Judge Rob Rinder and presenter Rylan Clarke entertained TV fans as co-hosts of the BBC travel show – and some fans were convinced a romance was brewing between the pair
Good Morning Britain presenter Rob Rinder has said he was the one who hosted it after the public believed he was secretly dating Rylan Clark.
The 46-year-old TV judge charmed viewers as co-host of the BBC travel show Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour alongside former X Factor contestant Rylan, 35. In the first season of the series, the boys travelled to Italy to follow in the footsteps of historical poet Lord Byron.
The pair opened up to each other and shared inspiring stories from their lives whilst admiring the architecture, landscapes, food and pleasures of Italy. As the show progressed, viewers watched as Rob and Rylan developed a close friendship.
But some fans began to suspect the pair could be more than just friends. And Rob further fuelled the fantasy by posting a message online quoting a classical poet whose footsteps Rylan was following in.
The legal expert wrote: “Friendship can and often does turn into love.” Byron now admits he may have misled fans a little too much. When asked by Metro if he regretted creating the illusion of romance or was annoyed that fans had jumped to the wrong conclusion, he replied: “No, I’m not annoyed. It’s funny. That was my fault, too. That was my fault. He really knows social media.
“You look at social media and you see how little people care about any sarcasm. And all of a sudden, my mom and his mom are buying hats.” We say, ‘Hold on!’ but, as he rightly says, we’re basically married. We argue all the time and we don’t have sex.’
The former lawyer previously spoke fondly of his friendship with Rylan on the Great Company podcast with Jamie Laing, saying: “Real friendships aren’t about the people you’re with. The middle is in the night. I mean, the emergency services do that for you. And friends like Rylan, they’re there when things are going well, they can call you, they’ll sit next to you and celebrate with uncontainable joy. These are your mates, right?’
Meanwhile, Rylan recently revealed he’s considering stepping away from the spotlight. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, he spoke about how his life has changed since he found fame on The X Factor in 2012. He said, “You could call Rylan a curse, but he made me a billionaire. I’m grateful that I was able to do what I did and that Rylan was their scapegoat.”
And opening up about his future, he added: “I see my role in society as being that guy with the big teeth who goes on telly, hopefully entertains people and then I go home and live a normal life. I always said I’d have [kids] when I’d got enough money to support them even if I never worked again. And I’ve got it.”