DO OR DYE FOR STAN
Stanley Johnson dyes hair orange to go on the run with Georgia Toffolo in C4’s Celebrity Hunted
BLENDING in can’t be easy if you are the Prime Minister’s dad. But it is surely a lot harder if you decide to dye your hair orange.
Stanley Johnson thought it was a splendid idea as he went on the run with Georgia Toffolo on Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted.
8
Chief hunter Ben Owen was bemused as Boris’s author dad unveiled his eyecatching look.
Ben said: “When we asked him why he dyed his hair orange, he said, ‘It was part of an effort to go incognito’.
“Even ignoring how bright it was, it just made him look even more like his son.
“When you’re talking about the Prime Minister, that isn’t the best way to keep a low profile in public. And yet the hunt for Toff and Stanley was probably one of the most drawn-out and difficult we’ve ever had.”
8
The posh pair were among eight celebs taking part for Sunday’s Stand Up To Cancer appeal. And I was lucky enough to get a rare peek inside the Hunted control centre as the show’s operatives tracked them.
Stanley and Made In Chelsea’s Georgia weren’t giving up any of life’s little luxuries when they went on the run.
They had probably both had enough hardship after braving the jungle together on the 2017 series of I’m A Celebrity.
8
Ben said: “On their first couple of days, they spent a lot of time on high-end yachts.
“They didn’t seem to be roughing it whatsoever.
“We were getting pictures of them quaffing champagne and, later, we spotted them when they went off to a spa.”
Now that sounds like my kind of contest.
READ MORE CELEBRITY HUNTED NEWS FROM ANDY HALLS' BIZARRE TV COLUMN
Do we look Zilli?
8
ALDO ZILLI is an intense Italian and Jean-Christophe Novelli is a fiery Frenchman, but they both embraced their feminine side when they wore drag on Celebrity Hunted.
It proved to be the perfect disguise as the two chefs went on the run through Pride celebrations in London, where party-goers had taken to the streets in brightly-coloured costumes.
Hunter Ben said: “If I’m honest they didn’t look great.
8
“But it was quite a shrewd move because there were tens of thousands of people attending, so we could have been just feet away and wouldn’t have known.
“We eventually spotted them because, despite the hats, wigs and dresses, they had made the classic mistake of wearing the same shoes, which is how we often pick out people. But they shook us off.”
I thought the hunters would have stayed hot on their heels.
Must Watch
WHAT? Celebrity Hunted for SU2C, C4, Sunday, 9pm.
WHY? The five-parter, in aid of Stand Up To Cancer, sees a line-up of celebrities try to evade capture for 14 days while a team of experts try to track them down.
Mock-up to lure out Lucy
FORMER Towie regulars Lydia Bright and Lucy Mecklenburgh got a little help from fellow Essex girl Denis Van Outen when they went on the run.
But their celeb connections nearly led to their downfall – because the hunters decided to use Lucy’s famous fiance, ex-Corrie star Ryan Thomas.
8
Ben and his team were going to mock up an image of mum-to-be Lucy with her arm around another man – and photoshop the image so it looked like she had taken off her engagement ring.
He said: “We were going to put this image in front of Ryan and say, ‘They’re having a lovely time on the run’.
“Then hopefully he would have gone mad and done something to reach out to her from his handset to hers – then we could have tracked her.”
In the end they didn’t need to execute their mischievous plan . . . which is a shame.
NOISE IS THE BIG CLUE
THE expert hunters often turn to social media to track down civilians – even though many of them don’t make enough online “noise”.
However, when it comes to famous faces, whooften have millions of followers between them, it’s very hard for them to do anything without creating a digital din.
Ben admitted the scale of the celebs’ social media can cause problems.
He said: “The celebs make so much noise it’s difficult to deal with it all – Stan and Toff made noise every single day, it was ridiculous.
“But I prefer it because it means there’s so much to get your teeth into!”
Age concern puts Offiah in firing line
WHEN MARTIN OFFIAH went on the run the hunters knew just which buttons to push – by poking fun at his age.
The Rugby League legend is one of five of the sport’s greats who have been honoured with a statue outside Wembley Stadium.
8
So the hunters dressed it up in a flat cap, grey beard and walking stick and posted the image on social media – a ploy they knew would needle Martin, 52.
Ben said: “He is really conscious of his age, because he’s not the young gazelle he used to be running around the rugby pitch. It was a good tactic, too, because we got the response we wanted.
“Martin and his Hunted partner, fellow ex-rugby star Gavin Henson, sent us a video clip of them having a moan back to us, but that then locked us on to them.
8
“They thought they were being clever by getting a girl to use her phone to post it to Twitter, but we tracked down her phone.
“We even used the people who liked the post as clues as to where they might be.”
Who thought Twitter could seem so sinister.
MOST READ IN TV
CASHING IN ON FAME
THE celebs have two things most of us don’t when they go on the run . . . cash and connections. And they aren’t afraid to use them.
Ben said: “Their networks are heavily resourced. Money isn’t an issue so they can access planes, helicopters, even boats.
“On one day Jean-Christophe and Aldo got on a private jet to go to Bournemouth – it was probably owned by a high-worth individual who they’d previously cooked for.”
Must have been a slap-up meal.
- GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL [email protected]
Topics