fronting ITV’S Babushka. Excitedly telling us all about it, he’s soon off on a tangent, meaning 15 minutes in the cheeky Essex boy's company fly by.
Here Rylan, married to Dan neal, talks presenting, following in Brucie’s footsteps and why he’s never too old to be told off by his mum!
Tell us about your new show, Babushka…
It’s definitely the most brutal game show. It’s like Deal Or No Deal for the modern age. But if I were to explain Deal Or No Deal to you, it would sound really complicated, and it’s the same with this. There are 10 massive Russian dolls, which are all controlled by a computer, and two contestants working together. Every single pair could walk away with £44,000 – all they have to do is find the money in the dolls and hold on to it. Two of the dolls are empty, two have £500, two £1,000, two £2,000, one £5,000 and one £10,000, but the dolls go up in stages. So if they see £500 they have to ask, ‘Does the doll also have £1,000 in it?’ Contestants answer a true or false question and if they get that question right they can open the doll as many times as they want, but get it wrong, open an empty doll or push a doll too far – so that there’s no money left in it – all you’ve banked so far will be lost.
Did it take you a while to get your head around it?
I like to think I’m good at working stuff out, but at first I thought, ‘This sounds quite complicated!’ Then I played it for five minutes with paper
cups and saw how easy it was. When you watch the first part, I guarantee you’ll come back for part two.
were you nervous about hosting on your own?
I’ve never been more confident with something, as it just ran itself. I totally forgot I was on TV and thought it was me and two of my mates trying to win some money. I felt like a contestant rather than a host and that’s why I love it.
Do you prefer working with real people rather than celebrities?
A hundred per cent. I love working with the public, because I am one of the public still. We had a mum and a daughter on and £500 could change their life. Genuinely. And I still remember that feeling because I’ve only been doing this for five years, so I still know the meaning of £500. In that episode, they cried, I cried and the audience cried.
You’ve got loads of celeb friends. Did you ask them for any advice about hosting a game show?
I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I kept it to myself. Because, even though I was really confident with it, I would never sit there and go, ‘Look what I’m doing!’ But Phil and Holly and Ruth and Eamonn knew about it because I was doing This Morning when I was filming Babushka. Ruth popped in and said, ‘This is really new and different!’
You’re clearly very close to Ruth and Eamonn…
Ruth and Eamonn are like my telly mum and dad. They come round for dinner and Eamonn turns up in his Man U beany hat looking like he’s not had a shower in 10 days! The one thing I’ll always say about Ruth and Eamonn is that so many people in this industry will tell you when you’ve done something wrong and criticise you, but they are the first two people to tell you that you’ve done something right. They will ring me, text me and tell me to my face. Sometimes you need that. Phil and Holly have welcomed me so much, too. Who would have thought five years ago that I’d be presenting This Morning with Phillip Schofield?!
were you nervous when you were drafted in to host last minute when Holly was ill?
It was crazy. I was in bed at 8am, but I had to get in for the start of the show. I walked in with no briefing. I wasn’t nervous though because I’m doing This Morning – not open-heart surgery!’
Do you like being part of the show
I love being on This Morning. During the showbiz gossip if Holly and Phil ask me, ‘Oh, what did that celebrity say then?’ I’ll reply, ‘I don’t know!’ I don’t try to be anyone else, or posh or intelligent.
Do you ever get told off for being too honest?
Yeah – normally by Dan or my mum! Me and Ruth always have banter on This Morning where I storm off, or tell her to shut up. But my mum will say, ‘Don’t speak to Ruth like that!’ I say, ‘Mum, you know I’m really close to Ruth!’ Mum says that other people might not know that I’m joking. But if they don’t like it, watch Victoria Derbyshire!
You and Dan presented This Morning together. any more plans to work together?
We did it as a thing for the channel because two guys had never done it before. Me and Dan are private about our relationship, but that was something we couldn’t not do as it had meaning. We’re majorly proud of it and can always say we were the first people to do that. I know the channel were really happy and we can do it when we want. But he’s busy and I’m busy. Plus, I worry about him. Whereas when I’m presenting with Ruth, I’m like, ‘Fend for yourself!’
what will you be doing next?
I’d like to still be at Big Brother because I love it! And I’d love to do Saturday night. I’d like to have a Noel’s House Party-style show.
So the new Bruce Forsyth…
Yeah! I miss Strike It Lucky and Noel’s House Party. I’d love to bring it all back!
Babushka airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV from monday 1 may
‘I STILL KNOW THE REAL MEANING OF £500’