CelebAbility

Iain Stirling interview

CelebAbility is back for a seventh series. Here's an interview with host Iain Stirling...

What can we expect from this series?

This series we can expect more fun, silly games with your favourite celebrities. In terms of moments that stick out for me, Will Best accidentally went on a date with Nicole Scherzinger, that was a good one.

Katherine Ryan is really funny in this series, watching her get up to all sorts of nonsense is fun and watching Rickie Haywood-Williams firing toothpaste at members of the audience was brilliant. There's just lots of fun, silly stuff, it's a really good series this year.

What's your favourite aspect of the show?

I love the celebrities that let their guard down, aren't too serious and just let themselves go when they come onto the show, I think that is my favourite aspect. Like when you watch members of the public be daft on TikTok, it's sort of like that but with people you know off the telly.

It's just funny watching celebrities in scenarios you probably wouldn't find them; in silly outfits, playing silly games.

I also like how chaotic the show can be, we are always running off script and things descend into mayhem but that is the fun of the show. When things go wrong we just roll with it and it usually ends up making a funny moment in the show, that's what I like about it.

Who was your favourite guest in this series and why?

Very good question. Luke Kempner, the impressionist is really great, because he does loads of his best impressions, that was really fun to see.

Pete Wicks was a team captain this year, that was really fun. He begrudgingly took part as a team captain, putting in as little effort as possible in a very charming and Pete Wicks way. It was lovely seeing Scarlett again as well, she couldn't captain the whole series this year, but just seeing her there, pregnant and still as witty and funny as ever was brilliant.

What do you think of the celebrities 'skills' that are tested in this series?

Some of the celebrity skills are pretty ropey, to be fair. But then part of the enjoyment of it is watching them step out of their comfort zone to take part in the show and get involved in the fun games. A lot of the skills leave a lot to be desired but that's sort of the charm of the show really.

What is the most mind-blowing skill you have seen a celebrity do on the show?

Luke Kempner's impressions are really, really great. Katherine Ryan says she has the gift of the gab and she's one of the best comedians in the country, and to be fair to her, she proved she has the gift of the gab when she came on as a guest team captain.

Were there any standout contestants that impressed you in the challenges of this series?

There was a team called the Somali Takeover who were a bunch of lasses and they were so committed to winning the prizes, I really respected them.

There were also these Irish lads, they were quite big on TikTok, and they were so lovely and down to earth. They were delighted to be part of the show and really bought into it.

All the contestants this year have been brilliant really. It's quite nice because everyone taking part in this series have been really great people, so it's lovely being able to give a free holiday and a couple of grand away.

What do you do to bond with Scarlett and Marek?

I gave Scarlett lots of baby advice - that's my go-to thing. I'm one of those annoying parents who's a big fan of baby chat. On the flip side, to bond with Marek, we talk about anything other than babies.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I can do a good Scottish accent and have a weird lean towards voiceover work.

If you could get celebrities to compete in one challenge, what would it be?

I would want to take on Martin Compston and Judy Murray in a Scottish-off to find out who is the most Scottish.

There have been brilliant guest captains in this series, what special skills did each bring to the show? and which one surprised you the most?

The guest captains were all really fun and it was really nice seeing Will Best again. I've known Will for years, and now he's doing Big Brother so it was nice having him back. He has a lovely charm and way about him and that's why I think he'll be so great on Big Brother this year.

Will is great with people and people fall in love with him, partly because he's a charming man and he's also not awful to look at, which does him a lot of favours as well.

Is there anyone you would love to have on the show that hasn't already been on?

I'd love to get some sports people on the show. I'd like to see the Scotland captain and Liverpool player Andy Robertson join us, I think he'd be really good value. I'd love RuPaul to come on, I think they'd be great. If I got Andy Robertson and RuPaul, I'd be pretty delighted with that.

Any of the Selling Sunset girls, actually. Amanza Smith definitely - just to see what she wore more than anything else. She's the best dressed in Selling Sunset by quite some way.

Are there any Love Islanders you're keen to get on the show and why?

Oh gosh, yes I would love to have some Love Islanders on the show. I've had quite a few that I've really liked. Obviously, Tommy Fury, get him on please thank you very much. You know those boxing machines you get on holiday in Magaluf? I'd want to do one of them against him and see if I could get anywhere near his score. Maybe if I got to run at it and he only had to do a jab or maybe if I got to drive at it with a car and he just had to punch it, I could be close.

Josh Denzel would be really fun; he seems like a man of many talents. He does a lot of stuff for Soccer Aid and football stuff, so I see him a lot at events. So, I'd like to see Josh on CelebAbility.

If you could sum up CelebAbility as a song, what would it be?

Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal.

There's some exclusive bonus CelebAbility content this year?

We do have so much exclusive CelebAbility content this year. We're young and relevant and online. We've got the TikToks, we've got the Instagrams. All series are available on ITVX. If you've got an internet connection, you can get all the CelebAbility you need and more."

Anything else to add?

This series is the best one yet. It's the 7th series, we all know what we are doing. It's a silly, fun gameshow, you don't need to have seen the previous ones, just jump in. Fun little thing to watch after Love Island to wind down after all of the drama and just see some celebrities in some silly situations doing really fun stuff. I'm really proud of it.