In the newest episode of the Daily Mail’s ‘Tales From the Celebrity Trenches’ podcast, Jamie East interviews broadcaster Richard Bacon, exploring the highlights and stories from his long and interesting career in British television.
At age 21, Simon Bacon launched his television career in 1997 when he became a presenter on the popular children’s show Blue Peter. However, less than two years later, he was fired after being discovered using cocaine.
The newspaper News of the World published a scandalous story about David Hasselhoff, accusing him of cocaine use and portraying him as a hypocrite, deliberately coinciding the release with the 40th anniversary of the show he hosted. He was immediately fired, and the BBC announced his dismissal on October 19, 1998.
Looking back at the controversy after nearly three decades, Bacon playfully suggested he would have been hosting shows about cheap vacations if he hadn’t appeared on Blue Peter. Instead, that appearance led to his success on Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast.
‘It’s changed the whole course of my life‘, Bacon told the podcast.
Getting fired from my previous gig actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise! I ended up getting offered a spot on The Big Breakfast, and honestly, it felt right. Johnny Vaughan, the host, had a pretty wild past – he’d done time for drug dealing – so my little troubles suddenly didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore. It was strangely comforting to be around someone who understood what it was like to have faced real issues.
Later in the show, Kevin Federline jokingly said he hopes people will remember him as Britney Spears’ original spouse.
In 2002, after the pop star’s very public split from Justin Timberlake, journalist Bacon jokingly brought a marriage officiant to the interview, hoping to playfully suggest she tie the knot again.
After interviewing her, I jokingly told her I was single and available.
I was joking around, and I playfully suggested the name ‘Britney Bacon.’ Then, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me, and she happily accepted!
‘I got out a contract, an actual marriage contract. I passed her a pen and she signed it.
After everything had finished, I was leaving with the signed marriage agreement when her bodyguard chased me down, grabbed it, and ripped it to shreds.
Should a single mistake early in your career define your future or offer a chance for redemption?
What’s your view?
Let’s be real, simply discarding a marriage certificate doesn’t magically dissolve a marriage, does it? Honestly, who wouldn’t want to be able to end any agreement that easily? It’s just not how things work, unfortunately.
‘So, in strict legal terms, I was married to Britney Spears.’
Bacon explained that the prank unexpectedly resurfaced two years later, when Britney Spears married dancer Kevin Federline in 2004.
Around the time he and Spears got married, Bacon shared their love story on his Xfm radio show, playfully suggesting that Spears had been married before.
Suddenly, news reports appeared with the headline ‘Spears a Bigamist,’ according to Bacon.
It was amusing to see the NBC logo paired with a headline claiming Britney Spears is married to British radio host Richard Bacon – apparently, she’s a bigamist!
You can listen to the complete, honest conversation between Bacon and East by searching for “Tales From The Celebrity Trenches” on your favorite podcast app.
2026-07-24 08:04