Adrian Chiles to host a show about excessive boozing of Brits as he reveals he was an underage drinker

ADRIAN CHILES once spent £500 on booze in just over an hour with Christine Bleakley to mourn the end of their stint on ITV morning show Daybreak.

And he’ll be putting that experience to good use as he heads back to the pub for his latest TV project, about Brits’ excessive drinking.

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Adrian, who is partial to a pint or two of Guinness before watching his beloved West Bromwich Albion, will front BBC2 programme Drinkers Like Me, due to air in August.

He said: “We’ve just started filming it. It’s not about alcoholism, it’s about social drinking, examining to what extent we’re all addicted to alcohol.

Alcohol is the glue that binds Britons together socially but why are we like that?

“I remember thinking back to my old school, to when you’re 14 or 15 and all that mattered was getting hold of alcohol.

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“And then blessed was the day when you could finally, actually go into a pub.

“But some people just can’t moderate it to one relaxing beer to wind down at the end of the day.

For those people, one drink leads to another. And that’s the problem.”

The footie-mad star won’t be drinking to celebrate OR to drown his sorrows at this month’s World Cup in Russia.

For the first time in more than a decade, he is not covering England’s progress at the tournament.

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He said: “I did three World Cups — Germany, South Africa and Brazil — but I’m not working this time, although I’d love to be going.”

He’d have to drink vodka, not Guinness, and that never ends well for anyone . . .

Pasties are in Aidan's past

AFTER four series of strutting around Cornwall with his shirt off in Poldark, Aidan Turner admits he struggles to maintain his famous six-pack.

The actor, who plays the title role in the hit BBC1 drama, told Closer magazine: “I’m getting too old to get my kit off but it happens a few times in this new series.

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There’s a scene involving Ross and Demelza passing a strawberry between their lips – and that required some nudity.

“A lot of us have to watch what we eat on Poldark because of the fashion for slim-fitting clothes in the late 18th century.

“For me, it’s definitely the pies I have to avoid for the sake of the torso scenes.”

He continued: “It’s probably the aspect of playing Poldark I least enjoy – and it does get harder the older you get.”

Stop moaning and try a nine-to-five job instead of gallivanting about on a horse, Aidan.

Romesh courts celebs

TELLY has already given us Judge Rinder and Judge Judy . . . and now we have Judge Romesh.
The very funny Romesh Ranganathan will oversee real-life disputes between pals on his new show.

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He will be joined by Murder In Successville’s TOM DAVIS as his bailiff, with Kerry Howard as his court clerk.
Among the squabbling friends will be celebs including Happy Mondays duo Shaun Ryder and Bez.
Romesh said: “It’s gut instinct. I might judge it on any number of things. It could be because I’m finding one person annoying.”
That will probably be Bez . . .

Olivia is a queen of Wales

IT looks like Olivia Colman is going rogue with her portrayal of The Queen in Netflix smash The Crown.

Ahead of starting work on the third series, she joked: “I’m going to play her Welsh and bald – that’s it.

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“I haven’t started filming it yet. I haven’t read it yet. We start in July.”

For now, Olivia is starring in series two of quirky Channel 4 comedy Flowers, playing Deborah, the wife of a manic depressive.

She said: “Anything that’s genuinely affecting people should be dealt with responsibly.

“I’m proud to be part of something that tackles something head-on, warts and all, but does it sensitively.

“It was a mixture of liking the role but also really liking the whole thing and wanting to be part of that.

“It was different and I find that interesting. I find comedy interesting.”

Hopefully she finds royal period drama interesting too.

Verging on a breakthrough

UKTV is creating a new drama based on the best-selling book Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, for its entertainment channel W.

The darkly comic six-parter, to be called Women On The Verge, will air later this year.

It will follow the fortunes of three career-driven women – played by Kerry Condon, Nina Sosanya and Eileen Walsh – who fear their complicated lives are heading nowhere.

W’s Adam Collings said: “It’s taking the gloss of Sex & The City combined with the brutal honesty of Girls. This is unlike anything else on British TV.”

That’s a lot of promise to live up to. Let’s hope they pull it off.

soapbox

IN EMMERDALE, Doug attempts to ease his conscience by giving Terry a roof over his head.

Debbie is upset, meanwhile, and Lachlan is worried when Liv shows him one of Gerry’s hand-drawn comics.

Over on Coronation Street, Rosie is thrilled with the press coverage about her after the drugs bust.

She is even more excited when producers at This Morning call to say Phil and Holly want to interview her, Gemma and Craig – who is then ordered by his boss to go ahead with the chat.

Elsewhere, Roy gets the help of Cathy and Audrey to expose Rosemary as a fraudster and Tyrone warns Kirk that Sharon clearly has the hots for him.