Judge Rinder reveals his biggest fear and wanting to snog Taron Egerton on a plane

ROBERT Rinder, 41, is daytime TV’s most famous judge and also starred on Strictly Come Dancing in 2016.

Here he talks about life, love, his habits, and what he'd do if he could go back in time.

What is your greatest fear?

Coming to the end of my life unfulfilled. Or dying in a banal way. For years I lived and worked in the Caribbean, but I never learned to scuba dive because I thought: “Can you imagine the snickering in the crematorium if I died of the bends?”

Which word do you overuse?

I’m saying ostensibly a lot recently. And curate.

What is your worst habit?

I don’t have any ugly bad habits. I could never commit to drink or drugs and I don’t really pick my nose.

What does being in love feel like?

Madness. Love interferes with every facet of your emotional chemistry. It has the capacity to improve everything. It makes you feel like everything will be fine.

Who would you invite to a dinner party?

I met Emma Thompson not long ago and I had to prepare the discussion beforehand because my friend said it was likely it’d look like I should be sectioned.

So I’d love her, [Russian novelist] Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, [late writer] Christopher Hitchens and Joan Rivers. That would be quite a party!

Leave or Remain?

I don’t do politics, but neither do I delight in sitting on the fence. If you take the court seriously, don’t talk about politics.

What is your earliest memory?

I am genuinely confident I have memories of being born. I can certainly remember being in my cot and thinking: “What can I do to get my mum to come in here?” and “Why has she decorated this room so appallingly?”

What possession would you rescue from a burning building?

I have some lovely art and lots of books, but it would have to be my lucky hairbrush. I’m not superstitious, but I’ve had it for about 20 years. I’ve travelled around the world with it.

Who was your first kiss?

I think it was Nikki Glazer when I was 11 – she had braces. And the good news is we’ve been great friends since we were seven. We meet twice a year.

Which celeb would you love to snog?

Taron Egerton. I was on a plane with him but had no idea who he was and he fell asleep in a slightly compromising way. He is the most beautiful human I have ever seen close up.

If you could travel back in time, where would you go?

I wouldn’t mind being in the court of Louis XIV as long as I had a grand position. And it would be fun to hang around with the Bloomsbury Set in the ’20s.

Clean or messy?

Not just clean – fiercely clean. The most important person in my life is Petia, my cleaner. I auditioned 12 and I settled on her. To me the smell of bleach is Chanel No.5.

What’s top of your bucket list?

I think it’s dangerous to have a bucket list because you over-romanticise grand things, which is a sure-fire way to disappoint. But I’d like to meet Howard Stern and read War And Peace in Russian.

What is your biggest regret?
There are far too many to articulate!

• Watch The Rob Rinder Verdict, Friday, 10pm, Channel 4.

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