Tarrant bikes the hands that feed him

Delegates at the recent Television Matters conference were surprised to find themselves being entertained by a virtual Chris Tarrant.

The Capital Radio DJ and host of the conference couldn’t make the beginning of the conference, so Max Headroom-style video segments were created to fill in for him while he made his way to the venue.

On arrival, Tarrant told delegates that he had to be rushed to the event on the back of a motorbike, in order to get there as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for him, it was a Virgin motorbike service.

The idea of Tarrant riding around London on a bike emblazoned with the logo of his station’s arch rival makes the Diary chuckle. Good on Tarrant for telling the story.

He then went on to make some playful digs at ITV marketing and commercial director Jim Hytner. Let’s just hope Hytner saw the funny side. Or, more pertinently, that Hytner has no say in the scheduling of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

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