Chris Tarrant

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For the Australian Rules Football player, see Chris Tarrant (footballer).
Chris Tarrant
Image:ChrisTarrant.JPG
Chris Tarrant presenting Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Born10 October 1946 (1946-10-10) (age 62)
Reading, Berkshire, England
OccupationTelevision presenter, radio broadcaster
Height6'2" (188cm)

Christopher John Tarrant OBE (born 10 October 1946, Reading, Berkshire) is an English radio broadcaster and television presenter, now best known for hosting the TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Tarrant was educated at the King's School, Worcester (1960-4) where he excelled at cricket and hockey,[1] although he has often said they were not happy times, recalling his "very strict" schooldays in a fund-raising book of memories, and in 1999 describing the school as a "modern-day Iran".He claims to have been caned there very frequently and sometimes in front of the whole school. However these claims have been disputed by others who either attended or worked at the school at this time.[2]

Tarrant attended the University of Birmingham, where he read English. He later worked as a teacher in Brockley for a while following graduation. It is worth noting that Chris Tarrant was thrown out of Chamberlain Hall for tying a Brent Goose's wings together and throwing it off the 13th floor of the tower. Though in a respectable job, he found himself homeless after walking out on a girlfriend without anywhere to stay, so for six months he lived in his grey mini van in the grounds of the school where he worked.[3]

Bored with life as a teacher, Tarrant wrote a series of insolent letters to television companies claiming brazenly: "I am the face of the 1970s and this is your last chance to snap me up". He eventually gave up teaching to pursue his dream of television, driving a truck during the day and becoming a Birmingham based DJ during the night. Incredibly, the effort paid off and he was invited by the Midlands-based ATV for an audition and ended up as a newsreader on the regional bulletins.[4]

[edit] ATV and Tiswas

Tarrant became known locally as a reporter on light-hearted or "wacky" stories on the main news bulletins for ATV, while also being the serious news anchor later in the evening. But the fact he was working at ATV, coincided with a new show development and the need for a host, to the show which would turn him into a national star.

As one of the co-hosts of the ground-breaking Saturday morning children's TV show Tiswas, Tarrant became known to a UK-wide audience though this programme was not shown by all of ITV's regional networks simultaneously during Tarrant's time on it. He left the show in 1981 to make a late night adult version named O.T.T., but after a national outcry over its controversial content (including naked Jew Gassing and topless dancers) it was dropped after one series. A toned-down version of the show, Saturday Stayback appeared in 1983.

[edit] Capital Radio

In 1984, Tarrant joined London commercial radio station Capital Radio, firstly presenting the weekday lunchtime show, before taking on the breakfast show. His morning show ran for 17 years and became one of the staples of early morning London life, resulting in him winning the coveted Sony Radio Academy Awards, Breakfast Show Gold in 1995.[5]

Another notable point was when the young Countess of Wessex was a public relations representative at Capital, and was photographed sitting next to Tarrant in a taxi whilst having her top pulled down on an outside broadcast. The photo was later released in 1999 by ex breakfast show travel girl Kara Noble, by now working at Heart 106.2 in London when the Countess was about to marry Prince Edward. Subsequently The Sun apologised, while Noble was promptly sacked on grounds of bringing the company into disrepute.[6]

In total Tarrant presented 4,425 programmes, with the show ending on the 2 April 2004. After being inducted in the Radio Academy Hall of Fame in December 2003,[7] he was replaced by Johnny Vaughan.

[edit] Present career

Tarrant combined his radio day job with many TV projects of varying quality and success, including the early 1990s ITV quiz show Lose A Million, before he became the host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and re-established his credentials with a national audience. Tarrant's catchphrases on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? include "Is that your final answer?" and "But we don't want to give you that!". The show has helped to make him very wealthy, with a reported salary of £3.75 million plus share options,[8] with both board game and computer versions.

From 1996 to 1999 he also presented the UK version of Man O Man on ITV.

Tarrant presented a one-off show on BBC Radio 2 during Christmas 2005 and 2006 and appeared as a celebrity guest on ITV1's The Mint. He is a Non-Executive Director of Celador Radio Broadcasting and an executive and associate of Sound TV.

On 10 July, 2006 Tarrant was awarded an honorary doctorate degree for his services to the entertainment industry, at Aston University in Birmingham.[9]

At the end of 2006 he took an unusual career move in making a documentary about the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

On 18 May, 2007, Tarrant made a memorable appearance as guest host on BBC's satirical current affairs quiz Have I Got News For You. Throughout the show he was constantly mocked, especially by Ian Hislop, for his maritial problems and recent alleged fracas in an Indian restaurant. At one point during the show, Tarrant quipped "you can see why people only do this job once".

On 16 June 2007 Chris joined Sally James and Lenny Henry to present a 25th Anniversary edition of Tiswas. It was shown on ITV and featured celebrities discussing their thoughts of Tiswas as children, as well as appearances from children and guests who had appeared on the show during its original run.

Recently he has appeared on Classic Gold Radio.

[edit] Personal life

Tarrant met his second wife Ingrid Dupre-Walsh when they both worked for TV-am. She had recently separated from her husband, a cameraman, and had a son, Dexter (who sold his story to the newspapers at 17 - now living back at home), and a daughter, Fia. The couple married in 1991, but are currently separated after Tarrant had an encounter with a blonde lady in a Surrey nightclub in Esher, and then admitted a "close" relationship with Fiona McKechnie, a schoolteacher and co-patron for Headway.[10] After a series of tabloid stories, on 18 September, 2006 the couple announced that they were separating.[11] The couple previously lived with their two children, daughter Sammy and son Toby in Esher, plus two children each from their previous marriages. 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. Chris did not seem sorry about the break up; he quoted "Well, I was a naughty boy" and said about Ingrid "She wouldn't trust me with a pint of milk".

In June 2000, Tarrant's River Thames launch boat the "Ben Gunn" was vandalised and burnt at its mooring in East Molesey.[12]

[edit] Charity work

Tarrant's charity work, for which he received an OBE in 2004[13] 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.[14]

[edit] 2007 Arrest

At approximately 10pm 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.[15][16]

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 1am and to this minute I am completely bemused by what happened."[17]

On 25 May 2007 he was formally cautioned by the police with regard to the incident.[18]

As a result of this arrest, he was ranked number 99 on BBC Three's 'The Most Annoying People Of The Year 2007'.

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Whilst he lived in a mini-van (registration 161 GLO), for six months in the school grounds where he taught, the postman would deliver mail to the car. A friend once sent him a letter addressed to 161 GLO, Sprules Road, London SE4 and the postman knew exactly where to find him.[19]
  • He is so enthused by fishing, he bought the number plate CHU 8B after his favourite fish - the chub.[20]
  • He featured in an advert for Brain Training on the Nintendo DS in which he suffers marital problems for forgetting their anniversary. Ironically, he and his wife announced that they were to split on 18 September, a few weeks after the advert was aired.
  • He was voted #38 in ITV's "TV's 50 Greatest Stars".
  • In 2000, Jennifer Saunders mocked Tarrant as part of the sketch in the 'French and Saunders Live' tour, by asking whether the capital of England was "Lonndonn", Somewhere Else, Somewhere Else Entirely or a worm. She then proceeded to rush Dawn by asking her personal questions such as whether her family had a history of mental illness, heart attacks, anxiety and then demanded to know whether she was an alien. Dawn finally picked 'a worm' as the correct answer for her chance to win ten pounds in coins.
  • Winner of the "Lifetime Achievement" 2006 UK comedy award.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.aston.ac.uk/about/news/060710.jsp
  2. ^ http://archive.thisisworcestershire.co.uk/2003/12/31/146636.html
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/353258.stm
  4. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-2352922,00.html
  5. ^ http://www.aston.ac.uk/about/news/060710.jsp
  6. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/352895.stm
  7. ^ http://www.radioacademy.org/halloffame/tarrant_c/index.shtml
  8. ^ http://www.iqagb.co.uk/trivia/viewtopic.php?p=136236
  9. ^ http://www.aston.ac.uk/about/news/060710.jsp
  10. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=405478&in_page_id=1773&ico=Homepage&icl=TabModule&icc=TV%20&%20SHOWBIZ&ct=5
  11. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5357654.stm
  12. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/801337.stm
  13. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3829923.stm
  14. ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006440316,00.html
  15. ^ The Guardian - Tarrant held over alleged assault
  16. ^ Metro - Chris Tarrant arrested for 'assault'
  17. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6654111.stm
  18. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6693101.stm
  19. ^ http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22750-2166909,00.html
  20. ^ http://cars.uk.msn.com/News/Top_ten_article.aspx?cp-documentid=475406

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://india.smashits.com/wikipedia/Chris_Tarrant"
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