First Dates' Fred Sirieix: 'I've been matchmaking people since I was four years old'
First Dates' Fred Sirieix has been getting people into relationships since he was little.
Fred Sirieix has played cupid since he was "four".
The TV personality sparked relationships at school, and he went on to join a "matchmaking team" when at the Lycee Hotelier de Souillac catering college in Souillac, France.
Fred recalled in the new issue of Heat magazine: "I've been matchmaking people since I was four years old.
"I used to do it at school, then it kind of accelerated when I was 16, when I enrolled in catering college. I was part of this little matchmaking team there - I was like the ringleader."
The 54-year-old star thinks it is "so funny" that his passion for igniting love has come full circle as maitre d'hotel of the First Dates restaurant - where Fred still acts like a schoolboy with 51-year-old bartender Merlin Griffiths.
Fred explained: "Merlin and I, we are the same age, and we are just two old blokes. We come from the same school of training in hospitality. We get on very well from that perspective.
"Also, we like to talk about stuff behind the scenes. We like to ask, 'Is this going to work? Are they going to kiss?'
"We are really like schoolboys."
First Dates first aired in June 2013, and the Channel 4 show still serves up excitement for Fred.
He said: "I don't think I can say it's more exciting, but I'm just as excited as ever.
"We are creating an experience for people. What we want is that in 10, 25, 20 years' time, they're going to remember that as one of the best experiences of their life.
"People come to us with a lot of hope, and we need to deliver both on the matchmaking side, as well as the experience in the restaurant."
Asked why First Dates remains popular, Fred replied: "People like it - it gives them hope. They can relate to it. People get to learn about each other, and they learn about themselves.
"But I think the main thing is that the show has a good heart. That's the reason why I wanted to do it in the first place.
"I don't want to do a show where we're going to laugh at them behind their back - we're very kind with everybody, and that's very important."
