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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Christopher Megrath

Where are the biggest hosts of the 00s now

The 2000s was a decade dominated by reality television, whether it was quiz shows, panels or Saturday night competitions and with that, came presenters who solidified themselves as household names.

Whilst the likes of Ant and Dec and Graham Norton are still riding high on the success of their early careers, others have faded into the background. We have taken a look at what some of the big presenters are up to now - including some who have decided to leave TV completely.

READ MORE: Dragon's Den contestant breaks down during pitch

Chris Tarrant (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire)

Best known for his work on the ITV quiz programme, Chris Tarrant, 75, hosted the legendary show for almost 20 years, becoming a staple of late-night television. The OBE winner hosted Tarrant on TV simultaneously, showcasing both comedic and shocking footage from around the world as he booked up a two-hour slot every Saturday night.

Following his exit from WWTBAM, Chris found himself hosting a series of quiz shows for ITV but most only made it to one season. Afterwards, Chris slowly relegated himself to guest appearances as a team captain on quiz shows. Chris received an OBE in 2004 for his charity work with Centrepoint which help disadvantaged children.

Taking to radio, Chris swapped the cameras for a microphone and hosted multiple shows across Smooth, Real and Country radio. With narration being his most recent work, he continues to be the voice of compilation shows and the community announcer for the television channel Challenge.

Matthew Kelly (Stars In Their Eyes)

Having been trained as a theatre actor, Matthew, 71, first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as Game for a Laugh, You Bet! and Stars in Their Eyes. 2012 saw the host appear in sitcom Benidorm, playing Cyril Babcock, a judge for the hotel's dance competition

Following his departure from Stars In Their Eyes late-night, he returned to acting where he won an Olivier award for his portrayal of Lennie, in Of Mice And Men, before taking up multiple other roles in the West End. Coming off from the stage, Matthew stepped away from the spotlight but is still committed to his charity work, which earned him an OBE in 2004, and admits he's enjoying a more private life.

Matthew has also gone on record to say he thinks his time in showbiz has naturally run its course, noting there are new generations that have no idea who he is. Speaking to The Mirror, he said: "When you think stars in your eyes was 13 years ago and I have been doing theatre ever since. In that time, there is a whole generation that have grown up, there are people now 15, 18 and 20 that have no idea who I am.

"The difference between famous and being anonymous, I would actually rather be anonymous. I think everybody should be famous because then they would know what it was like and it would actually reduce the importance it actually has."

Les Dennis (Family Fortunes)

Les Dennis pictured at The Theatre Royal in Nottingham. (Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post)

Succeeding the previous host Andy Collins, Les, from Garston, is arguably the face of Family Fortunes we all know and love. After presenting the show for almost two decades he later appeared in Coronation Street, Midsomer Murders, Holby City and had a stint in Celebrity Big Brother.

Whilst his career was all over the television, so was his personal life as he manoeuvred several messy breakups in the public eye. The 68-year-old was married to Amanda Holden but they split in 2002.

In recent years, Les has made some guest appearances on fishing programmes and returned to theatre work including playing Uncle Fester in a 2017 production of The Addams Family. The actor has continuously been on and off with Coronation Street as a somewhat regular but was finally killed off in 2016.

Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine (What Not To Wear)

TV stylists Susannah Constantine and Trinny Woodall (Channel 4)

The style superstars acted as the UK's most notable fashion advisors during their time on the ITV show, What Not To Wear. Penning several fashion advice books and finding themselves on the New York Times bestsellers list, the pair also hosted Undress The Nation which changed the way women label their bodies.

Shortly after 2012, both Trinny and Susannah almost disappeared from the media entirely after they publicly shared delicate details of their battle with sobriety and drug use. The stylists labelled Undress The Nation as "the death of our career because it was crass and not done with the empathy that had made us successful".

Opening up about her experience with rehab, Trinny explained how difficult her addiction had become. She told the Independent : "There were times when rehab and the halfway house were very, very tough, but I never felt like I wanted to leave. I kind of felt it was my last chance, that I'd done all the drinking and using that I ever wanted to do."

Debunking any chances of a reunion, they remain in contact as friends but have called each other "opposites in every way." Trinny, now 58, appears occasionally as a guest during fashion segments on This Morning and in 2017 she launched a digital-first global beauty brand Trinny London.

Susannah, now 59, took part in I'm A Celeb in 2015, but was the first campmate to be eliminated, she also took part in Strictly in 2018 but was the first to leave when her and her professional partner Anton du Beke received the lowest score for their Samba and Foxtrot.

Cat Deeley (SM:TV Live)

Cat Deeley reunites with Ant and Dec for SM:TV Live special. (ITV)

Known to an entire generation as the woman who kept And and Dec in check, Cat Deeley, 45, was a co-host of Saturday morning children's show, SM:TV Live. Once the show ended in 2003, Cat then made hosting appearances on Stars In Their Eyes, The Brit Awards and Fame Academy, infiltrating every home as a regular for late-night television.

With a slew of gigs under her belt, Cat travelled over to America to become the new host of So You Think You Can Dance. She would then go on and be nominated five times for the position by the Primetime Emmys but fail to take any of them home.

After spending over a decade in the states, Cat decided it was time to move back to the UK after she was almost caught up in a firearms incident with her husband, Paddy, and son, Milo. She told You Magazine: "It was terrifying. Paddy was shaken by it, more than Milo, who was hot and cranky but didn’t properly understand."

In 2021, Cat appeared on the Lorraine show as a guest presenter and has written a children's picture book titled 'The Joy In You'. She also reconnected with both Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly for a revival of SM:TV skit Chums as a one off special for ITV.

Dom Joly (Trigger Happy TV)

Trigger Happy TV promotional image with Dom Jolly. (FIVE)

Writer and comedian Dom Joly, 54, found fame as the antagonist in hidden prank show, Trigger Happy TV. The series saw Dom taking to the streets and toying with the public in whatever way he could, including fake breakdowns and hysteric screaming.

Whilst Trigger Happy TV was a hit with audiences, it was often received unfavourably by those involved, even provoking the police to shut down filming on location. Once the controversial programme met its end in 2003, Dom reappeared for a similar programme, BBC One's World Shut Your Mouth in 2005, continually making television appearances as a spoof character.

Since 2016, Dom started his own podcast called Earworm, which only saw its second season in 2020. It is unclear whether Earworm will return as no mention of it has been made recently.

Netflix picked the series up in 2021, being discovered by a new generation of pranksters. Before this, Dom previously called Netflix "embarrassing" in a tweet for allegedly ripping off one of his book series, The Dark Tourist.

The tweet said: "So embarrassing having Netflix and @davidfarrier rip off my book “The Dark Tourist” for the cleverly re-titled “Dark Tourist” series. Even more embarrassing is how bad the series is. They should have come to me." Netflix never responded to these claims and Dom never revitalised them following his initial accusations.

Richard "Dick" McCourt and Dominic "Dom" Wood (Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow)

Richard "Dick" McCourt and Dominic "Dom" Wood for Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow. (BBC)

Notorious pranksters known for their mischief, Dick and Dom, 45 and 44, were the epitome of children's morning television with their show Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow. Known for their cheeky jokes and bad behaviour, the lads became a double act from 2002 right the way to 2018 with a variety of television shows on the BBC.

Staying primarily in children's television, both Dick and Dom rarely left each other's side professionally and usually came as a two for one package. A staple of television for an entire generation, the boys have referenced how difficult it has been to shed their former personas.

Dick told Vice: "It’s hard for a lot of people to move on from it, when we know we can do other things. We wouldn't get the Newsnight gig, that's for sure. Kids still play Bogies nowadays and people shout it at us all the time. I think we are on the third generation of kids growing up."

Dick and Dom are currently planning to create a new game show for adult audiences, hoping to tap into the same generation that grew up with them. The show is to be called Cash for Chaos and will see participants involved in ridiculous tasks and challenges in the hopes of giving them a chance to win their wages, which they hope will take off soon. Off-camera, they are still travelling the UK but this time, primarily performing at student venues with their drum and bass sets.

Mark Curry (Catchphrase) 2002

ITV's Catchphrase host Mark Curry. (ITV)

Finding his footing on legendary children's show, Blue Peter, Mark Curry, 60, spent three years with the BBC programme as a host from 1986 - 1989. After leaving the show, BBC One offered him a Saturday morning show which he turned down in favour of acting and stage shows.

For the next two decades, the television personality made appearances on beloved shows such as Last of the Summer Wine and Doctors. Arguably Mark might be most well known from the ITV quiz programme Catchphrase, which saw contestants try to piece together what they could of familiar sayings.

Spending the majority of his career on the BBC, the 60-year-old appeared on multiple Children In Need specials, even becoming a Cliff Richard lookalike for a Eurovision spoof. At the same time, Curry also balanced his breakfast radio show, Curry For Breakfast on Talk Radio and became the Wimbledon commentator for both Talk Radio and BBC Radio 5.

Catchphrase ran from 1986 and featured a handful of hosts, including Nick Weird and Roy Walker. In 2016, he played the role of Wizard in the West End show Wicked after years of performing in shows such as The Woman in Black.

Chris Moyles (The Chris Moyles Show)

Radio X host Chris Moyles. (PA)

The Chris Moyles Show ran on both late-night television and early morning radio, notably marking him as the longest-running breakfast host until 2009. Notably snubbed out from Radio 1 in favour of Nick Grimshaw, Chris has publicly feuded with the station for years. Going back and forth with the station for years, Chris has continuously slammed his exit from Radio One, labelling their behaviour as "unceremonious." speaking to The Kempcast podcast, he said: "They had an advert for Nick’s show which went, 'Now with added music...', which was clearly a p**s-take about how much we would talk on the show.

"I was like, OK, the most successful Breakfast Show you’ve ever had, with the most listeners you’ve had in over a decade, that’s a bit of an F you to us and eight million listeners. OK, f**k you back!" The radio host has never returned to Radio One since.

Chris has remained on radio, hosting his own show self-titled show on Radio X from 2015. He also makes occasional appearances on comedy panel shows including Celebrity Juice and 8 Out of 10 Cats.

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