Coffee break with Chris Tarrant

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? star Chris Tarrant talks to Tring resident Sam Westerby about the legendary television series, his latest book, For the Love of Bears, and his fondness for Tring.

Chris presented game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? for 16 years with catchphrases such as ‘Do you want to phone a friend?’ and ‘Is that your final answer?’

‘Millionaire is just a brilliant format,’ says Chris. ‘Everywhere it’s gone to in the world, which is now 122 countries, its gone straight to number one. It’s incredibly dramatic. You’re watching people in big close-up playing for what is seriously life-changing money. I loved doing it.’

Chris delves into his fascination with bears, which began when his mum took him to London Zoo, in his book For the Love of Bears, Chris recalls a close encounter with a Russian brown bear after he got drunk on vodka jelly.

‘One morning, after I had a lot of vodka jelly the day before, I just said to the guys ‘I’m just going to lie here on this nice bit of moss and you go on down to the river’,’ explains Chris. ‘They went wandering down and I had a nice little sleep. I opened my eyes and went ‘Oh there’s a grizzly bear’. I think it’s the first one I’ve ever seen in the wild. It was like ‘What is this silly little white person doing here?’ and it just wandered off.’

Chris loves Tring, and his association with the market town includes compering a fundraiser in aid of the Rhys Daniel Trust at Pendley Manor, fishing, and playing for the Lord’s Taverners cricket team.

‘Tring is a very nice part of the world,’ says Chris. ‘I used to go up there a lot to the reservoirs to fish. I’ve played for the Lord’s Taverners in a few matches at the cricket club. I have fond memories of the town. People are very nice. They just accept you.’

Chris Tarrant’s books For the Love of Bears and It’s Not a Proper Job are available at gnbooks.co.uk.

Photo courtesy of the BBC: Sam Westerby with Gaby Roslin and Chris Tarrant