Bradley Walsh on The Larkins at Christmas and the real inspiration behind Breaking Dad

Virgin Radio

20 Dec 2021, 11:21

The TV star joined The Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose to discuss being a frequent fixture on the telly listings this Christmas, and who inspired his much-loved show Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad. 

Bradley can be spotted all over festive TV this year, with not one, not two but three different shows on across the channels on the big day. He’ll be back as Pop Larkin in ITV’s The Larkins at Christmas on the 25th, and told Graham it was no easy feat to take on a role in the new adaptation of The Darling Buds Of May. 

When Graham asked if he was potentially scared of playing Pop, Bradley said: “I am [scared] in a way because I haven't done that type of acting since I did a little bit with Doctor Who and the Law and Order days. I thought to myself, 'can I do this?' But then I thought 'come on, let's just have a go'. 

“I was thrilled when they asked me to do it, I really was, and it was great fun doing it. I did have a slight bit of hesitancy doing it, not because of the original show - because people forget that it was 30 years ago and no one remembers it. It's a new younger audience.”

Filming on a set designed to look like 1950s rural Kent had its challenges according to Bradley, who revealed it was the farm animals who caused quite a stir.

He added: “I stayed overnight on the farm where we filmed, because I couldn't be bothered to go home. They said ‘oh we put snow out today’, and I walked out there and it was just covered...with snow and I thought ‘this is fantastic’. It looked beautiful, it really did.

“I decided to stay over again. Two cows escaped from the farm and trampled across the snow. They had to redo it as it turned to sludge, it looked like the whole place had been covered in nutella, extraordinary really.”

If you’re in the mood for some more Bradley, you can also check out the Blankety Blank Christmas special on December 25th. The star-studded episode will feature celebrity guests  Angela Rippon, Richard E Grant and Mel B to name a few. 

When asked what he enjoyed most about the iconic series, Bradley replied: “I love comedians and I love people making me laugh, I'm a very good audience. We had Jimmy Carr on the series and I find him hysterical, and one show we had Josh Widdicombe and Rob Beckett on with Tamzin Outhwaite and the three of those, it was just hysterical. The casting people get us the contestants and oh my goodness they're so funny, it's a real laugh out loud show.”

If that’s not enough, Bradley can also be found on Christmas Eve hanging out with son Barney in their high-octane series Breaking Dad. In a special one-off trip, Bradley and Barney jet off to Iceland where they’ll traverse volcanoes, glaciers and breath-taking landscapes. 

It turns out the challenging series all came about due to another familiar face - fellow ITV presenter Phillip Schofield, who sparked the idea after showing Bradley a surprising video of his mum living her most daring life. 

Bradley confirmed: “We were at a party and Phillip showed me, he said ‘Brad look at this’. It was a woman, an elderly woman, windwalking on a by-plane and I said ‘that's fascinating Phillip’. He said 'well that is fascinating, that's my mum.' And she was 80, I said ‘no you're joking’, and he said ‘no that's my mum windwalking’. 

“So then Dan Baldwin, who's married to Holly Willoughby, said ‘Brad would you do stuff like that?’ I went ‘absolutely not, no way’ and then he said to Barney, ‘could you get your dad to do that?’. He went, ‘I think I could.’ That's how the whole thing started.” 

Now Bradley and his son have tackled life in an RV around the US, Bradley said he’s glad he still gets time to host The Chase, which he’s been front and centre of since it started in 2009. 

While that’s a long time for any series to run, Bradley admitted it’s the thrill of the chase (literally) that keeps him going. 

He said: “I actually love playing the game and I don't think ITV have found me out yet. It's like they invite me in and pay me to play a parlour game.

“I love playing the game, and people think this is a bit of a cliche, but I love meeting the public, I just love them. The people we get on, I love having a laugh and chatting to them about what they're about and the things they do. I'm quite interested and I love all that.”

You can catch Bradley on Bradley Walsh and Son: Breaking Dad Christmas special on Christmas Eve at 9pm on ITV.

Then he’ll be hosting the Blankety Blank Christmas Special 2021 on Christmas Day at 7:25pm on BBC One. 

After that, The Larkins Christmas special will air on Christmas Day at 9pm over on ITV1.

Listen to The Graham Norton Radio Show every Saturday AND Sunday from 9:30 am on Virgin Radio or catch up on-demand here.