Celebrity Best Days Out – Tom Read Wilson

Tom Read Wilson – the nation’s sweetheart, word-wizard and freshly minted I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! campmate – is one of those rare TV personalities who lights up absolutely everything he touches.

If your kids have ever wandered into the room while Celebs Go Dating is on, they’ll know exactly what we mean: the voice, the charm, the twinkly mischief… Tom’s been stealing scenes as the show’s cheeky receptionist since 2016, rising all the way to senior client co-ordinator and unofficial guru of love.

But there’s far more to him than fabulous one-liners, naughty innuendo and impeccable diction. A trained singer and actor from the Royal Academy of Music, Tom has graced musical-theatre stages, popped up on The Voice, and proved his brains as a Celebrity Mastermind champion (specialist subject: My Fair Lady, naturally). You might also have spotted him on Love Island: Aftersun, Britain’s Got More Talent, Countdown, Celebrity Best Home Cook, CelebAbility, or offering sage romantic advice on Roman Kemp’s Capital Breakfast Show.

In short: he’s witty, wonderful, wildly charming – and now braving Bushtucker Trials.
Here’s his Celebrity Best Days Out.

When he’s not on telly, Tom’s quest is to enlighten the public to both the origin and the stories behind every day words. What began as an Instagram mini-series has now led to two book publications: On the Tip of My Tongue for parents and Every Word Tells A Story for kids. Both are available here.

What was your favourite place to visit as a kid in London, and why?

Oh, my – without question, it has to be the Theatre.

I have been absolutely starry-eyed and dazzled by the Theatre since I was knee-high to a grasshopper and I am eternally grateful to my Dad for taking me as a child to see The King and I with Elaine Page at The London Palladium. It was so magical I swooned.

Rodgers and Hammerstein was already coursing through my veins as one of the first roles I ever played was one of the children in South Pacific.

I now try to go at least twice a week, but recently I met a man who goes SIX times a week which puts us all to shame!

Where’s your favourite place to eat with your family?

My Dad grew up in Sri Lanka so all my family are wild about Sri Lankan and Indian food, and tucked away in Chelsea there’s a beautiful tiny Indian restaurant called Kutir. It looks like a little Georgian house, so you’d never guess it was a restaurant.

The chef, Rohit Ghai, became the first Indian Chef to be awarded a Michelin star in under a year so as you’d expect, the food is sensational and arrives very prettily decorated.

Do you have a favourite shop?

Two shops that one never really thinks of (as they aren’t retail therapy type shops) are the Saatchi Gallery and the National Theatre gift shops.

The Saatchi gift shop is full of treasures and so is the little boutique in the National Theatre. In fact the latter has the most wonderful books that you can’t find anywhere else and it’s a great place to know if you’re meeting someone and you wind up being early (which I frequently do).

Where in the UK would you recommend to another family?

My Dad lives in a very pretty pocket of Dorset called the Isle of Purbeck, where the walks are sublime. It has its own microclimate so it always feels quite clement there.

There’s a wonderful cliff top walk that we do called the Golden Bowl. It’s called that because not only does the grass on it look like a big ice cream scoop, but when it captures the sunlight the whole area turns an amazing golden colour.

With the seaside and glorious fresh air it’s a heavenly spot if you like walking. You’ll capture it particularly well if you time your walk to catch the midday sun.

You should also check out other magical places down in Dorset like Durdle Door and Old Harry Rocks.

What’s your single most vivid memory of London?

Ahhh that would be the first time I took Artie, my nephew, to the theatre when he was ten-months-old to see an adaptation of his favourite book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by the late Eric Carle. That was really special.

Artie was a very high-octane baby so I was nervous because I assumed he would never stay still but the moment I carried him in, he looked up at The Gods and said “wow”, which was one of his only few words at the time.

After that, he was absolutely mesmerised and stock still for the whole 45 minutes. Bar sleeping, I’d never know him to be still but he was captivated and has loved the theatre ever since.

I think London is the best city in the world for theatre for children. I’ve seen the most sublime performances in terms of the players, the concepts and design… it’s extraordinary and it’s also a wonderful conduit to The Arts as they get older.

Bus, tube, cycle, walk or taxi?

It’s a tie between walking and cycling for me as I do a lot of both. I don’t really get the tube because I like to be above ground and see London. So, I’d sooner spend time at the front of a bus ingesting all of the views and topography of the city than below the streets and subterranean.

Occasionally I get a taxi if I’m feeling flush.

What is your #Londonlife-hack?

Oh, gosh, I would say….there is ALWAYS an adjacent street!

If you’re getting frustrated and perhaps a little sweary because you can’t walk along a street as fast as you might like, then simply peel off and take the one adjacent. It will invariably run in a parallel line and be empty.

I do it frequently. In fact I don’t think I’ve navigated Oxford Street in years because I always peel off and go along Wimpole Street instead – uninterrupted.