Jonathan Ross welcomes more celebrity chat

Best on the Box choice for Saturday, April 19th…

On The Jonathan Ross Show this week, Jonathan is joined by former England cricket captain Freddie Flintoff, The White Lotus star Jason Isaacs, comedian and actor Rebel Wilson, renowned actor David Oyelowo and Bafta-winner Sophie Willan. Plus, music by Wet Leg.

Jason Isaacs speaks about filming The White Lotus in Thailand and discusses the uniqueness of all living together while filming saying: “We were there for seven months. The cast, crew, admin all in these gigantic beautiful resorts. All there breakfast, lunch and supper. You’d normally have an apartment or a house. We got to know each other very well. The people in my family, my screen kids, I fell madly in love with.”

He adds: “You do see people all the time. Some people didn’t leave the hotel, some didn’t leave their room… There were some weird people. Never appeared socially. What happened in Thailand stays in Thailand.” Not sharing who he was talking about Jason says: “It might not be a member of the cast.”

Discussing the creator, Jason says: “Mike White is a phenomenal human being. No one credits him being the amazing director he is. You’re free to improvise and go off piste. He laughs, shouts out the most insane things for you to try. We all fold in like an improv troupe. A lot of it ends up in the show.” He adds: “It’s very intense. The experience of living in Thailand. My character is miserable, suicidal, gets his entire personality removed.”

Opening up for the first time on TV, Freddie Flintoff discusses his recent accident while filming and getting back into cricket: “I finished playing at 31 retired, started doing TV stuff, past two or three years had an accident, found myself back around cricket, which I’m loving. So I’m coaching the England Lions, which is the team underneath the England side.

“I think, with everything that’s happened over the past few years, that’s the one place I feel most comfortable. Cricket is embracing me again and my mates and everything. The TV was good. But I feel like I’m back home being involved in cricket.”

Rebel Wilson talks about being newly married: “My sister has a side hustle as a wedding celebrant. The show wedding was in Italy and then we got legally married in Australia. My sister, she had a busy week, she married me and then she married my mum the next day. We didn’t pay her, she’s really upset about that.”

David Oyelowo reveals his mum never understood that when he was acting it wasn’t real: “I did a play called A Taste of Honey… In the play, at one point – and I’d just got married in real life to my wife – my parents came and sat in the front row, dressed head to toe in Nigerian regalia and at one point I have to kiss the girl. I’m kissing her and I hear, ‘Put her down! Put her down!’ 

Sophie Willan chats to Jonathan about winning two Baftas for comedy series Alma’s Not Normal saying: “We were filming the series. The first Bafta was for the pilot. I wasn’t expecting it.” 

The Jonathan Ross Show, ITV1 and STV, tonight at 10.20 pm. Also stream on STV Player and ITVX