Chris Tarrant says housing Ukrainian refugees has 'enhanced his life'

‘They’ve even tidied my fishing shed!’ Chris Tarrant admits housing a family of Ukrainian refugees has ‘enhanced his life’ and reveals he’s paying for a flat for them

Chris Tarrant has revealed that housing Ukrainian refugees has ‘enhanced his life,’ after taking in a family of three at the beginning of the war.

Speaking on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host, 76, shared that he is in the process of getting a flat for the family to live in, which he is paying for.

Chris, who had revealed earlier this year that he and his partner Jane Bird were hosting the refugee family, also lauded them for being keen to help with the housework, and have tidied his fishing shed which has ‘never been tidy.’

Candid: Chris Tarrant has revealed that housing Ukrainian refugees has ‘enhanced his life,’ after taking in a family of three at the beginning of the war

Chris told GMB hosts Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley: ‘I’ve got three [Ukrainian refugees] who live in my house.

‘They’ve been with us since the beginning of the war. There’s a mum, a daughter and a little baby.

‘They’ve been with us now [for] eight months, I’m getting them a flat soon that I’m paying for or whatever, because I really want them to be closer to the city centre.’

Chris added: ‘They have enhanced my life these people. The baby… I mean I know I’ve had my own kids but this baby is so sweet.

Insight: The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host and his partner Jane Bird (pictured in 2021) have welcomed a mother, her daughter and a baby into her Berkshire home 

Kind: Speaking on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain, Chris also shared that he is in the process of getting a flat for the family to live in, which he is paying for

‘She was seven months, now if she had stayed she’d be on the front of a tank or something!’

‘I mean the idea of what happened and how they got away is just extraordinary. They want to do things and help out, they tied my fishing shed which has never been tidy.’

Chris was best-known as the host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for 16 years, before Jeremy Clarkson took over in 2018.

But despite his history with the series, Chris added that he is yet to watch the rebooted version.

Sweet: He said: ‘They’ve been with us now [for] eight months, I’m getting them a flat soon that I’m paying for or whatever, because I really want them to be closer to the city centre’

Proud: ‘The idea of what happened and how they got away is just extraordinary. They want to do things and help out, they tied my fishing shed which has never been tidy,’ Chris added

He continued: ‘Do you know I haven’t, I don’t know why. I did 700 shows and I only watched two of them, so why would I watch Jeremy’s [version]?’

‘I don’t watch game shows. I watch Netflix, Sky Sports, dramas, that’s it really. That’s about 24 hours.’

Back in May, Chris reflected on living with a Ukrainian refugee family after he welcomed them into his Berkshire home amid the country’s war with Russia.

The TV personality described the family – a Ukrainian woman, her elderly mother and ten-month-old baby – as ‘so sweet’ as he gushed that he ‘loves’ them. The woman’s husband has remained in the country to fight Russian forces.

War: Back in May, Chris reflected on living with a Ukrainian refugee family after he welcomed them into his Berkshire home amid the country’s war with Russia

Chris and his partner Jane Bird were inspired to act after seeing television footage of the atrocities in Ukraine. 

He has described his unexpected joy at seeing the young girl living a ‘normal’ life under his roof as he admitted that he never liked his own children – Toby, 30, Jennifer, Sammy and Helen – when they were babies.

Speaking on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, he explained: ‘I’m obsessed with this kid. I never particularly liked my own children as babies. I didn’t, I like when they’re about two and they toddle and… Toby [Tarrant, Radio X presenter] at that age was revolting. No change. 

‘But this little girl and you look at her and you go, God, I mean, she’s just running around my place, enjoying it, playing with toys, just having a normal life.

‘And you think what could have happened if she’d stayed behind? With this sick, evil monster running the thing? Just unbelievable.’

Family life: Chris is pictured with his ex-wife Ingrid and their family on holiday in 2004 pictured (Toby, 30, Jennifer, Sammy and Helen)

Chris said they are all adjusting well to living together and said the elderly woman, who doesn’t know English’, says ‘safe’ to him as she has escaped the war-torn country.

He said: ‘I love them. I tell you what, it’s a mum, she speaks no English at all. She just keeps putting the thumbs up to me and going ‘safe’. Just because she’s safe.

‘No, she’s just so sweet. And the mum, the mum of the little girl, she’s about 30 and she speaks good-ish English, and the little girl just gurgles in Ukrainian, I think, but she’s 10 months old, she’s just about to walk.’

The former Who Wants To Be A Millionaire presenter said he believes that a lot of Britons want to welcome Ukrainian refugees into their homes but are unable to do so due to the ‘red tape’ as he described it as a ‘shambles’.

‘I love them’: The TV personality described the family – a Ukrainian woman, her elderly mother and ten-month-old baby – as ‘so sweet’

He has previously criticised the government’s Homes For Ukraine scheme as ‘civil service bureaucratic c**p’ due to ‘red tape’ facing those fleeing war.

He previously told the Sun: ‘People are desperate to get into this country and they can’t get through all that red tape.

‘When you consider all the people who do get into this country, you think, ‘For God’s sake, the Ukrainians — of all people — we should be giving priority to’.’

Chris said the situation in Ukraine made him feel ‘helpless’, but after a friend asked if he would like to help he said he decided to get involved in the scheme.

He said he managed to avoid the red tape facing many Brits, allowing the family to move in after the woman’s husband sorted their paperwork to get them through Poland and into the UK.

When he first contacted the family Chris said they were sleeping on airport floors in Poland having escaped from the ‘hellhole’ in Ukraine. 

But he now helps the ‘lovely’ family – who speak very little English – with shopping and other odd jobs. 

Chris, who filmed in Ukraine two years ago for his Channel 5 programme Extreme Railways, described the Ukrainian people as ‘gentle, nice people’.

‘There’s no question — Putin is worse than Hitler’, he added. ‘He’s just a sick, evil man. What he’s doing is beyond belief. It is genocide, it is war crimes.

‘The human spirit is still very strong. You never really thought the Ukrainians would be as tough as they are, but they are so strong and so courageous.’

Difficulties: The presenter said he believes that a lot of Britons want to welcome Ukrainian refugees into their homes but are unable to do so due to the ‘red tape’

Source: Read Full Article