Celebrity Big Brother star Darren Day insists he’s put his love-rat days behind him and says he’s ‘soppy’ at heart
HI, Darren! Does your wife, actress Stephanie Dooley, 40, mind that you’re on a date with us?
Not at all! I adore my wife and I’m really romantic. We have date nights a couple of times a month.
They’re important as a lot of the time we’re Mummy and Daddy [to Madison, 10, and Dalton, five, as well as Stephanie’s son Jordan, 18, and 12-year-old Corey, by Darren’s ex Suzanne Shaw,], so we need time to reconnect on a grown-up level.
Do you have any special plans for Valentine’s Day?
I’ve booked our favourite restaurant for dinner.
But I can’t really top last year. It was Steph’s 40th birthday and she’s always wanted to go to Paris, so I booked a surprise trip.
She was so happy, she cried!
We visited Notre Dame, went to a show at the Moulin Rouge and took a trip up the Eiffel Tower.
I have a dreadful fear of heights, but I wanted to get to the top for Steph. My legs were like jelly!
Aww! Is that the most romantic thing you’ve done?
I am a bit soppy.
Our first dance was to Elton John’s Your Song. For our anniversary, I changed the lyrics to make them personal, and recorded it for her.
Don’t tell Elton!
You used to be a notorious womaniser, earning the title Britain’s Number One Love Rat seven years running from 1999 to 2006. Do you regret your wild past?
When I look back, I don’t recognise that guy.
It’s like he’s my badly behaved younger brother.
How has your life changed since then?
So much of life is about timing.
Steph came along at the right time and saved me.
I wasn’t doing a good job of everything, but I knew right away she was The One.
She showed me a life that, for a long time, I didn’t think I’d have.
I watched As Good As It Gets with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt the other day. Helen’s character asks Jack’s to pay her a compliment and he says: “You make me want to be a better man.”
Steph does that for me.
You are soppy! Do your kids think you’re a cool dad?
Cool-ish. Celebrity Big Brother last year helped a lot.
With all reality shows, it’s a roll of the dice, and they can backfire, but it went incredibly well for me.
The change in the public’s perception towards me has been overwhelming and life-changing.
Things like that mean a lot to me.
Related Stories
Are you in touch with any of your CBB housemates?
I am. Stephanie Davis sent me some lovely photos of her new baby last month.
Chris Maloney and Gemma Collins came to see me in a theatre show.
I speak to Danniella Westbrook and Scotty T now and again, too.
I sang Bring Him Home from Les Misérables at David Gest’s memorial and, if he was still with us, I’d see him on a regular basis.
I know you’re only in a house for a TV show, but it’s a tough few weeks and strong friendships are forged.
How do you relax in your spare time?
A takeaway and a film.
Steph and I love horror movies, so when the kids go to bed we’ll put one on.
Would you like more kids?
If Steph falls pregnant, there’ll be trouble, because I had the snip three years ago!
Wow, too much information… What’s next for you?
I’ve just landed quite a big telly role I can’t talk about yet, but I’m really content at the moment.
I’m not sure I’ve had that before.
And I have sobriety – that’s a huge deal in my life [Darren has been sober for a decade after attending rehab].
I’m grateful for every little thing that happens to me professionally and personally.
When you get another bite at the cherry, you really appreciate it.
I know where the pitfalls are this time!
Darren stars in Grease, which begins its nationwide tour on March 10 (Greasethemusical.co.uk).
BTW
Darren also appeared in the first series of I’m A Celeb! back in 2002, coming sixth.
He’s a disaster in the kitchen, and once spent eight hours trying to cook Steph a roast.
He’s dated a string of famous women, including actresses Anna Friel and Isla Fisher (who is now married to Sacha Baron Cohen).