Hugo Taylor Interview

Not many people can say that they’ve had Hugo Taylor in their bedroom, but I am happy to say that I am one of those rare females who’s had the chance to entertain the elegant and charming male protagonist of Made In Chelsea within her boudoir.

Over the phone. Sigh.

But still: we talked, we laughed, we shared stories. It was almost like a first date, except he has a girlfriend (sorry, girls). Here’s what SW3’s leading man had to say for himself…

MINNIE ATHENA: I recently asked 20 hot-blooded females what they thought of you, and seventeen of them said “I would”. What do you think of this result?

HUGO: (surprised) What did they say?

MINNIE ATHENA: “Would”.

HUGO: That’s…a lovely compliment. It’s nice to feel wanted.

MINNIE ATHENA: It gets better. One of them said that you were like coffee, in that you were “rich, warm, and would hopefully keep me up all night”.

HUGO: (laughs) Lovely.

MINNIE ATHENA: How would you describe yourself?

HUGO: Oh, I don’t know…complicated? Yeah, complicated, ambitious, and loving…stuff like that.

MINNIE ATHENA: Jamie [Hugo’s Made In Chelsea co-star] was asked in an interview to compare you all to biscuits, and he said that you were definitely shortbread.

HUGO: It’s best not to take anything that Jamie says too seriously. I’m definitely not shortbread

MINNIE ATHENA: Ok, well what are you then?

HUGO: (pause) An oreo.

MINNIE ATHENA: An oreo?

HUGO: Yeah, because there are just so many ways to be eaten…

MINNIE ATHENA: Oo er. (regains her composure) Does Jamie give you all McVitie’s biscuits for your birthdays?

HUGO: No, he’s never done that. He’s a good friend, but he’s not that generous. He gives us all birthday hugs instead.

MINNIE ATHENA: I personally wouldn’t complain.

HUGO: It was actually his birthday recently; we had a week’s worth of celebrations.

MINNIE ATHENA: A week!

HUGO: Yeah a week, we– wait a minute, or was it someone else’s birthday? I don’t know. I forget. Anyway, we went to Disneyland.

MINNIE ATHENA: What do you think of his Kandy Kitten idea?

HUGO: We actually had lunch recently and were discussing the idea. It’s definitely got legs, but Jamie doesn’t have a very clear concept of what’s needed. But I know that it’ll be successful.

MINNIE ATHENA: Spencer mentioned at the end of Series One that you didn’t actually get on when you first met each other. What happened there exactly?

HUGO: It was a clash of personalities, really. We’re both quite similar, but we thought that we were better than the other person.

MINNIE ATHENA: But in the end you both respected each other’s character, as it were?

HUGO: No, not at all. I have no respect for him (laughs).

MINNIE ATHENA: You very sensibly declined to go to Marrakech with them all in Series Two, due to work reasons. What is it that you do exactly?

HUGO: Well I own a restaurant, for a start. I’m the PR manager for the entertainment group Bourne Capital.

MINNIE ATHENA: Very nice! Did you always plan to do this?

HUGO: I used to do publicity for Chinawhite, but I decided that I wanted to get out of nightclubs and go into restaurants…I’ve always wanted to be a restaurateur, so you could say that I was living the dream.

MINNIE ATHENA: Not many people can say that.

HUGO: No, I’m very lucky.

MINNIE ATHENA: And you went to Harrow; what did you think of the whole boarding school experience?

HUGO: I hated it, I really did. But I’m glad that I went.

MINNIE ATHENA: You think it did you some good?

HUGO: Definitely. It was character building. It puts you in a very testing situation, where you’re playing by someone else’s rules for five years of your life, and you deal with it. It sets you up for life.

MINNIE ATHENA: And you earned the nickname ‘Fagin’ there…

HUGO: My best friend gave it to me in the first week of school. Apparently I have long fingers, just like Fagin. Perfect for picking pockets.

MINNIE ATHENA: And I believe that you used to have a shaved head?

HUGO: I’ve had at least ten different hairstyles. Shaved, cornrows, blonde…

MINNIE ATHENA: Blonde!

HUGO: And green…

MINNIE ATHENA: Wow. So when you’re not working or doing stuff to your hair, what do you get up to?

HUGO: Chilling out, just like everyone else. I can be professionally lazy when I want to be.

MINNIE ATHENA: Do you go to the cinema?

HUGO: I am a massive film buff; I’m probably more into film than anyone else. I recently saw Tintin, and I’ve got the Breaking Dawn premiere next week.

MINNIE ATHENA: Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

HUGO: Whichever one supports the wolf.

MINNIE ATHENA: Werewolf. That’ll be Jacob. So you’d rather be a werewolf than a vampire?

HUGO: Definitely.

MINNIE ATHENA: Do you sometimes get the urge to strip off and go for a run in the woods?

HUGO: It’s slightly difficult to do in London…

MINNIE ATHENA: Have you ever been out of London?

HUGO: I do go to the countryside, I like it there. I go abroad a lot aswell.

MINNIE ATHENA: How about south-east London? That’s where I’m from.

HUGO: What’s in south-east London?

MINNIE ATHENA: Me.

HUGO: No, I mean what areas?

MINNIE ATHENA: Bexley, Peckham...

HUGO: (pause) Yeah, I think I’ve been there.

MINNIE ATHENA: (surprised) Why?

HUGO: I’m going to be honest, I was probably just driving through.

MINNIE ATHENA: Have you ever been to Essex?

HUGO: No.

MINNIE ATHENA: Do you watch TOWIE?

HUGO: You know, I actually started watching it a couple of weeks ago, I had a few afternoons off…I met Lauren Pope recently on a night out, she’s a rockstar, she’s really cool.

MINNIE ATHENA: Do you watch Sex and The City?

HUGO: ‘s.

MINNIE ATHENA: What was that?

HUGO: Yes.

MINNIE ATHENA: Which girls would you say you, Spencer, Jamie and Proudlock are?

HUGO: Spencer is Samantha, for obvious reasons…I suppose Jamie is Carrie. Proudlock is the ginger one.

MINNIE ATHENA: Miranda.

HUGO: Yeah, her. And I suppose that leaves me with Charlotte. She’s my favourite.

MINNIE ATHENA: And which Harry Potter character would you say you were?

HUGO: I actually auditioned a few times for Viktor Krum.

MINNIE ATHENA: Seriously?

HUGO: Yeah...

MINNIE ATHENA: I had no idea…which character would you like to be?

HUGO: Dumbledore, for sure. He’s got a fantastic beard. And he’s so wise…

MINNIE ATHENA:…and gay.

HUGO: Gay?

MINNIE ATHENA: Yep.

HUGO: No he’s not.

MINNIE ATHENA: Yes he is. It’s official. J.K. Rowling released a statement.

HUGO: Why would you release a statement saying that?

MINNIE ATHENA: Apparently a lot of questions were being asked.

HUGO: Right. Well. I’d still like to be a gay Dumbledore.

MINNIE ATHENA: Were you slightly disappointed when you didn’t get a letter inviting you to study at Hogwarts?

HUGO: I was devastated.

MINNIE ATHENA: What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you.

HUGO: Oh my God…I was in Venezuela when I was five, and my parents decided to abandon me with these real-life Nazis whilst they went off on some excursion…they were insane, they had doves that they’d painted. I can’t believe my parents just left me with them. They made me paint pigeons.

MINNIE ATHENA: Ok, I was not expecting that answer.

HUGO: Well you did ask.

MINNIE ATHENA: What’s been your most embarrassing moment?

HUGO: Argh, there are so many, they all involve falling: down stairs, off podiums…

MINNIE ATHENA: Yikes. Did you have a childhood bedtime pal?

HUGO: No, I didn’t have anything. I didn’t really see the point in a teddy bear…

MINNIE ATHENA: Do you have a bedtime pal now?

HUGO: Yes (laughs). Although that’s off-the-record…