FIRST, HOW ARE YOU COPING WITH THE LOCKDOWN?
I woke up again today – and I'll tell you one thing, every morning I say to myself, 'I am happy to be alive'. I'm happy inside my head; I have happy thoughts. I'm lucky, nobody in my family has been affected, or my friends. I've got food on my table and when I go to the toilet, the toilet flushes and hot water actually runs – and a lot of people don't have that luck.
IT MUST BE A REAL CHANGE OF PACE FOR YOU
It makes me laugh when people say, 'Oh Fred, you've got to have more balance in your life'. I always say, 'I can't have balance because I either work or I don't work'. And if it's a project and it's exciting, I want to do it. And if there's another one, I want to do it as well. Right now there's no work, so the balance is either you do something, or you don't. But when everything starts again, it's probably going to all start in one go!
WE'RE PLEASED TO SEE FIRST DATES HOTEL BACK
Me too. It's just so joyous, and the nice thing about it is it can be very unexpected. [This series] two girls are meeting two guys on a date – they're with boys but they've been with girls before – and they actually fancy each other! It can only happen in the First Dates Hotel because people come and stay for a few days; if it were a restaurant, it wouldn't happen because it would focus on their date. The way they look at each other, incredible.
DO YOU FIND THE SINGLETONS ARE MORE RELAXED IN THE SUN?
Yeah because when you go on holiday you don't have to worry about work or getting up, it's just about today and having fun. It's a bit like a nature programme, like David Attenborough, watching humans mating and their dance routine to seduce each other.
WHO ELSE DO WE MEET THIS SERIES?
Septuagenarian Alexandria is very funny and she meets a lovely man who looks like Sean Connery. And then we have a beautiful couple – she calls herself 'The Padstow Mermaid' and she really wants to meet a nice person. She is head over heels with it; you can see the body language. But it's good because why go on a date, like somebody, and don't show it? There are so many people who don't wear their heart on their sleeve enough, don't say what they want. Come on, just dare to show your emotions and your feelings and go for it – if it doesn't work out, there's plenty of fish in the sea.
THE FIRST DATES FRANCHISE HAS ALWAYS CATERED TO ALL AGES AND WALKS OF LIFE ETC. IS THAT'S WHY IT'S LASTED?
Yeah, because it appeals to everybody and it shows us that love is ageless, that everybody needs love, and everybody wants to find love. It gives hope to everybody. That's what's important in life; when there is no hope, there is no life. As long as you're alive and as long as you hope and as long as you've got love in your heart, then life is beautiful and worth living. When it's not like that any more, that's it.
:: First Dates Hotel is on Channel 4, Thursdays. Catch up at channel4.com
