“I’m so terrified of watching myself flirt on Celebs Go Dating that I’m planning to leave the country,” says Vanessa Feltz
Leaving the country to escape the dating game might seem a bit extreme – but that’s exactly what Vanessa Feltz is hoping to do when she appears on TV next week’s Celebs Go Dating.
The TalkTV presenter is back on the E4 show after splitting from her unfaithful fiancé Ben Ofoedu earlier this year.
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But she’s not sure she can stomach her efforts when CGD and his team of dating agents return for a 12th season.
She said of filming the reality show, “I’ve enjoyed getting back into the dating pool after not having done so in 17 years.
“I gained more courage with every date.
“But I’ve never looked at a date or seen any footage.
“I hope I’ll be on vacation when it airs and I’ll be very glad to be out of the country.”
Devastated, Vanessa announced her split from singer Ben in January after she found out he had been cheating when her daughter received a message from his lover.
The couple had been engaged since 2006.
That means Vanessa took to the E4 dating show at its roughest as she hit the road on her own at the age of 61.
She said: “After all these years in reality TV, you’d think I’d come to terms with a facade of sorts.
“If something happens to me on TV, you can see what my real feelings are.
“While I assume I hid it, I didn’t, so it was an emotional journey.”
However, Vanessa admits there were some positives to this experience, which has made her a little less picky about dating.
She explained: “I’ve gotten a little bit bigger. One of the things the agents said is, “Don’t write people off at first sight.” Give them a small chance. And they are right!”
The new CGD series runs from Sunday to Thursday for four weeks.
MARK Francis-Vandelli was apparently born in the wrong era when it comes to dating.
The Made In Chelsea star and CGD contestant admits: “Dating apps are not for me. I hate technology.
“I don’t read messages online from anyone I don’t know. I live in the 18th century! If I could, I would go back in time. . . ”
ANNA STANDS FOR A HAPPY END
IF Celebs Go Dating reaches the end of a series, it doesn’t mean the end of the hard work for one of the show’s dating agents, Anna Williamson.
Instead, she’s kept busy for weeks as she coaches celebs to happy endings.
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So reliant on her by many of the big names, she revealed they keep in touch even after filming has finished.
Anna, whose fellow agents on the show Dr. Tara Suwinyattich-Aiporn and Paul Carrick Brunson said, “I’m in regular contact with 60 percent of the Celebs Go Dating alumni and other celebs from reality shows.”
In recent series, the celebs have been allowed to team up with their castmates, and Anna added, “When it comes to celebrity vs. celebrity conflicts, they’re consensual adults, so we’ve all decided to go all out, whatever is possible.” Funke.
“Watch the last series with Laura Anderson and Gary Lucy.
“They may not be in a relationship anymore but there has been a lot of love – and a baby is about to be born.
“We just take our cue from any chemistry — we’re going to support and guide it appropriately.”
COMIC Spuddz says Richard Blackwood was behind his rise to fame after overhearing him joke in a hair salon.
The Celebs Go Dating contestant said: “In the middle of term he said, ‘Who makes me laugh like that?’ What’s your name?’
“He took me to my first show and I started doing stand-up from there.”
But he has no desire to date a celebrity. He prefers “a normal person”.
LOVE Island star Chloe Burrows found fame while looking for love on prime-time TV, but admits to CGD she’s still scared of opening up to a potential partner.
Even some advice after her stint on Love Island on ITV2 in 2021 didn’t help.
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She said: “ITV really supported me with therapy and then I got my own.”
“But I’m not getting into the essentials.
“Celebs Go Dating is the first time I’ve spoken about my relationships.
“On Love Island, I managed to get away without talking about it.
“I’m nervous about it, I’m not the type to talk about my problems or feelings.”
Lottie is in a hurry to find Hottie
LOTTIE Moss is already feeling the pressure to settle down even though the CGD single is only 25.
The influencer and younger sister of supermodel Kate feels terrified when she sees people like 26-year-old mother-of-two Kylie Jenner online.
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Lottie said: “Back in the day, before social media, you didn’t really care.
“When you see Kylie Jenner being a billionaire at 23 and having two babies, you’re like, ‘Where the hell are my kids?’ Where’s my husband or my billions?’.
“But it can’t be that fast.
“I haven’t found a person to commit to. . . Maybe it’s because my mind was in the wrong place, but maybe it doesn’t happen that often.
“I want to sit and talk with someone to find out everything about them. But I can’t seem to commit myself.”
Still, she admitted, “I need constant attention, I need you on call.”
AD ADMITS WRONG GAME
SHOW contestant Adam Collard has a reputation as a gambler – and the Love Islander of two has now admitted how much he gambled with a poor friend.
Adam once posed for an Instagram photo with an attractive woman just to make his then-girlfriend jealous.
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He said: “I was posted on Instagram with a girl – but it was my cousin. The person I was with got too jealous.
“I was glad it came out, it was a test.”
One of his longest relationships – with newly revealed Strictly star Zara McDermott – came out of Love Island on ITV2 in 2018 but they split after eight months.
Adam added: “Being single I was awful, I’ll hold my hands up. I once dated five girls.
“There were only a few girls – Zara and a girl when I was younger – to whom I was totally committed.”
CGD dating agent Paul Carrick Brunson has announced some big changes for the new series.
There will be “reunion situations” for the first time, allowing the stars to juggle potential partners at special brunches, rather than just dating one-on-one.
Paul said, “At first I thought, ‘I don’t know.’
“But now that I’ve seen how it works, I think it works well.
“Otherwise we make home visits. We’ll be hanging out with the celebrity around him.”
He added of the series, “It’s very fast-paced.”