French telly favourite Fred Sirieix opens up on life, love and ‘rows’ with wife ‘Fruitcake’, his Christmas plans and the intriguing twist in new show First Dates Beach Club
First Dates star Fred Sirieix is on fine form as we catch up on a video call, where he speaks to us from the study of his South East London townhouse. The French accent, the twinkle in his eye and the innate confidence are a heady mixture, and they’ve helped make him a household name here in his adopted country.
The straight-talking Limoges native chats happily about life with the woman he affectionately calls “Fruitcake”. They tied the knot in an idyllic ceremony at the Pattoo Castle in Jamaica in February, and judging by the smile on his face, married life is clearly suiting the 53-year-old.
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“It’s going really well – we’re having a good time,” he says. “There are lots of fun conversations – and lots of silly arguments. They might be about me not wiping the counter properly, or not sweeping the floor – even though I was planning on doing it later. These kinds of things.”
Domestic disputes aside, Fred and Fruitcake work – he’s just not entirely sure why, he laughs. “We are very different,” he explains. “We’re chalk and cheese in our characters and our approach to life. But we enjoy each other’s company – and the stupidity of our own jokes! Oh, and we don’t mind farting in front of each other. That’s important.”
Fred’s now gearing up for Christmas, and his parents are flying over from France to be with him and the family. And his plans sound wonderfully decadent – just how you’d imagine the maître d’ extraordinaire to be spending Christmas Day. “It will be Champagne from 10am with breakfast,” he declares. “But you don’t want to overdo it, you’ve got to last all day.”
As for what he’ll be rustling up in the kitchen, Fred says the jury’s still out. “Perhaps a fish feast on the barbecue,” he says. “Or something more traditional, like a boeuf bourguignon. I’ve done turkey the last three years, so I think I’m going to move away from that.”
But before the festivities, Fred’s new show, First Dates Beach Club, will be here to bring some sunshine to those dreary winter nights.
Explaining the concept, Fred says, “The beauty of it is, it’s totally First Dates but instead of being in a restaurant, it’s in a beach club. It’s the essence of the show that everyone loves, the matchmaking, but there are new twists and turns.”
He adds, “If you realise someone else at the bar is more your type, you can go and speak to them. But then if you go on a date with the person you’re matched with and it’s not quite right, you go back to the guy at the bar. It’s fascinating!”
Bartender Merlin Griffiths is also back, mixing up all the best cocktails, and Fred says his friend is doing well following his health battle (Merlin was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2021, but thankfully was given the all-clear in 2023).
Fred’s been dishing out relationship advice on First Dates since 2013 – and jokes that he wants to beat the late Cilla Black’s 18-year stint with Blind Date. “We’ve got to at least match Cilla!” he jokes. “She was the OG. I wish I’d met her.”
So, what’s the most important thing Fred has learned over the years about love? “I’ve learned that in love, everything and anything goes,” he says. “If it works for you, that’s enough. It’s not trying to create the relationship that you ‘think’ you should have, or that you’ve seen somewhere else. We’re only here for a short time, so you’ve got to do you.”
People come to Fred “all the time” for relationship advice. “These are the very same conversations I was having constantly when I was 16, 17 in catering college, about love, sex, girls, boys… it’s like a continuation of that – it’s part of who I am,” he explains.
Another key part of who Fred is, is a traditional Frenchman – never happier than with some bread and cheese, washed down with a glass of “vin”.
To this end, he’s partnered with French cheese brand Boursin for its Christmas campaign, including reenacting some cheesy romcom scenes – and says it’s a real trip down memory lane. “I’ve been in the UK since 1992 – longer than I’ve been in France,” he reveals.
“To partner up with Boursin is like going full circle. It was, still is, in my parents’ house in France. After every meal, it comes out. It’s such a fun brand, one I grew up with – it’s nostalgic for me. The French are nostalgic anyway, and we all remember that ad in the 70s, ‘Du pain, du vin, du Boursin!’”
The star was in the I’m A Celebrity jungle in 2023 – the third campmate to be eliminated. And Fred is back on the small screen in January, for the second series of Tour De Fred, travelling between Waterford and Cork.
He was so enthralled by playing road bowling in Cork, he now plans to take his 78-year-old dad back there with him next September, to represent France in the next Kings and Queens of the Road. “He’s excited, he’s telling everybody,” Fred says.
So, does Fred have any New Year ’s resolutions himself? “I’m going to carry on! My resolution is always the same. Work hard, work harder – have fun, then have more fun,” he shares. “In my life, I’m quite obsessed with having a good time. What are we here for, otherwise?”
Don’t miss Fred’s cheesy rom-com debut this Christmas on the @boursinuk Instagram account
