Interview with Rob Rinder - The Executor

Can you tell us about The Inheritance and your role in it? 
I'm the Executor and legal counsel of a fabulous, deceased woman who is extremely mischievous and has left a vast fortune in a very democratic way to a group of potential lucky beneficiaries from across the nation. These people are from every background, which is delightful because she, in life, was an extremely meritocratic woman, apart from when she was buying expensive things. And she wanted to explore, if possible, how people would behave when confronted by the delicious gift of potentially receiving a huge fortune. So she has laid out exactly how any one of this group of people could get their hands on her inheritance, and I am there, as the Executor of her will, to ensure the Deceased’s instructions are followed implicitly. 

And the Deceased is played by the icon that is Elizabeth Hurley…
The Deceased is played by Elizabeth Hurley, which is both sad but also splendid because The Deceased has left such an indelible legacy. For me, as her Executor, it's been extremely distressing, but she left rather alarming instructions that I wasn't to go in her wardrobe and try anything on. Which, given the rest of the eccentric terms of her will, I thought was rather depressingly precise of her. Although I did try on the safety pin dress and all I can say is… who wore it best?

Can you tell us a little bit about the players and what we can expect? 
They are a rich variety of British life in every respect, age, gender, background and, as ever, when you get a diverse community and you come perhaps with a little bit of subconscious bias about how you think people are going to behave, they always surprise - and they certainly did. 

And what about the challenges you put them through during the game? 
I don't think we put them through challenges. I think we empowered them to experience things that they otherwise wouldn't, and they delighted in all of them. And you know, you can learn from adversity. Fishing out wine from a bottom of a lake, for example, is a teaching opportunity. That's what I like to call it. 

We're in this world of the Deceased, which is obviously opulent and lavish. Do you feel at home here? 
Yes. I mean, let’s be clear, I wasn't born into money, I mean, my voice is complete artifice. I always say I was mugged by Mitford. But, you know, despite coming from a place where people didn't exactly sound like me when I was three years old, I invented this sound of mine, which is ‘party like it's 1899’. I would go to country houses with school, places like Hatfield House and have a history tour but then they'd take me home, which I always thought was completely absurd. So this is the job I was born for. Although I've replaced some of the art around the place.

So how far would you go for a share of an inheritance? 
Depends how much. 

A large inheritance?
I need to know numbers. 

A fair few million.
It’s impossible to say. Do I think everybody has a price? Mostly. How far would I go? I don't know. I think I should remain judiciously silent. 

The Inheritance begins with news of a death. In the event of your death, what would it on your headstone?
Gosh, I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I like Spike Milligan's one – ‘I told you I was ill’. That's funny. It’s actually my grandma's stone setting tomorrow and they have persuaded the Jewish authorities to let her have, ‘She did it her way’. I don't know what I’d have, it would probably be something deeply pretentious in Latin, so that people would have to go away and Google it, so at least they’d learn something.

Have you an ever inherited something dear or important to you? 
Well with the money my grandmother left me, I bought a hot tub and put it on my balcony and it sort of looks a bit like Love Island. But I was left my grandparents' candlesticks, Jewish candlesticks for Friday night, and I love them, they're very special to me. 

And finally, now you’re a BAFTA winner, is that one of your prized possessions that you might bequeath to somebody in the future? 
That's a really good question. I don't know. Who will I leave it to you? I think it's important to leave it to somebody... One of the challenging things about me is that I dislike so few people, but eventually I'm going to think of somebody I really dislike, and I'm going to leave it to them with specific instructions that they must keep it in their house, otherwise they’ll be cursed. The only reason to accept an honour, or an award, is to make people who are envious of you, deeply, deeply troubled. So that's what I think I’d do. And that is very much in keeping with the game of The Inheritance.