I now feel I can take the time in my life to do things I have always wanted to do. Take a financial gamble and it will be all right because I am doing it from a certain position of strength,” he explains.While he is enthusiastic about both Avenue of the Stars and polar bears it is sport, and cricket in particular, that rouses the real Tarrant passion. Instead of simply snorting in anger the bear could have rushed them.”It could have been ‘the posthumous award for broadcasting goes to Christopher Tarrant and crew’,” he jokes.He took a stills photographer to Norway and his latest book, Tarrant on Top of the World – in Search of the Polar Bear, will be published next month to go alongside previous publications such as Tarrant on Millionaires and Carp Tales.The next Tarrant wilderness spectaculars will involve heading off to Rwanda in search of gorillas and, after that, pandas.”What’s happened if you like, is that I have been a wage slave for many, many years. Tarrant found his polar bears all right but the encounter could have been a lot closer than desired. As he and his crew filmed a fine specimen from an inflatable boat they thought they were separated from the bear by deep ocean. It was only on the way back to the mother ship when the oars touched the bottom that they realised that they were on a shelf with only three feet of water. It’s because I want to control certain aspects of my new career,” says Tarrant, who financed the production himself.

He hopes ITV will schedule the programme over Christmas but, if not, then someone else will have the opportunity.The television presenter has been fascinated by bears since childhood, and was impressed by the grizzlies he saw in Canada on a fishing trip. middle-aged man goes off in search of polar bears.”It’s not about wanting to make more and more millions. As he approaches his 59th birthday next month, after a lifetime in broadcasting, he has decided to set up his own television company for the first time – Chris Tarrant Television.He says he simply wanted the freedom to be able to do programmes that really interested him, such as … If the bookings for Ken Dodd and Richard Attenborough are confirmed, that’s a bloody nightmare. Doddy will still be going on when the credits roll,” says Tarrant with a laugh. The show, tied in to this month’s 50th anniversary of ITV, will name the first 100 who deserve to receive a “star” as chosen by a panel of judges that includes BBC chairman Michael Grade.Tarrant extended himself a little more than expected earlier this summer when he went off to the far north of Norway to make a film about polar bears. So once in a while it’s good to extend yourself,” says Tarrant who is still savouring the pleasure of not having to get up every day at 5am for the Capital Radio breakfast show he presented for 17 years.The cast list for Avenue of the Stars is expected to include Ken Dodd and Lord Attenborough, two gentlemen well known for talking “just a bit”, especially when they are on live television.”Obviously being live you absolutely have to have a beginning, a middle and an end and make sure you come out to the second on time.

I only do Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.’ I could go back into my cocoon. The show, Avenue of the Stars (to be shown next Sunday), will be a tribute to the great moments of British entertainment and the stars who created them.The programme will also feature memorable moments of comedy and drama such as Laurence Olivier’s portrayal of the death of Richard III, John Cleese doing silly walks, an audience with comedian Billy Connolly and an example of Tommy Cooper’s “Just Like That” brand of magic.”It’s another chance to give myself a bit of an edge, to try things It would be very easy to say ‘No No. When ITV wanted someone to host its star-spangled show to mark the network’s 50th anniversary this month, it turned to Tarrant, unquestionably one of the most familiar faces and voices in British broadcasting. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is the puzzle magazine to accompany the world’s most popular televised game show, which he presents and which starts its 18th series this Saturday. The company behind the magazine, Seven Publishing Group, realises that Tarrant – or “the man himself” as he is described – has a widespread public appeal that has been a key to Millionaire’s phenomenal success.
So too do ITV bosses.

A new magazine hit the newsstands last week with Chris Tarrant as its cover star, Chris Tarrant as its big interview, Chris Tarrant giving an editorial introduction and more than liberal dose of pictures of Chris Tarrant splattered across its pages. Entire departments of publishing houses are now dedicated to event management.In days of old, a magazine editor’s job ended with putting together a readable product. A couple of years back, it was controversially suggested (and denied by the magazine) that David Furnish had been offered a gong by GQ in order to persuade his partner, Sir Elton John, to turn up.But whatever really goes on behind the scenes, one thing’s for sure: the magazine industry takes its partying seriously. Now they are exotic creatures: part brand manager, part impresario, part friend to the stars For them, the red carpet has become a home from home.. For Hatcher, it provided an economical way for her to “break” the UK market. In the week of her subsidised visit, she also managed to pop up on Jonathan Ross’s TV show.Other star guests can be even more demanding. Some insist on being guaranteed a gong in order to attend; others will show only if a chum is paid to “manage” the guest list.

There is nothing dishonest or unusual in this arrangement, but it does demonstrate how the system can work to the benefit of stars. This made front pages after the actress Teri Hatcher won a prize for being something to do with the TV series Desperate Housewives. The key to its commercial success was persuading Hatcher – who hadn’t appeared on the UK party circuit since achieving stardom – to cross the Atlantic to pick up her trophy.By way of persuasion, Glamour’s publisher, Cond?ast, paid for Hatcher’s flights to the UK, and her tab at one of London’s finest hotels for the best part of a week A car and driver were left at her disposal. This is a standard line: no editor will admit to paying celebrities to attend. Off the record, it emerges that the party circuit is run on a quasi-commercial form of agreements.Take Glamour’s Women of the Year bash earlier this summer.