The Challenge contestants secretly hooked up off camera – it felt like hosting Love Island, says Mark Wright
IT’S been 12 years since Mark Wright shot to fame, sinking drinks in Sugar Hut as he juggled love triangles on Towie.
Now he is about to go global, with his biggest presenting role yet on huge international show The Challenge.
A massive hit in the US, the UK version will feature reality talent from shows including Love Island, Strictly and Geordie Shore battling it out in extreme physical tests.
It’s a poignant moment for the star.
He told me: “It was a big deal for me being the host of a show starring 16 reality stars or celebs.
“It’s proof that all the hard work, from hosting children’s shows to moving to America and putting in the ground work, is paying off.”
But Mark says he was still worried how the cast might react on the first day of filming in Argentina last September.
He said: “I was really nervous to walk out and see what their response was, especially when they have all come from the same place I did — reality TV.”
Loved-up Mark quit working on his US TV role three years ago to spend more time with wife Michelle Keegan.
Which perhaps made him the ideal host of The Challenge when the action heated up in the evenings.
He said: “I had to channel my inner match- maker at times, because it became a little Love Island.
“When they weren’t winning challenges, there were a few of the contestants that were trying to win each other over.
“After dark, I genuinely thought I was hosting a different show.
“Some of the contestants forgot the cameras were still running, so a few of them will be left a little red in the face — I ended up being an agony aunt.
“If you put a bunch of really hot people together, especially if they’re single, it’s going to happen.”
The full series of The Challenge UK is available to stream now on Paramount+.
WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE?
A GROUP of famous faces partner up to take on extreme physical tests and aim to be the last pair standing.
It’s a game of strategy and planning just as much as physical strength.
The show is a big hit in the US, with a worldwide “all stars” version in the works.
A TOUGH NEW SIDE TO DANNI
DANNI MENZIES is best known for showing prospective home owners round holiday hot spots in A Place In The Sun – which is exactly why she was keen to join The Challenge.
After she left the Channel 4 property show in February last year she was desperate to show viewers her tough side.
Danni told me: “I think people just see me as this one thing, a presenter that wears pretty dresses in the sunshine and looks around properties and is really nice to everyone.
“I just wanted to show that there is a bit more to me.”
But fresh from filming the show last September, Danni faced her own challenge – when she suffered brutal injuries in a moped hit-and-run accident.
Now she is hoping The Challenge, hosted by Mark Wright, will kick-start her telly comeback.
She said: “I had to have the last few months off after the accident.
“Everything just came to a standstill.
“So I’m really hoping this coming year brings lots for me because now I’m raring to go.
“If Mark ever stops presenting The Challenge I’d quite like his job!”
BELL’ GETS DIRTY
LOVE Island star Arabella Chi says her looks went “completely out the window” on The Challenge.
She laughed: “The thing is, it’s not a fashion show.
“It’s not a glamour show. You’re there to get down and dirty.
“You’re there for the challenges. So I just gave up on looking good.”
It didn’t stop her flirting with James, however.
He explained: “I think that we were all horny!
“When you go into those environments, it’s human instinct.”
JAMES IS A REAL FALL GUY
THE celebrities were thrown in at the deep end on day one – literally.
Their first challenge required them to jump as a pair off a three-storey building into water below and left Towie lad James Lock bruised and bloody, with an injured face.
AJ explained: “James walked out the water and it was like the Loch Ness monster.
“He went in as James and came out as a different monster.
“I said to everybody, that’s a hell of a fall.
“They quickly realised: close your eyes, let go of the partner you’re with, protect your face because hitting that from three storeys high is like hitting concrete.
“James said to me: ‘Why’d I keep my eyes open?’”
James added: “I was in agony. I’d gone into this show, I wasn’t in the best shape . . . I wasn’t prepared enough.”
AJ AND ZARA: NO DRAMA
AJ PRITCHARD and model Zara Zoffany sent shockwaves when they began dating after the show.
Both were in relationships before they flew to Argentina, with AJ with dancer Abbie Quinnen.
Now Zara has explained for the first time how sparks flew: “We’re just seeing how things go.
“I think how it all started is we were friends, we were each other’s support.
“I just thought he was so nice, so kind and we had great conversations.
“Nothing happened while we were in the house. I was in a relationship and he was in a relationship.
“Afterwards we were both like, ‘Oh. . .’
“People can think what they want but I know the truth, we didn’t do anything wrong.
“It’s early stages, but I think we’re just really happy and there’s literally zero drama.”
It sounds dramatic to me.
AIM TO BE A CURT ABOVE
CURTIS PRITCHARD already bagged quite the prize when he somehow won the heart of Irish beauty Maura Higgins on Love Island.
And he’s not stopped trying to win ever since, even testing his thirst for competition on brutal show SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Ahead of his efforts on The Challenge, he told me: “On SAS, I was in for five days, and then I got booted out.
“For me, I had a nice, lovely holiday on SAS and this certainly wasn’t.
“For this one, I was ready to rock and roll and I wanted to win this.
“I didn’t try and join in with any of the drama, I just thought, ‘You know what, I’m going to go there, and I’m going to win’.”
Got to love a positive mental attitude.