Gethin Jones says 'what are you doing' after car crash involving comedian in LA
Welsh presenter Gethin Jones has spoken about the unlikely friendship he formed with comedian Matt Lucas while the two lived in the US. The BBC Morning Live host was talking on the Restless Natives podcast with Line of Duty actor Martin Compston and broadcaster Gordon Smart when he revealed that he befriended the Little Britain comedian while they both lived in California, and even tried to help him learn to drive.
While on the podcast, the Cardiff-born presenter spoke about his career and his personal life, including the time he was kicked off the dating app, Hinge, following complaints by women who believed he was catfishing. The broadcasting star also shared that he lived in Santa Monica in California for three years, which he described it as a "heck of a life".
While out there, he said he also became friends with Matt Lucas and agreed to help him learn how to drive in the US, before it turned into a disaster. He said: "You have the strangest experiences in LA... I ended up being sort of friends with Matt Lucas, who was out there at the time, he lived with Rebel Wilson and he was mates with Stephen Merchant.
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"We went to dinner once, we used to hang out a little bit. And [Matt] said to me, 'Geth, will you teach me how to drive in America?'. And I said, 'Yes, sure'. So I had this sort of BMW hire car, so picked him up. He literally got in and went straight into the back of the car behind mine.
"I was like, 'What are you doing? It's a rental car, it's automatic'. And he said, 'No, I can't drive'. And I said, 'Yes, but you can't drive in America'. And he went, 'No, no, I've never driven." He continued: "I had this massive bill come in, and I thought to myself, it might make a good story on a podcast one day. But at the time, it wasn't great."
When later discussing his time in the USA, he said it was a "tough time" and came after he split up with his fiancée at the time. In 2011, Gethin was engaged to Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins after the couple met on Strictly Come Dancing while he was a contestant on the dancing competition six years prior. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
On the podcast, the presenter also explained that finding a job following his stint on the BBC's children programme, Blue Peter, which he joined in 2005 and presented for three years, was "difficult". But he said that he was "really bloody proud" of his time on the popular TV show.
Gethin said: "I was so glad to have had that experience. But I had split up with my fiance at the time. I had been grafting really, it was a tough time. My friend had gone to Australia, I thought that was a bit far, so I decided to go halfway. I had a friend who had a house there, so I sort of rented that place for a while and didn't really have the ambition to work out there, I had a few things going on, had a few businesses and work that kept me going for a while."
He continued: "I went out there to enjoy California, I didn't really go out there needing a job because it's not a great place for that, is it Martin?" Martin agreed and described it as "cut throat". Gethin then said: "So I was glad to experience California and then grafted when I needed to and that would be my place to sort of figure out what I'm trying to do still. I'm still working on that bit."
