INTERVIEW: Scarlett Moffatt says the secret to finding love was just being herself

With her infectious laugh, witty one-liners and down-to-earth nature, it’s no wonder Scarlett Moffatt was an instant hit with Gogglebox fans around the country.

However, despite making a smooth transition from her sofa to the media limelight in the seven years since she joined the Channel 4 smash-hit reality show, the 30-year-old still looks back at her success and wonders how she got so lucky.

“Sometimes I forget people know my face and I think that’s a good thing,” explained the warm and funny former supermarket cashier from County Durham, who arguably became the nation’s sweetheart after winning I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2016.

“I always say to my mam that I’m like Hannah Montana – I’ve got the best of both worlds. I go to London and I’m all, you know, jazz hands, studio floor Scarlett. And then I come back up north and I’m just constantly in wellies walking my dog.”

She continued: “Whenever I’m asked what I plan to do in years to come, I say I just want to carry on doing what I’m doing. Every day, I wake up and I’m so excited and happy. Much to the annoyance of a lot of my friends, I am happy about 95% of the time. So, I just want to continue doing that.

“Plus, it’s so nice to be able to do a job that makes people smile. I know that sounds super-corny, but it’s true. Having done Gogglebox, people feel like they know my family and will come up to me in the street and be like, ‘Eh how’s your mam and dad?’”

Scarlett Moffatt with fellow couch potatoes, mum Betty and dad Mark, on Gogglebox

In a year that’s been largely devoid of smiles and happiness, Scarlett hopes her latest presenting project will lift some of the doom and gloom of lockdown, as she brings the nation together to root for the unlucky in love.

In each episode of her ITV2 cookery dating show, Love Bites, three suitors will attempt to impress a fellow single foodie by preparing a three-course meal using the same box of ingredients. It’s the type of show, Scarlett says, that families can watch to while away the cold winter nights. She said: “As a family, some of my most joyous memories of being a kid are sitting together watching shows like I’m A Celebrity or Come Dine With Me.

“It’s a bit of escapism. I love shows where you can root for someone, too. Sometimes when I’m watching Bake Off, I care more about some of the contestants than members of my own family. I get that involved!

“I think that’s how people will be with Love Bites. One of my favourite characters was a guy who is an Elvis impersonator. He has just been so unlucky in love, and I think everyone who watches his episode will want him to win the date.”

Filming for the show took place with social distancing measures in place but Scarlett says the cast and crew still managed to share a laugh.

She explained: “I feel privileged to be given a 30-episode show during this crazy time. It’s a new show so nothing felt strange about the filming – the fact that everything and everyone had to be two metres apart didn’t feel odd.

“We were all far enough away to be safe but close enough to have banter. It felt really nice and homely.”

Between taking a chance on love by appearing on Celebrity First Dates and hosting the 2017 revival of dating show Streetmate, Scarlett is a bit of a veteran when it comes to dating on the television. So, did she share any words of advice with the contestants?

“I’ve been telling people to just be themselves,” explained Scarlett, who has been in a relationship with boyfriend Scott Dobinson since early 2019.

“Throughout my dating history – especially when I was younger – I tried to not let my crazy side show straight away. I would try to randomly start robot dancing so they know I do that sometimes or start belting out West End musical songs after a few months.

“Whereas with Scott, my mam and dad said, ‘Scarlett, just be yourself from the offset’. So, on the way back from our first date, while he was driving, I put Magic at the Musicals on full blast and just started singing.”

She added with a characteristic laugh: “I mean, he’s stuck around so…”

As well as providing an hour of much-needed comfort-viewing, Scarlett hopes the show might encourage more people to get back on the dating scene.

She said: “Every single person who came on, even if they didn’t get picked for the date, said they were going to be more confident speaking to people face to face. For a lot of people, the only way they were getting dates was through social media or dating apps. Some of them, especially the younger ones, had never known anything else. So, if they left feeling a bit more confident in themselves, that’s definitely a win.

“I just hope that people watch the show and think, ‘Right, if these people can have the confidence to literally make pasta from scratch, whilst flirting with someone and trying to get picked on a date, the next time I see someone I like in Asda, I’m going over.’”

Having turned 30 in October, Scarlett says confidence is something she, too, has gained a lot more of recently, and growing older has helped her deal with the uglier side of fame.

Rather than getting upset about tabloid headlines or nasty comments from strangers on social media, she focuses on how she can help. She explained: “When I started Googlebox, I was always worried about people not liking me. Now, I’m too busy loving the people that love me and what I do to worry about the people that don’t.

“Often when I get trolled, I send people the number to the Samaritans, and I’ll ask if they are OK. I’ve never personally been in a situation where I’ve felt the need to project negativity on to someone, so I wonder how they are actually feeling deep inside themselves to do that.

“I don’t really get myself upset, I just feel a bit sad for people. I try to let people know that this is not the way to get a reaction out of someone or to feel like you’re included, which I think is the big thing with trolls – they feel like they are a part of something. But it’s much better to be a part of being happy and friendly than being part of negativity.

“It did definitely get to me, but honestly, now – I don’t know whether it’s come with age or experience – I’m just not bothered.

“My mum always said to me, ‘Your 30s are your best years because you just care less and you’re more comfortable in yourself’ – and I really do feel different.”

Love Bites, Monday, 6pm, ITV2

If it’s cold, get me out of there!

Just like other TV shows, including Strictly, the format for I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! has been adapted due to the coronavirus.

Rather than jetting off to the jungle in Australia, the celebrity contestants are testing their limits – and thermal undies – while staying in the ruins of a 200-year-old castle in North Wales.

Having been crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2016, Scarlett knows which camp she would prefer.

She said: “Would I prefer to be in Wales than the Australian outback? Absolutely not. When I was on I’m A Celebrity, the only saving grace was when it was sunny me and Joel (Dommett, fellow campmate and comedian) would go sunbathe on a rock and chat for hours on end. You can’t be doing that in Wales!

“But Ant and Dec are still there, the trials are still there, and I think the fact that it’s in Wales does make it more exciting if anything.

“Normally, when the show is in Australia, people try to smuggle in salt and pepper.

“This year, I think everyone probably wore six pairs of socks to sneak them in.”

Scarlett added with a laugh: “Maybe you don’t even need the trials. I would rather eat a kangaroo testicle than sleep in the freezing cold – I know exactly what that tastes like and… it’s not nice.”