videoinside.org | Chris Tarrant

Tarrant rose to prominence after becoming a co-host on Tiswas, a children's television show broadcast on a Saturday morning in 1974. In 1982, he hosted a short-lived Saturday evening show O.T.T., which was billed as an adult version of Tiswas, but this was not a success. After this, he did a stint on the breakfast television station TV-am. In the mid-1980s Tarrant joined Capital Radio as a presenter and from 1987 until 2004 he hosted the Breakfast show on London's 95.8 Capital FM.

Tarrant created and hosted Everybody's Equal in 1989, although the programme came to an end in 1990. In 1991 he hosted the second series of Cluedo. On 1 January 1993, when Thames Television dissolved and was replaced by Carlton Television, Tarrant hosted the first programme of the franchise, A Carlton New Year. Also in 1993, Tarrant hosted Lose A Million, in which contestants started off with a million pounds and were required to lose it by aiming to incorrectly answer a set of questions. Ironically Tarrant would go on to host Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, where the objective of the game is to do the complete opposite. From 1996 to 1999 Tarrant hosted the UK edition of Man O Man.

Tarrant began to host the popular televison quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 1998, a job he still has today. The show has gone on to have series in over 100 other countries, and in 2002, the UK version merged with the Irish version. Tarrant developed catchphrases such as "But We Don't Want To Give You That" and "Final Answer" through the show, although Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is the only show on which he uses them. It was confirmed by UKGameshows.com that Tarrant has been the regular host for at least one full series of more game shows than anyone else on British television, with sixteen different series to be his credit.^[3]. In 2008 he presented the game show It's Not What You Know.

Tarrant is also the long-term host of Tarrant on TV, a programme which shows clips featuring a number of unusual television programmes from around the world. He has presented the show since 1990.

In June 2008 it was announced he would return to radio, hosting a weekly Saturday morning show for the GMG Radio network of stations including London's 102.2 Smooth Radio, Real Radio (Scotland) and the North West's Century Radio.^[4] The show would air in direct competition to Jonathan Ross's show on BBC Radio 2 and began on 26 July. It was aired for 12 months until July 2009.

In January 2009, Tarrant began to host new show The Colour of Money, which was cancelled after just seven episodes after failing to perform well in the ratings.^[5]

In 2009 UKTV signed Chris Tarrant to present a show for Watch called Tarrant Lets the Kids Loose. The eight-part series, beginning on 4 October, gives three- to six-year-olds the chance to fulfil their greatest ambitions in the adult world; whether running a photographic studio, a radio station or an ice-cream van.

Outside of his work in TV and Radio, Tarrant's main hobbies are course fishing and the AOR-pub rock band The Status Quo.

Personal life

Tarrant met his second wife Ingrid Dupre-Walsh when they both worked for TV-am. The couple married in 1991, but divorced in 2007^[6] when it was revealed that Tarrant had a "close" relationship with Fiona McKechnie, a schoolteacher and co-patron for Headway.^[7] After a series of tabloid stories, on 18 September 2006 the couple announced that they were separating.^[8] The couple previously lived with their two children, daughter Sammy and son Toby in Esher, plus two children from Ingrid's previous marriage, Dexter and Fia, the latter a radio presenter with Reading 107 FM. Tarrant also has two children from a previous marriage to Sheila Tarrant, Helen and Jennifer. On 30 November 2006 Chris and Ingrid were interviewed separately on the Biography Channel and clips of it were shown on GMTV to talk about the downfall of their relationship. During this interview, Chris did not seem sorry about the break up; he was quoted as saying, "Well, I was a naughty boy" and said about Ingrid, "She wouldn't trust me with a pint of milk"; however, in other interviews he showed clear remorse.^[8]

In June 2000, Tarrant's River Thames launch boat the Ben Gunn was vandalised and burnt at its mooring in East Molesey.^[9]

Charity work

Tarrant's charity work, for which he received an OBE in 2004^[10] includes: being an ambassador for the homeless charity, Centrepoint; Trustee/Patron of The New School at West Heath for disadvantaged children (the school previously being a private school for girls that the late Diana, Princess of Wales attended); patron of Milly's Fund, set up in memory of murdered Surrey teenager "Milly" Dowler; patron of the Phoenix Centre for children with special needs.

He was a patron of the Headway Thames Valley, until details of his affair with trustee Fiona McKechnie became public and he resigned.^[11]

He is also a patron of Wildlife Aid and does a lot of work to get animals rehabilitated from drug and alcohol problems.^{[citation needed]}

Arrests

At approximately 10 pm on 13 May 2007, Tarrant was arrested on suspicion of assault at an Indian restaurant and released on police bail. The incident took place at the MemSaab Restaurant in Maid Marian Way, Nottingham, where Tarrant, who had been joking with a couple dining at an adjacent table, threw an item of cutlery towards the man.^[12]^[13]

Tarrant admitted to the BBC that he did jokingly "lob" some cutlery onto the couple's table after asking them to leave him alone to discuss work with his colleagues. He said: "I've no idea what his [the accuser's] motives were - it genuinely makes no sense. I got back from the station at 1 am and to this minute I am completely bemused by what happened."^[14]

On 25 May 2007 he was formally cautioned by the police with regard to the incident.^[15]

As a result of this arrest,^{[citation needed]} he was ranked number 99 on BBC Three's "The Most Annoying People Of The Year 2007". He was also made the central subject of most of the jokes on the episode of Have I Got News For You which came on the week after his arrest, which he was guest presenting.

On 5 March 2009 he was arrested on suspicion of assault at his home in Esher. He was later released without charge.^[16]

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Chris Tarrant

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