
Rob Brydon interview: ‘Steve Coogan's very sure of himself and his opinions. I'm not'
Truly, everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Watch Brydon, who can act, present, sing and tell jokes with equal grace, and you might get the idea he was comfortable in his skin by now. He can do pathos (Marion and Geoff), loveable eccentricity (Gavin & Stacey), amiable repartee (Would I Lie to You?), a great Michael Caine (The Trip), belt out a tune, interview fellow celebrities on his podcast… He has an MBE, five Bafta nominations (or six if you count the Welsh Baftas, which he probably would), and a cameo in the billion-dollar Barbie film. He is the closest thing Britain has to a light-entertainment Swiss Army knife, a man capable of delivering an almost infinite number of versions of Rob Brydon.
Yet here he is, on the verge of conquering another frontier, reality TV, fretting about the way he walks. Is this anxiety something that has long plagued him?
'I wouldn't go that far, but I respect your journalistic mind,' he says. 'I can see the headline now: Gaitgate.'
His latest role is hosting Destination X, a travel-themed reality series for the BBC, which is an adaptation of a format that
has already aired in the US and Belgium. Contestants are taken on a special bus, with the windows blacked out, to an undisclosed location somewhere in Europe; they must work out where they are from whatever clues they can gather. The person whose guess is furthest off is eliminated at the end of each episode.
'Other shows have come my way and I've said no,' Brydon says. 'But I loved The Traitors, and I loved Claudia [Winkleman] on The Traitors. I felt about [ Destination X ] like I did about Would I Lie to You?, that tonally it was a fit for me. A big part was the scale of it. It was very ambitious. I liked the idea of being part of a big show. In that sense it was more like my experience on some of the films I've been in.
'There's a Traitors element, a Race Across the World element, a Big Brother element, and there's the most stunning photography of the most wonderful locations,' he continues.
'I've never been a big reality television fan,' he adds. 'I've always been a bit sniffy about reality TV. I was never a Big Brother watcher. I'd watch Celebrity Big Brother and I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, because I found that interesting, to see people with a public persona put under hard conditions. But I found [ Destination X ] to be far more creative than I expected. We had about 10 to 12 cameras on the go at once; because it's reality, the directors have to react in real time.
'So I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and for more reasons than I thought I would.'
We meet at his publicist's office in west London, where Brydon sits in a conference room in front of an enormous picture of Bill Nighy. Not unlike Nighy, Brydon has achieved borderline national-treasure levels of celebrity, over a long career, without drawing a whisper of scandal or misdemeanour. A few weeks earlier he turned 60, a reflective moment.
'I'm the same as everyone else,' he says, eyes widening slightly at the thought. 'You can't believe it. You think, 'How on earth has this happened?' Especially when you think back to being a kid. When you heard someone was 60, they were practically dead.'
Trim, in a fitted white shirt, and hair still neatly swept back from the photo shoot, Brydon at 60 looks not only not-dead, but remarkably like the Brydon who became famous in his mid-30s, which he puts down to the obvious methods. 'The past 10 years I've exercised much more and I'm more careful about what I eat,' he says. 'I've just done a documentary about country music, so I spent three weeks driving around the Deep South. You're sitting down all day, eating the food of the region, which is not known for its health benefits. You put the weight on.'
He is entertaining company, breaking into impressions and seasoning his answers with a bit of gentle teasing about the interviewer's 'art'. I wonder if his aversion to reality TV might have been to do with his respect for the traditional skills of performance, having grown up in an era when stars didn't feel the need to advertise every atom of their being.
'Oh, you want to pick at that thread, do you?' he says, with a grin. 'I've always had great respect for talent and skill. And also there's a certain cruelty to Big Brother, which I wasn't comfortable with. But that's just not for me.'
True to his word, for his performance on Destination X, he says he is channelling the Fringed One's Traitors mix of bonhomie and camp. 'With Jeffrey Dean Morgan [an actor known for The Walking Dead ], who presents the American version, the impression I get is that he plays it a bit more like a character. Whereas I can only be me, which is warm and affable, hopefully witty and encouraging.'
That is certainly a version of himself he has cultivated for the past 30 years. Brydon was born in 1965 in Baglan, Glamorgan, to Howard, a car dealer, and Joy, a schoolteacher. He grew up in the village with his younger brother, and always had the gift of entertaining. 'I heard an interview with [the American talk-show host and comedian] Jimmy Fallon recently. He said that he was a people pleaser and likes to entertain people, but the key one was that when he was growing up and doing his schtick, people told him he was good and encouraged him. That was my experience.'
After a year and a half at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Brydon joined BBC Radio Wales aged 20, working as a DJ, and later picking up the odd screen job where he could. It wasn't until 2000, at 35, that he had his breakthrough year. He starred in the surreal comedy Human Remains, with Julia Davis, and Marion and Geof f, a touching one-man, fixed-camera comedy about a man coming to terms with his wife's affair, produced by his old friend Steve Coogan. They also teamed up on 24 Hour Party People (2002) and A Cock and Bull Story (2005), both directed by Michael Winterbottom. There were many chat and panel shows, to the extent that his Marion and Geoff character, Keith Barret, had his own spoof chat show, beginning in 2004, and Brydon starred in the scandalously underrated comedy Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive (2006-2007), about a fictional panel show.
His biggest break came in 2007, playing the eccentric but enormous-hearted Uncle Bryn in Gavin & Stacey, written by James Corden and Ruth Jones. The sitcom's success helped complete his journey from darling of the Radio 4 classes to nationwide star. Corden used Gavin & Stacey as a springboard to take on America, via his stint hosting The Late Late Show. Brydon says he never had the same ambition.
'One of my favourite sayings is, 'To what end?'' he explains. 'People would ask, 'Why aren't you doing such and such? Don't you want to go to America?' And I would say, 'To what end? What for?' It's a very common question, especially when James went and indeed conquered it. It seems, in a lot of journalists' minds, the natural progression… I can only assume that if you do America, they ask, 'What about Neptune and Jupiter?''
Partly it was down to family, he says. Brydon has been married twice: to Martina Fitchie, with whom he has two daughters and a son, from 1992 to 2000; and since 2006 to Clare Holland, with whom he has two sons. 'I have quite the age range, 30 down to 14,' he says. 'I'm desperate for a lie-in. They all do different things. My eldest is in casting, then chef, teacher, still at school, still at school.
'Getting older gives you perspective, having kids gives you perspective,' he adds. 'When I was younger, I would have loved to have gone [to the US]. If I had the opportunities I have now when I was younger, before family and stuff, I'd have been there like a shot. But now it's simply not practical, because I like my family. I think maybe if you're in an unhappy marriage you jump at the opportunity to travel. And I travel a fair bit – Destination X is a prime example – but if you have a happy life, which thank God I do, you want to enjoy it. I love the simple things in life. I do like going to the garden centre.'
Corden's run in the US ended in 2023. He returned to British screens for the triumphant finale of Gavin & Stacey last Christmas, which had an audience of 12.3 million overnight; by the time it had been streaming for 10 days, that number had risen to more than 19 million. For Brydon, who grew up on terrestrial TV, it was like a window into an earlier era.
'The good thing about 2025 is that someone like me can go and do so many different things,' he says. 'People watch what they want to watch. You don't have to sit and watch something you don't want to. I was in Barbie and I know there was social-media reaction going, 'What the hell is he doing there, the guy from Would I Lie to You? ' The bad side is that it's harder to get traction on anything. Sometimes you think it would have been lovely to work in those days. I used to talk to Ronnie Corbett about it; he'd know if he went for Sunday lunch to a pub or restaurant, that whatever percentage of the people there had watched The Two Ronnies last night. That'll never come back.'
Could there be another Gavin & Stacey? 'There's nothing on the horizon. Anything could happen, but as it is at the moment, I can't see anything else. What a great thrill to be part of that.'
He is hardly short of offers. 'I'm very lucky, I'm 60 and people are still asking me to do things. I like doing lots of different things. The downside of that is you don't get the respect that somebody who focuses on one thing [gets], because one minute I'm hosting, the next I'm acting.'
It's the closest thing he will offer to a grumble. When we meet, he is about to fly off to film yet another version of himself for a fifth series of The Trip, perhaps his most successful collaboration with Winterbottom and Coogan, in which Brydon and his old mucker play fictionalised takes on themselves who are sent to review restaurants. Improvising around Winterbottom's plot, the pair bicker, eat wonderful food and compete to do impressions of celebrities: Al Pacino, Michael Caine, Mick Jagger.
The first series, in 2010, took them around the North of England; subsequent outings have been to Spain, Italy and Greece. For the new one, they will go to Scandinavia. It has been five years since the Greek Trip, which at the time the three men said would be the last. Why another now?
'Because Michael Winterbottom said, 'Let's do another one,'' Brydon laughs. 'We just turn up.'
Does he have any new impressions lined up? 'I wish I did. I have been thinking of a couple of people. Should I tell you? Should I be clever? On the last [series], I thought I was going to do Andy Murray at the end of the meal, you know' – Brydon slips into his Murray impersonation – ''I thought I did really well, I tried really hard.' And I was doing an impression of Richard E Grant a few years ago for my daughter, and it was as if he was in the room, I was just channelling him. I've never been able to recapture him, but in that instant, [in Grant's voice] he was there. The other voice [as Jeff Goldblum ] would be hmmm, brrrr, Jeff Goldblum, I'm thinking about him.
'I wouldn't say I've fallen out of love with impressions, but they don't interest me like they used to,' Brydon says, sounding like himself again. 'Lee Mack is always joking on Would I Lie to You? about me doing people who are dead. There's a simple explanation: I'm doing people from my childhood, because that's when I would look at them and go, 'Oh, I'm gonna sound like them.' It's always a love letter. It's always people I like. That's fallen away.
'I have an ear that hears the music in a voice. I'll hear voices that appeal to me: Michael Gove, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, Jacob Rees-Mogg. All very interesting and appealing voices, but I only do people I like and I'm drawn to. They're not my cup of tea. I'm not a political satirist.'
On the contrary, Brydon has remained studiously unpolitical, though we might infer he is not a card-carrying Tory. 'I'm reminded of Elvis Presley's press conference in 1972, when he was asked what he thought about war protestors, and whether he'd today refuse to be drafted? He replied, [as Elvis] 'Honey, I'm just an entertainer, I'd rather keep my views to myself.' I've always felt that way. I don't have the stomach for it.'
In this Brydon couldn't be more different from his fellow Welsh star Michael Sheen or Coogan, both of whom are endlessly inveighing on behalf of one cause or another. But it is probably part of the reason Brydon has by and large succeeded in keeping himself out of hot water.
'It annoys Steve that I don't [make political statements],' he says. 'In Italy we were in some lovely setting and at one point he just said, [Coogan voice] 'Why don't you put your head above the parapet?' And my only answer was, 'It's not me.' Steve's got an opinion on everything. He'd have an opinion on where the plug sockets are on this table. He's very sure of himself and his opinions. I'm not.'
Beyond The Trip, Brydon has been coaxed into another sitcom, set to come out next year. 'I've said no to every sitcom I've been offered since Gavin & Stacey because I didn't think they were good enough,' he says, adding that most scripts wanted him to play a variation on Uncle Bryn. 'I think that's the norm, for anyone who's had a hit with something. When you cast people, you naturally think, 'Oh, they do that thing, I'd love them to do that thing in my show.''
But Bill's Included was promising enough to tempt him back. Written by Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen, the comedy duo sometimes known as The Pin, it will star Brydon as a divorced man who takes student lodgers into his spare rooms to help make ends meet. 'It was a little bit different, with an interesting dynamic,' he says. 'It'll be exciting to go back into that world.'
The warm, genial Brydon variety show carries on, in other words. His Honky Tonk Road Trip, the series he filmed in the US, will come out in September. If he has any real regrets, or bugbears, or personal beefs, they are staying close to his chest. It is ironic, given how often he has interrogated a version of himself on screen.
'I have a lovely spread [of work],' he says. 'I've had this amazing life doing something that I love and it's a cliché but it's true. I'm never looking at the clock. And a by-product of what I do is people come up to me every day and say nice things.'
He is midway through a story about his fellow 'Welsh rat pack' member Matthew Rhys when we run out of time. 'I was in New York making a special about Neil Diamond for ITV about 10 years ago,' he says, 'and part of it was Neil did a show at his old school in Brooklyn, where he'd been with Barbra Streisand…'
He is interrupted by his taxi arriving. 'I'm telling an ANECDOTE,' he declares, in Ronnie Corbett's voice, returning to his subject.
'And we were going back to Manhattan, and I started to do my Richard Burton, and then Matthew did his, and I shut up pretty quickly. I knew I was out of my depth.'
I don't believe for a second he'd ever concede to anyone in a Richard Burton competition, but there is no time to interject. He's off. His walk is absolutely fine.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Lisa Rinna's nepo baby Amelia Gray Hamlin, 24, shocks fans by posting fully NUDE photos
Lisa Rinna 's nepo daughter Amelia Gray Hamlin shocked fans on Friday as she shared a photo of herself tanning fully nude. The model, 24, has been making the most of her European holiday and posted a new image of herself laying out topless and without bikini bottoms. The cheeky photo showed the fashionista and a friend lying by the pool of their villa, wearing nothing but some sunscreen, with their pert behinds fully on display. Amelia also shared a photo to her Instagram stories, showing the star with her friends as they enjoyed another nude sunbathing session by the ocean, though she cropped this image to only reveal her sideboob. The runway star sat on a towel with a book in her hand, sporting a white baseball hat with patches and a pair of black sunglasses. She also posted a snap showing off her incredible six-pack abs in a pair of skimpy pink string bikini bottoms, with seashell emojis strategically placed over her chest. The star went on to post another magazine cover worthy snap, this time with her pink bikini top on, while on vacation in what appeared to be the Mediterranean. Her triangle top barely covered her chest, and the bottom offered little coverage for her nether regions. The runway veteran's long, dark hair was wet and brushed away from her seemingly makeup free face which was lifted to the sky in order to get some sun on a pale patch of skin on her neck. She accessorized with dark framed sunglasses and wore a silver or white gold bracelet. It comes just a day after Amelia laid her naked ambition bare in a steamy bikini shoot — stripping down topless in a series of jaw-dropping snaps. She flaunted her figure on Instagram Thursday with a sultry photo carousel from a sun-soaked getaway. In one eye-popping shot, the brunette beauty stretched out on a rocky coastline in nothing but a tiny bikini bottom, her long locks draped across her bare chest as the ocean sparkled behind her. Two other shots kept with the topless theme, with Amelia posing like a seasoned pro — while covering her chest. 'I love being a mermaid so much,' she cheekily captioned the sizzling pics. Amelia seems to be taking some time for herself after a busy year. In February, left little to the imagination as she stormed the DSquared2 runway during Milan Fashion Week. The model went braless as she took to the catwalk in a sheer Cher-inspired champagne-nude jumpsuit. It's a brand with which she has a strong relationship. In 2023 she was also one of the stars for the DSquared2's fall 2023 show. The model is the the youngest daughter of soap legend Lisa, 62, and Hollywood heartthrob Harry Hamlin, 73, one of Tinseltown's most enduring couples. Her celebrity parents allowed her to pursue her life's ambition at a young age. In an interview with Vogue's The Run-Through podcast, she opened up about how she achieved her goal. 'Almost every girl's story is, "I was walking on the street and someone scouted me,"' she explained, adding. 'but that's completely opposite to my story.' 'I scouted everyone else. I had already known that this is what I wanted to do since I was 5 years old. I have no idea why.' She also admitted she was aware of being a 'nepo baby' and was 'extremely grateful for that.' 'Yeah, I have parents that are actors… and?' she told Vogue Arabia for it's May issue. 'No matter what I do, I can never please everyone. All that matters is that I please myself, and lead with my heart.' Her next goal is to follow in her parents' footsteps. 'I want to be in films. I want to find passion in new things, and constantly evolve,' she explained. As a child, Hamlin was a member of the cast of the children's show Rachel & the Tree Schoolers and made appearances on the reality shows Harry Love Lisa and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.


Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island fans accuse star of 'stirring drama' to get more 'air time' as final approaches
Love Island fans have accused Blu of ''stirring drama' to get more 'air time' as the final approaches. The former dumped Islander returned to the villa on Tuesday alongside Megan after being the second contestant to leave the show earlier in the season. During Friday night's episode, the Spanish lad had plenty to say about Toni during the infamous Grafties. As part of the game, a clip was shown of Cach - who Toni had previously split from to pursue things with Harrison - crying on the terrace. After the clip was shown, Blu turned to Toni and said: 'Did you see what you did to Cach?' Toni quickly responded: 'Shut the f* up, talk about situations that you've been here for.' Blu hit back: 'What you on about? I am here now, so I can speak if I want to.' Yasmin then jumped in to defend Toni, saying: 'She was upset about that though, she was crying about that too. She wasn't heartless about it — she was genuinely really upset.' After the game wrapped, Blu pulled Toni for a chat in the outside lounge. 'I don't agree with what you said,' Blu began. 'Like, I have respect for you, but if I have something to say - my opinion - and then you have your opinion, which is completely fine, why are you being hypocritical?' Toni replied: 'I just feel like you're involving yourself with something that has nothing to do with you.' Blue said: 'We're all sat around here, we all live in the same villa. I can have my own opinion - just like you always have your own opinion.' You've been outside watching it,' Toni said. 'Exactly,' Blu fired back before Toni continued: 'You know how I felt. You saw me sit there crying. When I apologised to Cach, was I not up on the terrace bawling my eyes out?' 'I don't agree with what you said,' Blu began. 'Like, I have respect for you, but if I have something to say - my opinion - and then you have your opinion, which is completely fine, why are you being hypocritical?' '"Toni how do you feel?" - you know how I felt. I don't understand what you want.' 'You can make Cach cry and that's fine?' Blu said. Toni responded: 'Did I ever say that it was fine? Blu responded: 'You've just done the same thing.' Toni said: 'I'm not going to lie to you. I literally don't care about this conversation.' Blu dismissed her with: 'Pfft, all right... so I have the right to have my own opinion and voice my own opinion. What are you on about?' 'Go for it. I don't care,' Toni added. Blu then said: 'OK cool, so don't tell me I can't put my two pence in when you're the one always putting your f*ing 50p in.' 'I still don't get what the point here is,' Toni question. Blu replied: 'Are you trying to belittle me or something? I'm pulling you here because I genuinely think you're a nice girl and I'm trying to, like, brush it under the f*ing bridge.' Toni pushed back: 'Then why were you trying to get a reaction out of me? Did you want me to say I'm sorry again?' Blu replied: 'Can I not ask my question? I'm asking a question. So you can ask a question but I can't ask my question?' Toni said: 'But I was involved.' Blu shot back: 'What are you on about? So? I'm involved now and I can ask my question.' At that point, Toni stood up and walked away from the conversation. Blu muttered: 'You walk away when it's convenient for you to walk away - coz you know I'm fing right. Absolute fu**ing weirdo.' Fans were left just as confused by Blu's confrontation with Toni, taking to X to share their bewilderment over his point. They said: 'The most bizzare thing about the Grafties was Blu trying to villainise Toni at any chance he could get. He really thinks he ate with that but in the words of Scott, he looked like a fxcking b*ellend', 'Blu pulled Toni for some airtime and left HEATED, while Toni left confused & not giving a single F', 'Blu's angry because toni's not giving him the argument he wanted, he wants to create drama to stay in the villa #loveisland', 'The way Blu was just trying to get a rise out of Toni was disgusting, when she didn't give him the argument he really wanted, he turned nasty, the man went red #LoveIsland', 'Toni just said 'blu I don't care to give you your 15 minutes of fame' and this is why we love her #loveisland', 'Blu wants a moment so bad he knows being around Toni will get him some more screen time.' NAME: Dejon Noel Williams AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Semi-pro footballer and personal trainer WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is beautiful on the inside and out, looks after themselves and is healthy CLAIM TO FAME? My dad being an ex-professional footballer. I've met all kinds of famous people through him. When I was younger it was weird because he was just my dad, but we'd go to a game and fans were asking for photos. I've met David Beckham, he was really nice. Megan Moore NAME: Megan Moore AGE: 25 FROM: Southampton OCCUPATION: Payroll specialist WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'd like to meet someone who is tall, with a nice tan, nice eyes and a nice smile. He needs to have a good fashion sense and a really good, funny personality that I can get on with HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt, right now. But we're going to make sales and get on that corporate ladder and be booming. Profits, profits, profits! NAME: Helena Ford AGE: 29 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Cabin Crew WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Somebody funny or Northern. I feel like Northern people have much more banter than Southerners. If you look through my previous dating history, you'll see I clearly go for personality. You can pretty much laugh me into bed. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I would say hire but then quickly fire soon after. It would only be a temporary contract. NAME: Shakira Khan AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is tall, charming, witty, with big arms, a good smile and just really funny. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Booming, but they're all frogs. It's a busy love life but I've not found 'the husband', I'm looking for 'the one'. I'm looking for the ring. NAME: Harry Cooksley AGE: 30 FROM: Guildford OCCUPATION: Gold trader, semi-professional footballer and model WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? The girl next door that makes me laugh and can hold eye contact with me. I don't think I'd go for the most obvious girl, I like a real sweet girl. CLAIM TO FAME? I'm the body double for Declan Rice. So when he does a shoot, any body close ups will actually be me. You'll never see my face, but you'll see my shoulder or chest, that kind of thing. NAME: Conor Phillips AGE: 23 FROM: Limerick OCCUPATION: Professional rugby player WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic. I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn't work, but it gets them laughing. It's an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course! NAME: Toni Laites AGE: 24 FROM: Connecticut OCCUPATION: Las Vegas Pool Cabana Server WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'm looking for darker hair, definitely muscular but not too muscular. Super fit. Clean hair cut. Someone that can make me laugh - I'm super outgoing. And someone that's quite active. Maybe one day we could start our own family together. I WANT TO DATE A BRITISH GUY BECAUSE... I've lived in three different states and I'm still single. It's time to try something new! I have some British friends and they're pretty charming. I think all Americans love a good accent. British men are just more polite, with better manners. NAME: Yasmin Pettet AGE: 24 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Commercial Banking Executive WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'm looking for a guy who is fit, has a nice body and who is funny with a bit of banter. WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST ICK? A guy that's stingy NAME: Megan Moore AGE: 24 FROM: Dublin OCCUPATION: Musical theatre performer and energy broker WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and has a sense of humour. If they're not bad looking, that's always a plus. I love a boy that's a bit pasty, like Timothé e Chalamet. I don't mind scrawny, or a bit of a 'dad bod'. I'm 5ft1 so any height really. CLAIM TO FAME? Me and my friends made a Derry Girls TikTok for Halloween and it went a bit viral around Brighton. Sometimes I get stopped in the street about it. I've also done Panto. NAME: Blu Chegini AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is family oriented, has a lot of love to give and a lot of love to receive. Personality goes a long way. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? She'd fire me, but I've got the charm to smooth things over with a girl. The fact I speak fluent Spanish comes in handy when it comes to flirting! NAME: Jamie Rhodes AGE: 26 OCCUPATION: Electric Engineer WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Bubbly, cheeky, outgoing, good face card and a nice bum. WHAT KIND OF ISLANDER DO YOU THINK YOU'LL BE? I'll be in amongst the drama! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, I'm gonna take it by the horns and go for it. NAME: Ty Isherwood AGE: 23 OCCUPATION: Site Engineer WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I go off energy, if we vibe. I've typically dated brunettes, tanned, nice teeth with a nice smile. WHAT KIND OF ISLANDER DO YOU THINK YOU'LL BE? A head turner! I get along with lads easily and like to make people laugh. NAME: Cacherel 'Cach' Mercer AGE: 24 OCCUPATION: Professional Dancer WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who's emotionally intelligent, beautiful, charismatic, caring, affectionate, and I'd say an intro extrovert. WHAT KIND OF ISLANDER DO YOU THINK YOU'LL BE? I think I'm gonna get into trouble, I feel like I'll be the joker of the group! I'll also be the person people come to for advice… and a bit of eye candy at the same time. ......................................................................................................................... Angel NAME: Angel Swift AGE: 26 OCCUPATION: Aesthetics Practitioner and Salon Owner WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'm ready to make memories with someone, go travelling with them and fall in love WHAT KIND OF ISLANDER DO YOU THINK YOU'LL BE? I feel like people have been getting their heads turned very easily. I do feel like I have quite a good chance of turning someone's head.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Tessa Thompson and 'new flame' Brandon Green step out in St Tropez after string of double dates with LeBron James and his wife Savannah
Tessa Thompson and her 'new flame' Brandon Green stepped out together in St Tropez on Friday evening. The actress looked glam in a white outfit as they stepped out alone after a recent string of double dates with basketball star LeBron James and his wife Savannah. Tessa, 41, commanded attention in the plunging dress, which clung to her stunning figure. Brandon, the son of controversial tycoon Sir Philip Green, 31, walked alongside her, looking smart in a matching white shirt and linen trousers. The pair were seen walking arm-in-arm, with Tessa looking smitten as they headed out for the night on their couples' holiday. She seemed in good spirits as she cosied up to her alleged new love interest. The actress looked glam in a white outfit as they stepped out alone after a recent string of double dates with basketball star LeBron James and his wife Savannah Tessa and Brandon were first linked in March 2024 and have been spotted together countless times since, with reports suggesting that they are officially an item. While Tessa famously keeps tight-lipped on her romantic endeavours, she has been linked to Brandon for more than a year. They were first spotted looking cosy at a Lakers game in March 2024 as they appeared happy in each other's company while sitting courtside. Between watching baskets, Tessa and Brandon seemed to have eyes for each other as they beamed at one another. Since then, they have been seen together on a number of occasions, most recently at BST Hyde Park to watch Stevie Wonder. Over the years, Tessa - who identifies as bisexual - has been linked to several high-profile people, including Janelle Monae. In 2015, she was believed to have started dating Janelle after starring as a backup dancer in their Yoga video, according to PopSugar. The pair were also seen together at the 2015 MOCA gala, and three years later Tessa was featured in Janelle's music video for Dirty Computer. Meanwhile, Brandon has previously dated a number of models. He was once caught patting Kate Moss' bottom on holiday in St Barts. However, it looked like he was set to settle down with outspoken actress and activist Emma Watson, when they started dating in 2021. The couple dated for 18 months until it seems that Emma had some kind of an epiphany connected to her 'Saturn return' and decided that she wanted out of the relationship. A Saturn return refers to time when the planet Saturn goes back to the position it was in at the moment you were born. Astrologers say it signifies the end of one life-cycle and the beginning of the next, and it happens at around the ages of 29, 58 and 84, bringing with it 'monumental shifts' in lifestyle.