Rylan forced to increase security while secretly filming Hot Mess Summer

Watch Rylan reveals he had 'security everywhere' to keep him hidden ahead of filming

Rylan says he had "security everywhere" he went when he was filming his new reality series Hot Mess Summer in Greece last year. The star told Yahoo: "It was very cloak and dagger. I felt like I was on The Traitors!"

In this new Reality Recall interview, the 35-year-old presenter took us behind the scenes of his showbiz career which spans more than a decade - including his reality and unscripted TV stints to his presenting jobs. We go as far back as Rylan's rise to fame on The X Factor in 2012, where he learned to navigate fame overnight, to "digging up the graves" with his early TV appearance on modelling series Signed by Katie Price in 2010.

Right now he is back on our screens for This Morning presenting stints and Hot Mess Summer, plus he's about to start filming new reality series Naked Dating UK very soon. The Celebrity Big Brother winner gave away his secret to why his jobs are "always waiting" for him if and when he takes a break from the limelight.

When it comes to surviving showbiz, Rylan admitted his biggest worry with his TV job as well as the brutally honest reason why he won't return to This Morning full time.

Hot Mess Summer

In his latest project Hot Mess Summer, Rylan is the host of the show, but his involvement on the show right up until filming was top secret. The reality series starts with a twist as eight partygoers find out instead of partying they have signed up to work in Zante. To stop the secret getting out, Rylan revealed he had no choice but to have increased security "everywhere" while in Greece.

"You're on location. You're in sort of a party capital of 12-year-olds. So I had to have security everywhere I went," he told Yahoo. "Not in a weird way but where we filmed, we were quite close to the main strip in Zante. Everyone's British and I'm 20ft tall as you can see. So, it's hard to hide Rylan on an island and even amongst the Greek community.

"My security guard was lovely, his name was Adonis, and I had Stathis and Spiros. And they all said that the chat on the island is there is a man here who is famous and likes men. So yeah, I was known on the island."

Keeping the secret was really tough for Rylan who we know and love for being unfiltered. In his cheeky humorous way, he compared the secrecy to the deception and backstabbing on gripping BBC reality series The Traitors.

"It was really, really hard," he said. "Because I also got there three days before the show starts for rehearsals and stuff like that. So I had to be hidden because obviously the contestants were on the island. But if they knew I was there, they'd then be like, 'What?' Because they didn't know I was part of the show. So, yeah, it was very cloak and dagger. I felt like I was on The Traitors!"

Rylan on TV damage control

Once filming had begun and the secret was out, Rylan had to stop the reality stars who initially thought they were shooting Party Summer from quitting the show. "We had a few walkouts, a few storm offs and then it was right, damage control," the TV host admitted.

He further explained: "And obviously I had to go chasing after people, sit them down, talk to them and say, 'Look, you don't want to do this. You don't have to but there is money on the line.' So, yeah, Mr keep the peace for now. That was the most challenging." His experience of Big Brother has stood him in good stead. in dealing with tricky situations in front of the camera. "Babe, I worked on Big Brother for years, we've talked housemates down a lot," he added.

Rylan went mad at Hot Mess Summer stars

Then Rylan confessed he also lost it with the contestants when he went into villa for the first time after they had been living in it for a few days. He admitted: "Going into their lair was eye opening because I'm quite a clean freak. And obviously I got them this gorgeous villa and when I walked into it after they've been living in it for three or four days, I wanted to slap them all.

"I went mad. I went - 'Get that clothes off the floor.' The floor was a wardrobe and what makes it even funnier is that they're wearing uniform. So, I'm like, 'You don't even need this, pack it away.' That was the most daring thing. I didn't know what I was gonna get." Luckily the contestants took note and listened to Rylan.

Rylan's biggest worry with TV job

Despite being unfiltered on TV, the host laid bare his biggest concerns with his work is the editing. He shared: "My biggest worry when it comes down to work is edits because I'm a live presenter." Rylan has hosted many live shows from his first presenting gig on Big Brother's Bit on the Side to The Xtra Factor, This Morning and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two to name a few.

He explained: "I know when I'm on air live, I'm in control. I say what I want. If I make a joke, I know I can say it in the way I intend it to where in as they could cut at the wrong point and all of a sudden you cancelled."

However, Rylan had heaps of praise for the TV crew at Hot Mess Summer. He said: "So I always worry but no, the team on Hot Mess has just been amazing and we're working with the best in the business. So I'm very, very happy. The whole Prime team have been amazing. So, it's been lovely."

Rylan's secret to surviving showbiz

With more than a decade in the entertainment world, Rylan is confident he knows why he's so successful. It's the exact same reason why his TV jobs were waiting for him after he took some time off from the spotlight.

"Just be nice to people," he said. "I made no secret of the fact I got ill a few years back and had to have a few months off. And, when I come back, all my jobs are waiting for me and that's because I always treated everyone the same. I don't care if you're my runner, the head of a channel. I always treat everyone the same."

From reality TV to presenting shows, Rylan has always been unapologetically himself and unfiltered in front of the camera. He said: "People just see through it, I think we all do. We all can watch people on TV and go, 'You're not like that in real life.' Like you're putting on an act, whether it's a good act or a bad act." In jest, he added: "But for me, I'm too lazy to try and be anyone else, to be honest."

Rylan has 'no regrets' about Signed by Katie Price

One of his first brushes with fame was on modelling series Signed by Katie Price where he was a finalist. Looking back at his time on the show, Rylan joked about "digging up the graves". The presenter did on a serious note share that he had no regrets when it came to his decisions because it has led him to where he is now.

"Wow we are digging up the graves here guys! What’s going on?" He joked before adding: "I mean, I look back and I someone said to me the other day, I was doing an interview and they said, have you got any regrets? And I said, I don't want to be that person that says, no, I've got no regrets, but I am that person.

"I've got no regrets because even the mistakes that have been made along the way and even the hard real life, hard times that have happened, they've all happened for a reason. It's made me all right now. So no regrets. Do you know what if anyone else thinks that I should have regrets? Bore off!"

Rylan on fame

Rocketing to fame overnight on The X Factor in 2012, Rylan said he had no time to prepare or cope and that he just had to adapt quickly. He reflected: "I don’t really remember it because it was overnight. I had no time to cope - you're in. So I remember my audition went out as I was boarding the flight to judges houses and my phone literally blew up. It was like it broke, it was crazy. And then from that moment on, I don't really remember life before."

Fame changed life as the presenter knew it forever. With a big grin, Rylan joked: "Well I’m rich now! That’s quite nice…" Jokes aside, he elaborated: "It’s changed my life in many ways. Obviously I love my job. I get to do shows like this where I go to amazing places, meet an amazing crew, great contestants, make a great show."

Hot Mess Summer has a special place in Rylan's heart too because it's not a job that he's inherited from another celebrity. He said: "I've seen the whole series and watched it all back and everything and it's just so nice to be able to go: We made that like we were part of that and especially where it's a first as well. I've been very lucky with some of the jobs that I've done, but a lot of them have been inherited. Shows like Big Brother and Supermarket Sweep, people have done it before me. So something like this, it's nice to have my little stamp on it and fingers crossed people like it."

Celebrity Big Brother

Winning Celebrity Big Brother was another huge milestone in Rylan's career in 2013. Being filmed 24/7 didn't phase Rylan at all. "It felt very normal which is very odd," he said. "I'm like the biggest fan of Big Brother. So to go in that house to me was like a dream."

It was personal for him too as he first crossed paths with his now-ex husband Dan Neal in the Big Brother house. "I married and divorced a housemate for a start," he said of how Celebrity Big Brother changed his life. "It was the best apprenticeship of my life because I wasn't a presenter and then they trusted me with a Bit On The Side and I learned to present on live TV, which was the best training ground dive in head first. I was really, really grateful and I'll be forever grateful for that experience. I loved it."

Rylan rules out returning to This Morning full-time

Now days Rylan's presenting career continues to flourish and viewers have been delighted to see him back on This Morning, especially alongside Emma Willis. But he has no plans to permanently return to This Morning because he loves to sleep in.

He explained: "I worked at This Morning for what, six years and then I left and I got used to sleeping in and now it's so nice to be able to just pop in for a week, see everyone, have a lovely time, give away some money and then go home and at the end of the day if I do anything wrong, ain't my show don’t care!"

Close friends with many of the stars of This Morning, Rylan hasn't got a favourite who he would like to see on the sofa permanently. "This Morning it's gone for a change over last year," he said. "I love everyone that's there. I hate to be Mr Diplomat... But I've been really lucky, I've hosted This Morning with pretty much everyone: Phil [Schofield], Holly [Willoughby], Ruth, Eamonn, Geri Halliwell. I think I presented a show with Lorraine. I get about on that show. I’ve had everyone!"

Kind-hearted Rylan gushed over his This Morning co-star Josie Gibson's success too after her appearance on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here. He said: "I'm thrilled for Josie because for years I remember even when Ruth [Langsford] and Eamonn [Holmes] were there, we all loved Josie and Eamonn and Ruth were very vocal in getting Josie to do more while they were there and I'm thrilled she's having a moment now because I think she's great and it's been lovely working with her."

Rylan thought he had to be nude for Naked Dating UK

Now Hot Mess Summer has wrapped, Rylan's attention will turn to hosting new dating show Naked Dating UK as he begins filming soon. He said: "I'm about to film it very, very shortly. But I've watched the German version and, 'Wow, Germany know how to make a show.'

"For the first five minutes you are like willy, willy, boobs and then 10 minutes later you're like, 'I can't believe he's talking to her' and then you just forget that people are naked. But yeah, there's just something interesting about it."

As the presenter, Rylan joked he thought he might have to be nude himself. He said playfully: "I've done zero preparation. At one point, I thought I had to be naked. I'm just glad I'm be clothed - and so should the country be!" But Rylan did have one cheeky idea, he admitted: "The line I'm gonna go in with I think is, 'Wow, you all look excited to see me.'"

We can't wait to see how Rylan gets on.

Hot Mess Summer launches Wednesday 7 February on Prime Video in the UK & Ireland

Read more:

• What we know about Rylan's wild new reality show Hot Mess Summer

• This Morning viewers react to Emma Willis and Rylan reuniting as hosts

• Rylan's rise from X Factor fame to primetime TV as star announces next move

This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/rylan-bodyguards-security-hot-mess-summer-093600912.html