Jonathan Ross Talks Claudia & Graham's 'Rival' Talk Shows and the Celeb Traitors Stars He'd Never Invite on Handcuffed

HE’S been a chat king for 35 years, but Jonathan Ross is about to enter a whole new era – as a reality show host.

The star presents new social experiment , where contestants must endure being shackled to a stranger to win £100,000.

Jonathan Ross is preparing to host new reality TV show Handcuffed, a step in a new direction for his careerCredit: Channel 4

And the broadcaster’s move into the softer side of telly could not come at a better time.

, is about to face fierce competition from screen queen , whose own .

He said: “I’ve never looked at another person’s show and thought I wish that wasn’t on, or I never felt threatened by another person’s show.

“Because all you can really do is do your show as well as you can and hopefully you’ll find an audience — and if it doesn’t, they’ll let you know and you’ll stop doing it.

“I suspect Claudia will do great. She’s such a charming person. She’s a really lovely host.

“She knows what she’s doing. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like her.

“I’ll be watching along with everyone else, looking forward to it and rooting for her.”

There might be room for Jonathan, Claudia and on the box, but it sounds like Wossy has long accepted Graham’s series will always come out on top.

He added: “There are more people who you would consider as guests, but it’s harder to book because people have gone off into their own little niche areas.

“Graham gets more of the movie studio guests and there are a number of reasons for that.

Jonathan says he suspects Claudia Winkleman will be a huge success with her new talk showCredit: Getty Jonathan says he never compared his talk show to BBC competitor Graham NortonCredit: PA

“One of them is the fact you can’t advertise on BBC and so if you’re promoting a show, you’ll buy an advert on and you’ll buy an advert on .

“But you’ll try and get the guests on or Graham first.”

Claudia’s show will also air on the Beeb — leaving Jonathan’s long- running series out on a limb.

He went on: “I’m much less concerned with getting big names on as I am getting the mix right.

“I remember when I used to host on Channel 4 years ago and we got a big booking at that time, probably the biggest male movie star in the world was and the audience figures did not go up an inch. Maybe they went up 100,000.

“It made no difference, and we realised the people who are going to watch this show, they’re watching.

“Graham and I do different shows. Fundamentally, he’s hosting one, I’m hosting another one.

“I think we approach the way we do very differently, but there’s room for us all.

“I don’t think Claudia needs any advice from me or from anyone else!”

Jonathan began his career in television with Channel 4 in 1987 hosting The Last ResortCredit: Shutterstock Editorial The Jonathan Ross Show has been a big hit on ITV since switching from the BBC in 2011Credit: Rex

Jonathan’s talk show career began on Channel 4 in 1987 with The Last Resort, followed by 1989’s One Hour With Jonathan Ross.

Then came Tonight With Jonathan Ross from 1990-1992 and Jonathan Ross Presents, from 1992-1994, both for the same broadcaster.

But he found his groove on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, which ran from 2001 to 2010 on the BBC.

Then it was on to ITV in 2011 for , which airs to this day.

But it wasn’t until he joined ITV’s in 2020 that his career began to truly evolve.

That was cemented when he led the cast of Claudia’s last year — his first experience as a reality TV contestant.

It has left him with new respect for the likes of Love Islanders and , who carved out careers in that realm.

But he still wouldn’t want them on his new series, Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing.

Jonathan Ross says he has a lot of respect for reality TV stars like Maura Higgins and Ekin-Su CulculogluCredit: Getty Despite this, he does not want to see either of the former Love Island stars appearing on his new showCredit: Getty

Jonathan said: “I think it would be better if it wasn’t people who had already come from reality TV.

“I’d rather see people you wouldn’t normally see. I think it’s more fish out of water in those circumstances.

“That’s why Celebrity Traitors worked so well, the fact that we weren’t people you’d normally see on a reality show, and we were destabilised by being in this position where we had no control. We’re people who are used to having control.

“I think people who have done reality shows before are used to having control taken away from them.”

Jonathan himself felt the sharp edge of reality TV during his time on The Celebrity Traitors, when with actress Ruth Codd spread.

He said: “I think it certainly changed my view of what the experience is like.

“I did come away with a newfound respect for it. Being someone who’s worked in TV for a while,

“I was aware of some of the ways those shows were made, some of the things that were done to create conflict in those situations, which were perhaps not justifiable in the way we would want each other to be treated.

“So I do have a greater respect for a lot of them because I realise how difficult it is to be filmed all of your waking hours, how revealing it is. You can’t hide who you really are.”

Which brings us to . The experiment pairs people with divisive views or lifestyles and challenges them to remain shackled 24/7 as they eat, and even shower.

One pair only lasts 12 hours before bolt cutters are used on the cuffs to end the experience.

Players include content creator Bambi, ex-prison officer George and Sir Ben, a 79-year-old lord of the manor who once publicly appealed for a “good breeder” to give him an heir.

Conflict, naturally, is at its heart.

But Jonathan wanted the right level of sensitivity. He said: “You’re dealing with human beings.

“I think we’ve all grown more and more aware that reality shows can be a really challenging environment to put people into and I wanted to make sure that they were focused on the nature of it, as a real challenge, and it wasn’t just paid-for shock value.

“Obviously, at the heart of the premise is the fact they have to be people from different worlds.

“People with different opinions, different views of how to behave and what is right and what is wrong. So there was a built-in level of conflict to an extent. But I was concerned. I didn’t want it to feel exploitative.

“Of course, there is always a level of exploitation whenever you do any reality show, but there is a more sinister approach sometimes, which we see less and less of, thank God, these days.”

The pairs meet in a setting, where they are cuffed together either side of a sliding screen before coming face to face.

A misogynistic gym bro softens towards his plus-sized, lesbian partner rapidly, despite earlier bravado.

But others are bound to come in for a pasting online. Jonathan said: “Social media can be a harsh landscape to exist in. I do feel sad when I see people coming out and then suddenly find themselves blinking in the headlights and not quite knowing what to make of it.

“I don’t like to see anyone dragged over the coals, no one does. And often we can see that it’s someone who perhaps has misspoken or just acted in a way that they didn’t realise wasn’t suitable for public display.

“So I do feel a bit sad for them, but I think we are in a more compassionate, thoughtful place than we were, say, even five years ago, and certainly ten years ago, when reality TV first started blowing up.

“The early days of , it’s remarkable when you look back and see how unprepared we were for the impact that was going to have on our lives as well as their lives, how that TV show radically transformed everything.”

Jonathan, with wife Jane Goodman, wants viewers to give his new reality show experiment a chanceCredit: Getty

The key will be viewers sticking with the show as contestants’ facades fade.

Jonathan says: “I hope people will give Handcuffed enough of a chance to watch as these people confront those things themselves. Not all of them do, but some do.

“I don’t think anyone’s going to come out of it any worse than they perhaps would be prepared to.

“And if someone says, ‘I don’t like you because you believe this’, I think they will say, ‘Well, that’s what I believe’.”

Jonathan reveals producers did keep some more “difficult” elements out of the final cut.

He said: “There might have been some moments they decided against including. And they might have softened a few.

“But I don’t think they’ve done that in a way you would feel there was anything untoward.”

Jonathan reckons we could all learn from watching how the pairings progress.

He said: “Like a lot of us, I’m sure, I’m more concerned about the way social media plays such a big part in our lives.

“Seeing how quickly it is for people to demonise each other, and if someone holds a contrary opinion to yours it’s immediately like, ‘Well OK, you’re completely wrong’.

“Occasionally, online but mainly in , you think, ‘OK well, now I do see it from your perspective and now also you see it a bit from my perspective’.

“And there’s that kind of give and take and compromise.

“That was what I hoped we would see in the show.”

• Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing begins on Monday at 9pm on Channel 4.