Rylan Clark has described his BBC co-star Rob Rinder as "too much", comparing him to the fictional frontier doctor Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, as the pair continue to draw attention for their contrasting personalities.
The two presenters made television history with their BAFTA-winning travel series Rob and Rylan's Grand Tour, yet off-screen they could hardly be more different in character and interests.
Chalk and cheese on and off screen
Rob, a trained criminal barrister who rose to fame on Judge Rinder after studying politics and modern history, has cultivated a refined persona over the years. He serves as president of the Orion Orchestra and holds a keen interest in literature.
Rylan, by contrast, is more laid-back. Comedian Alan Carr highlighted the divide, saying the duo are like "chalk and cheese", though he also suggested they are "not really" different in other ways. Rylan was quick to push back, insisting they genuinely are.
Alan Carr on dining with Rob
Speaking on a recent edition of his Life's a Beach podcast, Alan shared his own experience of Rob: "The thing is with Rob Rinder, I love Rob, and I've gone for dinner with him. Yeah, he swings from the most delicious gossip ever, and then he'll start quoting the periodic table. And I'm like, 'Are you having a laugh, love? Have a day off'."
Rylan replied: "It's too much. Yeah, he'll be like, 'You'll never guess who's sleeping with who? But Lord Byron once said..'." Alan added it was like "going for dinner with two people."
The BBC Radio 2 presenter continued: "Honestly, and he rattles, as well, the bloke. He's like a pharmacy. If you've got anything wrong with you...him and Lesley Joseph are the same person."
He added: "He will be Lesley Joseph; that's who he's going to turn into. You sound...'I've got a bit of a cold'. Boom, the bag comes undone. It's like Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman."
Rob's invented accent
In 2025, Rob admitted he had invented his accent, telling the Mail that he grew up "around the corner" from Amy Winehouse in Southgate, and that his accent was "invented at the age of five."
Rob, who was born in Westminster and is reportedly friends with Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch, described his voice as "artifice" and "complete fiction."
He told the Good Company podcast that his dad was a taxi driver and that he had been brought up hearing the Cockney accent, citing examples like: "Alright, boy. Alright, foxy."
"That's how I grew up, and then at the age of three — no offence to them, although it sounds like a deliberate one — I sort of felt that I'd spiritually, intellectually, and culturally outgrown them and had enough."
He also recounted being "surrounded by people he felt he had nothing in common with", joking that he wasn't "sure" he was related. Rob added that it was a "pity" that the Jeremy Kyle Show wasn't a thing back then, explaining that he'd have been able to have a DNA test and "looked really disappointed at four" once he learned that he was indeed related.
