Tess Daly’s horror at Vernon Kay’s back tattoo: ‘She didn’t know I was getting it done’

2022-10-18

Vernon Kay shocked fans earlier this month when he revealed he had a large tattoo of a man’s face on his back. And even though he later admitted it was a prank, it seems even wife Tess Daly didn’t know about it beforehand.

In an exclusive interview, the TV presenter and I’m A Celebrity finalist talked about how the back tattoo came about – and why he didn’t tell his wife.

Vernon told OK!: "I went on the Eli Manning Show – he’s a big sports celebrity in the States who’s won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.

"They wanted me to go on the show to explain what American Football is perceived as over here in the UK, and I thought, ‘well, I’m not going to go on there and just do a boring chat.’”

He continued: “So I told the producer, ‘Listen, I have something to show you’ and he wangled it [the tattoo] into the questions that Eli was asking, about a bet that I allegedly had with a friend.

"That the loser would have the winning quarterback’s face tattooed on their back.”

Vernon revealed his back tattoo – of Eli Manning himself – during Manning’s YouTube show, but didn’t let on that the tattoo is actually only a semi-permanent one.

He added: “No one knew because I didn’t want anyone to convince me not to do it, so I didn’t tell anyone.”

Even Tess and their two daughters, Phoebe and Amber, didn’t know what he was up to until after the show was on YouTube.

Vernon said: “I showed Tess the video first [of me on the show] and then I showed her the actual tattoo and she said it was very funny.”

The tattoo is a semi-permanent one from a company called Tattooed Now that specialises in tattoo transfers used in the film and television industry. They have been used in movies and TV series including Peaky Blinders, Game Of Thrones, The Matrix Resurrections and Marvel movie Black Widow, and are designed to last.

He explained: “If an actor is in character and they’re recording for three to six months, they want something that’s not going to fade or wear down, because they don’t want to keep putting the transfer on.

“So I’ve got it for three months. It’s been on a week now, and it’s not even flinched. And I’ve obviously showered on a regular basis. It’s not even moved, it’s not getting flaky or anything like that.”

He’s even roped in Strictly host Tess to help him remove it.

He said: "She’s actually tried scrubbing it off. But it’s not for flinching. So I think tonight, funnily enough, we’re going to try make up remover and a scrubbing mitt.”

“They also suggested olive oil, but I haven’t got time to lie on the sofa basting myself!”

Vernon, who has filled in on This Morning for Phil and Holly when they are off on their holidays (“I love it so much”), can next be seen making his theatre debut in pantomime Cinderella in High Wycombe this December.

Vernon said: “It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. First of all, really excited. Then I went watching the casting process, which made me really apprehensive. And then I got the script and I’m really anxious. Now I’ve learned a little bit of the script, I’ve got the butterflies…”

Vernon Kay will make his stage and pantomime debut in Cinderella at The Wycombe Swan, High Wycombe from 9th – 31st December 2022

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