Everyone’s favourite American Gest

Jun 23 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

Their 18-month union dissolved among his allegations of spousal battery and her claims he tried to poison her.

“We don’t go much into the marriage; everybody seems to know it already,” he says. “They all saw that horrendous kiss that lasted 20 minutes that looked like my tongue was eating every orifice that she had. I didn’t look, I just thought ‘my God, I’m going fishing in there’.”

It wasn’t the way they typically went about showing affection for each other.

“What happened was about four months later we were lying in bed and there was a news thing on, The World’s Greatest Weddings – we weren’t watching it we just turned the channel – and there was us and I was kissing her. I hid under the covers I was so embarrassed.

“I thought ‘that’s the most grotesque kiss I have ever seen’. I have a long tongue and looked like it had gone on for days.

“In the musical, I just explain that it is very hard when you marry somebody who has this disease called alcoholism. It’s very hard to understand unless you are married to an alcoholic.”

But that was a different life. Gone now he says are the black shades, the bling and the army of “people” which characterised his series, This Is David Gest; even the black hair dye has been relinquished.

In their place, he says, are jeans, a plaid shirt and tennis shoes and, er, red hair. He lives in Cambridge and is contentedly pursuing a relationship with someone who is not in showbiz.

“I’m A Celebrity changed my life. I never expected to be this television star and to be the first American to have three prime time series. That was kind of a shock. It was number one the first two weeks, it was number two against football. That’s unheard of on a Sunday night.

“My greatest luxury these days would be this strawberry ice cream cone. You buy it in the regular market. You call it a. . . . Cornetto. It’s almost as good as sex.” Although he speaks to Michael Jackson every week, he likes to surround himself with new talent. His best friend is Matt Willis, of Busted. They go go-karting together.

“I have a past that I worked with all the legends. But you can’t live in the past. I love Estelle and Mariah and Usher. Duffy is a great talent. And Amy Winehouse to me is the greatest singer to come out in the past two decades. I’m sharing the bill with her at the V Festival.”

His stomping ground of choice, he says, is Camden. “I go there at the weekends, and I used to hold court at the Holly Arms, before it burned down,” he explains.

Is he part of the rebellious Camden set?

“I would say so,” he affirms. “I would say so.” Has he met the Wino? “No, I never met her.”

He claims to be currently producing Peter Andre’s new album of duets, Soulful. Peter is another of his “closest buddies”.

He met Peter at a fundraiser held by another pal, Sir Cliff Richard.

“Peter said, ‘I loved you in I’m A Celebrity and my wife and I would like to take you to dinner’,” recalls Gest. “I asked where would they like to go and he said ‘do you like Irish food?’ I said yes and he said ‘Mick Donnell’s’.”

Short pause. “You can find these places everywhere, they have golden arches.” Another pause. “OK, you’re a little slow. You’ve got to catch on.”

Peter Andre is special guest at an eclectic line-up which includes Shalamar, Coolio and Russell Thompkins Jr and the New Stylistics. His dearest wish is that, when he comes to Liverpool, some of the city’s musical talent will join him on stage. No city has moved him more with its music, he says, apart from Detroit, and he visits Merseyside regularly professing an affinity with the people.

“I am hoping on the opening night Gerry Marsden will sing Ferry Across the Mersey with me. I met him once, with Petula Clark, and he was very nice. What better song to sing than (cue a strangled Dick Van Dyke accent) ‘Life goes on, day after day . . . ’ It would be a great moment.”

Great or not, there aren’t many dull ones in this man’s life.

* DAVID GEST . . . My Life! is at Liverpool Philharmonic on October 6. For tickets, call the box office on 0151 709 3789 or visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk

emmapinch@dailypost.co.uk