Rylan Clark-Neal blasts influencers for lording it on beach in Dubai – and says things he does are worthy of doing
EVEN though he has fake tan and veneers like an influencer, you won’t catch Rylan Clark-Neal posing in Dubai this winter.
The in-demand TV host reckons social media D-listers “working” in tropical climes are the last thing people want to see at the moment — and besides, he’s too busy to simply jet off right now.
Rylan, whose lengthy presenting CV includes Ready Steady Cook, Supermarket Sweep and Strictly spin-off It Takes Two, says: “The things I work on are worthy of doing.
“I’m not going to Dubai on a plane and taking photos in my bikini.
“I’m actually going to work and hosting programmes like Ready Steady Cook and showing people how to cook a meal for under a fiver, which is handy right now.
“I wish anyone luck however they make money, whether that’s online, in a shop, however you do it — and good luck to the influencers.
“But I just feel at a time when there are a lot of things going on, seeing pictures of people getting on a plane going to a foreign country and lording it up on the beach for work purposes — well, I can’t believe how much work there seems to be going on in the UAE!”
It’s brilliant…but also one of the most dangerous places anyone can be in
Rylan on social media
Workshy influencers would do well to take a leaf out of Rylan’s book.
After coming fifth in 2012’s X Factor, many thought he would fade into obscurity. But thanks to a talent for broadcasting — and an impressive work ethic — he did not have a day off for years up until the pandemic.
Rylan, 32, says: “I’ve got no regrets taking part in The X Factor.
“I know exactly where I have come from and every day I remind myself how I got to where I am and where it all began. I owe my whole career to the public.
‘IF YOU DON’T LIKE ME YOU CAN TELL ME THAT’
“And the best thing about this entire job is the satisfaction I get from seeing people who haven’t followed my career for ten years who say, ‘What, that p***k from The X Factor? That f***ing reality show person? I bet he’s in a magazine every week’.
“The joy I get is that’s what they think of me and they have no idea I am the total opposite. And I was never even that person in the first place.
“I am just that normal bloke who lives up the road who got lucky.”
Yet his amazing transformation from “joke” talent show contestant to much-loved presenter has not stopped the trolls.
Bearing the brunt of their vicious online comments has made him determined to stand up for other trolled stars such as Gemma Collins, who opened up on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories about her abuse.
And he reckons there should be greater control of social media platforms to stop the worst behaviour.
Rylan says: “Social media is a brilliant vessel for work, relationships and friendships but it is also one of the most dangerous places that anyone could be in.
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion. If you don’t like me, you can f***ing tell me that.
It’s been lovely doing Radio 2 in my pants. Can’t imagine Ken Bruce doing that
Rylan on lockdown
“But to sit there and say to someone, ‘I am going to kill your family’, the system needs to be policed.
“What would happen if the database knew exactly who they are? They might think twice about hitting that send button.”
“Everyone should be verified on social media. When I set up my Twitter account my management company had to send a copy of my passport. And now I am verified. Why not introduce a new colour tick for everyone else?”
Rylan is equally forthright on taking the Covid vaccine.
He explains: “I will be having the vaccine as and when I get offered it. It’s been tested and it is working against the coronavirus.
“If people don’t want to take it, that’s their choice.
“But if you do want to take it, it means you are protected from death. Who am I to turn that down?”
Rylan chatted to The Sun in between filming a new series of Ready Steady Cook, which returns to BBC1 next week.
He says: “I’m thrilled it’s coming back. We are adhering to social distancing and we have the Covid police or whatever you want to call them shouting, ‘Two metres!’
I’m not what people think. I’m a normal person from up the road who got lucky
Rylan on his success
“It’s been lots of fun and we’ve had some wildcard dishes like sweet lasagne and a pudding made out of couscous.”
As for what he makes himself, super-trim Rylan insists he does not eat healthily.
He says: “I eat terribly. I am a lanky b*****d and I’m one of those people where I am always working, on the go and doing something. It’s how I get away with being a terrible eater.”
There will be a celebrity special of Ready, Steady Cook for Comic Relief next month. Rylan has no idea yet who will be appearing — but he knows who he would like.
He says: “Vicky Beckham! Let’s get Victoria and David in. They will look lovely in a green pepper apron.”
Not that he’s met the couple before, as Rylan isn’t one for rubbing shoulders with the showbiz elite.
Joking, he says: “I am a hermit. I do my job, go home and watch Keeping Up Appearances and Birds Of A Feather.”
Lockdown at the Essex home he shares with husband Dan and 20-year-old stepson Cameron has also meant he has finally been able to take some much-needed time off.
He says: “People used to ask, ‘What do you want for your birthday or Christmas?’ and I used to say, ‘A day off’. I will have to change my answer.
‘I WAS THROWN IN AT THE DEEP END’
“Thanks to lockdown I have had a few more days off. But I feel fortunate. I’ve got a nice house and a job I love. I’ve also been lucky to have worked during the pandemic.”
Due to Covid, Rylan has been hosting his Saturday afternoon radio show from a studio in his home.
He says: “It has been lovely to present Radio 2 in my pants. I can’t imagine Ken Bruce doing it like that. He’s too professional.”
So what’s next for the busiest man on television?
He would like to do a chat show — although not just yet.
I’d like to do a Graham Norton …given a few years and a bit more wisdom
Rylan on the future
He adds: “I’d love to follow in the footsteps of Graham Norton, but give it a few more years and maybe a bit more wisdom.
“I don’t like running before I can walk. I was thrown in at the deep end and I wasn’t running — I was f***ing sprinting.”
High on Rylan’s wishlist as a guest would be Madonna, who he would also want to cook for.
He says: “I’d like to sit down with her and have a good chat away from anyone. It would be just me and her and I’d go, ‘Are you all right, babe?’.”
It’s a dream that would have seemed ridiculous when he was 18 — but now might just come true.
Rylan wishes he could go back to his younger self and give him some advice, mainly to behave badly before everyone recognised his face.
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He says: “I would say, ‘Stop f***ing wearing those silly T-shirts’ for a start.
“And I would probably say enjoy these next couple of years because everything you want, you are going to get, but everything you have got now, you will miss, so enjoy it. Be stupid, go out and get p***ed and roll around the floor in the West End, because it will change really soon.
“So while they’re not watching, get away with murder.”
- Ready Steady Cook returns to BBC1 weekdays on Monday at 3.45pm.
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