Chris Tarrant . . . gone fishing

Chris Tarrant is one of the best-known faces on British television. His current high profile is very obviously attributable to the phenomenal success of the quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but his career was already in great shape long before Millionaire ever appeared on our screens.

After leaving Birmingham University, where he read English, Chris worked for some time as a teacher. Despite having a respectable job, circumstances left him nearly homeless and for several months he actually had to live in a van near the school where he worked. Legend has it that he even received mail addressed to ‘161 GLO, Sprules Road, London SE4’, the number being the vehicle’s registration.

Eventually Chris tired of teaching and began to look for more inspiring employment. He set his sights on a television career, but his approach to job hunting was unorthodox to say the least. The trademark enthusiasm and energy that remain such a visible part of his style today were channelled into a letter writing campaign. Chris wrote to television companies insisting that he was “the face of the 70s” and pretty much threatening that they risked losing him and the fantastic opportunity he represented unless they acted quickly. Astonishingly, this bizarre and arrogant approach worked, and Chris was invited to audition for Midlands TV company ATV.

The rest, as they say, is history, but a couple of high points do bear special mention. In the mid-1970s Chris became a cult hero, fronting Tiswas on Saturday morning television. Although officially a children’s show, Tiswas achieved remarkable popularity amongst adults, and the show endured well into the ‘80s. Chris continued to enjoy great popularity when he moved to London’s Capital Radio, where he made the coveted breakfast show slot his own from 1987 to 2004.

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