Rob Rinder has addressed the speculation surrounding his relationship with his close friend and TV co-star Rylan Clark, stressing that the romance rumours are ‘all his fault’.
Tonight, the Good Morning Britain star is returning to his BBC Two series Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby, which he hosts with MasterChef: The Professionals judge Monica Galetti.
Fans are incredibly excited to watch their latest globe-trotting exploits, as they visit and work in jaw-dropping hotels in locations including Shanghai, Bhutan, Malaysia and Austria, with one person commenting on the trailer for the new episodes: ‘TV has just got better.’
However, this isn’t the first time this year that Rob has released a programme documenting exciting adventures abroad, as just a few months ago, Rob and Rylan’s Grand Tour – where they travelled across Venice, Florence and Rome – also came out on the BBC.
‘There is an element of travel, but it’s not a travel programme,’ Rob, 46, insisted to Metro.co.uk with regard to his Grand Tour show with Rylan, 35.
‘It was much more about following in the steps of Lord Byron and going on a journey,’ he continued. ‘So that journey was, to be sure about tourism, but really about something infinitely more.’
As viewers would have watched on the show, the pair of TV personalities not only explored Italy while following in the footsteps of the Romantic poet Lord Byron and other Grand Tourists, but they also opened up to one another about their own lives in heartfelt moments.
The beauty of their bond has at times resulted in fans speculating if they might actually be an item, which was fuelled in May when Rob quoted Lord Byron in a tweet to promote their programme, by writing: ‘“Friendship may, and often does, grow into love.” Byron…’
So does Rob ever find it frustrating when people assume that he and Rylan are romantically involved?
‘No, it’s not frustrating. It’s funny. It’s also my fault. It was my bloody fault. He’s really social media savvy,’ the barrister replied.
‘You realise on social media what little ear people have for any kind of semblance of irony at all. The next thing, all of a sudden, my mum and his mum are buying hats. We’re like, “Wait a minute!”
‘But as he rightly puts, we are basically married. We row all the time and don’t have sex.’
On Amazing Hotels, viewers have the chance to watch Rob work his TV magic with another scene partner, MasterChef star and culinary whizz Monica, 49.
When people watch Monica critiquing chefs on TV, they might question if that’s really what she’s like in real life – and according to Rob, she’s just as ‘exacting’ when he works with her.
‘With Monica, what you see is what you get. I think people watch MasterChef and they think, “Is she really that demanding when it comes to the edge of how a fish is cut?” Hell yeah,’ he shared.
‘That’s why she’s so extraordinary in this because she absolutely sees every conceivable detail. Not just when it comes to kitchens, but of course, that translates across the board. That other people would instinctively miss, she has a talent, an innate and learnt understanding of.’
Rob revealed that some of his favourite scenes in Amazing Hotels were when he witnessed the ‘wonderful encounters’ that Monica has.
‘We get to see not just her soft side, but her real gift that she has, being somebody that’s so clear about the world,’ he stated.
‘With kids and with parents, there’s some wonderful moments that she has, especially in Stanglwirt as she’s sort of making food and dumplings, or just talking to the wife of the owner of the hotel, doing flower arranging.
‘One of the things you find with Monica is that people will often sit down next to her who don’t know her, and within seconds tell her their life stories.’
From speaking to Rob, it’s clear that the experiences he had on Amazing Hotels have been sensational to say the least.
From travelling on the only commercial passenger from New Delhi and seeing the tip on Mount Everest out of the window, to landing in a ‘mountain kingdom, which is just emerging from years of really not having any tourism and being this sort of quiet mystery to the outside world’ in Bhutan, his travels on the show sound like true magic.
Amazing Hotels saw Rob and Monica explore the greater emphasis on sustainability at world-class hotels, and visit establishments in mind-blowing locations, such as the ‘upside down’ Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland, which was built in an abandoned quarry.
‘I will never forget the sort of limitless privilege I have to go and do this, to go and stand in that lunar landscape in Cappadocia and watch as hundreds of balloons go up into the sky,’ Rob acknowledged.
‘It’s exquisite, but also to speak to the locals and to discover what this place often means to them. That’s great as well.’
In just a couple of days, the new series of Strictly Come Dancing is set to launch on the BBC.
It’s already been eight years since Rob competed, becoming the 10th celebrity to be eliminated with his professional dancer partner, Oksana Platero, before BBC presenter Ore Oduba lifted the Glitterball Trophy with Joanne Clifton.
In 2022, Rob travelled to the Ukrainian border to help bring Oksana’s grandparents to safety following Russia’s invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin.
Looking back on his Strictly journey, he remarked: ‘I loved it. It’s bizarre how quickly the experience goes. Eight years – that’s insane to me.
‘I wish I’d been a little bit more present at the time and perhaps a tiny bit less nervous. I could have enjoyed it even more. But we were very, very lucky in our year, I think, to have had… it’s what most people say, and I think they mean it, but definitely in our year, a community of people that really adored one another.’
Sharing how close he still is to several of his fellow cast members, including Greg Rutherford and Will Young, Rob also addressed the fact that his experience was far different to Laura Whitmore, who he recalled was under a great deal of scrutiny at the time.
‘I’m living the dream, and I’m wearing pyjama bottoms to go and rehearse because I forgot my kit,’ he remembered. ‘Meanwhile, as a woman in that space, she was getting evaluated on what she was wearing, whether or not she was in some romantic dalliance.’
He added: ‘If you’re like me, and people don’t expect you to do that well anyway, you’re given, I think, a greater degree of permission to just go out there and have fun. But it’s a lovely show.’
Looking ahead to the future on what projects he could have in the pipeline next, Rob emphasised that there’s a ‘rich raft of things that I’m interested in’.
‘The point of the show with Rylan or even the hotels is to remind people that when the world tells you this is your story, you get to grab back the pen and write the chapters of your novel. That’s everything, being culturally curious,’ he shared.
Rob concluded poetically: ‘In my case, I become obsessively fascinated by things, and so I don’t know, watch the space.
‘I’d certainly like to make more documentaries where I share alongside others challenging ideas about the world, and people walk away feeling – like they always should – happier, more informed and reminding themselves that people are always cleverer than they think they are. That’s the type of work I’d like to make. So watch this space.’
Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby returns tonight at 8pm on BBC Two and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Strictly 2024 star red-faced after nearly ‘letting slip’ partner’s name on live TV
MORE : When does Strictly Come Dancing start in 2024? Time and date revealed
MORE : Gavin and Stacey star, 62, ageless as she returns to set 17 years after debut
