After a successful first series in South Africa, Gary Barlow is back, fronting a second season of his Wine Tour in Australia. But filming was completely derailed by a tiger shark.
Gary Barlow is no stranger to adventure but he didn’t expect to encounter a tiger shark while filming for the second series of Gary Barlow’s Wine Tour in Australia.
“Just as we were about to dive in, the guide at the back of the boat said, ‘There’s a tiger shark,’” Gary Barlow says. “I looked and I caught the back end of this shark heading off. It was very big. All the guides thought it was incredibly exciting – but it was terrifying. It definitely had us on our guard.”
The Take That singer, 54, returns to the ITV series one year after a successful first season in South Africa – and the pressure was on. “I thought we couldn’t beat South Africa and I couldn’t have been more wrong,” he says, “I was worried that it was going to feel like we were making the same show again.”
Thankfully, some of his discoveries Down Under exceeded his expectations. “Margaret River [south of Perth] is now one of my favourite wine regions in the world,” he says. “I’m desperate to go back.”
For Gary, the six-part series was a rare chance to combine his two passions – music and wine. Filming for the show coincided with Take That’s This Life tour in Australia, which marked the band’s first return to the country after three decades.
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“It’s probably the only time I’ll ever shoot this series where we’ll be on tour in the country,” Gary says. “It just seemed too much of a lucky thing, a major coincidence that we needed to build on. It just felt absolutely perfect.”
One of Gary’s biggest concerns for the series was whether or not his celebrity guests would make the long-haul trip to Oz. But he didn’t need to worry after all – plenty of familiar faces seized the opportunity.
“I was thinking, well how are we going to get guests for that?” Gary says. “But we had an abundance of people who were up for it. I had many British guests and amazing Australian friends who I’ve been friendly with for years. They all made time in their busy diaries.”
Last year, Gary welcomed the likes of Jane McDonald, Ben Shephard and Michaela Strachan, but he is tight-lipped about who will be joining him this series.
No Wine Tour would be complete without its stand-out bottles and Gary says he found a fair few of them. “There was an island rosé and it was the best rosé I had on the trip,” he says.
“It was super pale. You could have drunk it all day and not felt any effect. It was so easy to drink – a bit too easy.” Gary even has a favourite. “The Pinot at Mornington Peninsula,” he says. “It’s one of those drinks that you deserve to have, where you’re all pleased with yourself for drinking it.”
While he reflects on his time in Australia, Gary’s already thinking of his next Wine Tour . “I’d like to go somewhere where I’ve never tasted the wine, somewhere off the beaten track where we would be surprised to know they make good wine,” he says. “Maybe South America or somewhere in Europe.”
Out of his Take That bandmates, Gary reckons Howard Donald might enjoy appearing in the next series. “Howard is the only one who drinks, although he doesn’t drink much, so I’d probably have to take him,” says Gary. “He definitely likes his food. He loves a glass of red wine and he would quite happily play golf while I sit and try the rest of the vineyard’s wine.”
But before then, Gary has another big event to prepare for – his Songbook Tour, kicking off on 17 April in the Isle of Man. Although more time on the road means less time to spend in the kitchen, he intends to enjoy his Australian discoveries.
“I don’t really have time to cook when I’m on the road, but I do have time to drink,” he says. “I might be packing a few treasures that I brought back with me and I’ll be drinking them. Obviously after the show and not before.”
Despite his busy career, family is never far from his mind. Married to former dancer Dawn Andrews since 2000, and a father-of-three, he admits being away from home can be tough. “I do miss home, I really do,” he says. “I do travel a lot and so over the years I’ve sort of taught myself to not miss home too much to the point where it ruins the trip,” he says.
Gary and his wife have built up a property portfolio, which includes a beach house in Santa Monica, California, a house in Oxfordshire and a west London pad as their main base.
But no matter where he travels to, there’s no place like home. “There’s something about landing in the UK with the green fields,” he says. “When I see that out of the window, it’s like a little magnet that pulls us all back. I have no desire to live anywhere else. I always love getting home.”
Gary Barlow’s Wine Tour: Australia starts 11 April, 2pm, ITV1 and ITVX
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