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Top Gear’s Chris Harris says he’d rather ‘kick a wall’ than spend time with Paddy McGuinness & Freddie Flintoff off-air
TOP GEAR hosts Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris may appear best pals on screen.
But Chris isn’t so keen to see their friendship blossom off-screen.
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Indeed, the racing driver’s approach to his co-stars is similar to MasterChef judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode, who have never been to each others’ houses despite working together for years.
In an exclusive interview, Chris said: “I don’t find what Greg and John do odd at all.
“I count Paddy and Freddie as friends but I don’t want to go their houses. If I’m driving up north, I don’t think I’ll pop in and see Paddy for a cup of tea. I’d rather kick a wall with my bare foot.”
Chris says he barely speaks to Paddy and Freddie once they have finished filming a series, saying there’s “a couple of weeks of decompression” until he gets “a random offensive message from one of them”.
Chris’s relationship with his co-stars contrasts heavily with the one shared by fellow Northerners Paddy and Freddie. Former Take Me Out host Paddy told The Sun earlier this month he’s a regular at Freddie’s house – and there’s one major reason why.
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He said: “I took my kids around Freddie’s the other day because he’s got a swimming pool. It’s cheaper than the council baths for me. I can’t afford that level of luxury but luckily I have a friend who does. It was lovely.”
The Top Gear hosts have turned around the fortunes of the long-running car series since they first appeared on screen together in 2019.
The current series, which airs on BBC1 on Sunday nights, is their sixth as a trio and they’re keen to extend their run for as a long as possible.
Their on-screen camaraderie is there for all to see and the teasing is relentless, with “Southern posh boy” Chris often the butt of jokes.
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But Paddy insists they never take the friendly banter too far.
He says: “We always know when enough’s enough with each other.
“We’ve got a good radar for that, but most of the time it’s anything goes.”
May's knight to remember
IT’S not quite the way he would have wanted but James May has finally been knighted.
The Grand Tour star dons the armour in his latest Amazon’s series, James May: Our Man In Italy, which kicks off on July 15.
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Following on from his adventures in Japan, the former Top Gear star’s series sees him travel the length and breadth of Italy to discover its history, landscapes, industry and traditions.
He meets some interesting characters along the way, not least former Italy football captain Giorgio Chiellini in Turin during a visit to the Juventus training ground.
James, who also put the finishing touches on traditional stringed instruments, started his journey in the Sicilian capital of Palermo before finishing in the northern peaks of the Dolomites.
And he admits he sampled so much pasta during his trip it’s a wonder he ever managed to squeeze into that metal fighting gear.
Len's no foreign food fan
LEN Goodman faced a backlash for saying his gran branded curry powder “foreign muck” during the BBC’s Jubilee coverage.
And his former Strictly co-judge Craig Revel Horwood has revealed Len wouldn’t eat any East Asian food on the BBC1 dance show’s UK tour. Craig explains: “He used to say ‘I am not eating that muck’.”
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Craig added he “knows for a fact” Len disliked every non-British dish he tried while making his Big Food Adventure TV show with chef Ainsley Harriott, who tried to broaden his tastes.
Speaking during his recent Leicester Square theatre show, Craig said: “He came across as if he liked it on TV but I know for a fact he didn’t.”
Remote working for Ant
ANT Middleton has landed a new TV show and thankfully for the contestants involved, he won’t be shouting at them.
The former SAS: Who Dares Wins star is the new host of Million Dollar Island, a series based in Australia but screened globally.
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Ant says: “Million Dollar Island is must-see event television. Think The Hunger Games meets Lost . . . but not quite as brutal.
“This is a high-stakes challenge for regular, everyday Aussies. You don’t have to be the fittest or the strongest person to win big. Emotional intelligence and self-belief are key here.”
The show will see 100 ordinary people try to stay on a remote island for a chance to win around £600,000.
They start with a wristband worth £6k – but that figure will rise or decrease depending on how they perform in various challenges.
Bob's OK on troll
TOWIE’s Bobby Norris says he’s thankful for the vile abuse he’s received online as it’s made him “find self-worth”.
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Bobby told the new Dear Deidre Podcast that trolling will never change him, adding: “There’s isn’t a gay slur I haven’t heard. But you find self-worth, thinking ‘well I deserve better than that’.”
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Bobby, who launched an e-petition for stricter community guidelines on social media, said: “You can troll forever and a day. I’m still going to be a gay man.”
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