Paul C Brunson - Celebs Go Dating 2025
Category: Press Pack ArticleYou’ve been involved in the show for a long time now. What keeps you coming back to the agency?
This is a great question, and no one has actually asked me this, so I appreciate this. There are a few things. One is that this entire team, for the most part, we have been working with each other for many years. So the team behind the camera, if you will, is family. You know, it's like, “Oh, my gosh, how's your son?” You know, so that's one. Secondly is Anna, Tara and Tom. I've been working with Tom for the longest, obviously, almost seven years. So they are great friends of mine off camera. And then long story short is I do enjoy interacting with the celebs. I've reached a point now where I am no longer trying to make friends, so I enjoy interacting with people where I have no emotional attachment to them.
Do you find it easier now you have a better understanding of British celebrities because you’ve been here so long?
Yeah, I was clueless before! But now if I’m not familiar with them personally, I’ll certainly know about their shows or I know of them from what is in the press. With this series, for example, Kerry’s been at the agency before, but people like Christine, I had heard about, you know, Sam Prince. I know about Made In Chelsea, Liv, I know about Love Island, the same with Louis and his show. So I'm more familiar. And that has now helped me, and most importantly is I can understand everyone. I’ve worked out all the different dialects of slang. I can almost even guess where people are from. So it's cool.
This show has a reputation for being positive towards the celebrities, is that important to you?
Yes. My through line with everything I do is authenticity. So what's great is the production crew, you know, the producers here know I'm going to speak from my heart. I think we've really created a strong amount of authenticity around the agency and we have celebrities like Kerry, and the big reason why she's here is for those agency check ins. It’s almost like therapy. I mean, how beautiful is that? But it's also not just for the celebrities. People watching at home might take things from what we say because, let's face it, it's a universal issue. Love and relationships, isn’t it? Everybody can understand something, whether it's betrayal or whatever. The audience lives vicariously through the celebrities and also their dates. You know, I feel like the dates have had an elevated role this year, which I love.
In what way?
I feel like they're more empowered, you know, so, for example, in Ibiza the celebrities are going to decide who they choose to date when they go back. So they've now started the journey, and some of them have been with the same person for two weeks, going on to three weeks. That's never happened before at the agency. Hopefully, it will lead to stronger connections or at least more introspection. So this series they’re thrown into the deep end right out the gate.
What are the mistakes that singles are making time after time?
Every year, you get the same thing. And you see it with this group as well. So you see the leading people on, disrespectful behaviour. This whole sense of not having self worth is massive, saving face is massive and you see it all the time. And I think the celebrities feel as if they have a special set of problems because they're celebrities, they really don't. They have the same problems as everyone else, but they believe that they do.
But maybe the difference is their lives are public?
Quite frankly, and this is true, after being here for seven years, most of them, no, I don't think so. Now, is it more likely for their issue to hit the press? Yeah, it's more likely, but they have the same problems as everyone else.
You and Anna are so close, is it nice to be back working with her?
It’s the best. I mean, you know, it's like I never leave because she's always with me. She comes to the Sutton football matches, we're family.
What does Doctor Tara bring to the show?
She slotted right in. When she came initially, I was thinking, we're good, Anna and I are good. And Tom, what do we need? You know? But what's interesting is that Tara has brought a different perspective. There's a larger openness. And her value sets are different than, say, Anna and myself. I think Anna and I have more traditional values, you know, more of what would be considered old school values, whereas Tara has a different set. And so because we have respect for her, we're open to her perspective. Actually, the only difference would be with regard to our sexual openness. She's in a non monogamous relationship, whereas Anna and myself are in monogamous relationships. So that's the primary difference. I think she actually calls it monogamish. It's interesting, you think about all these terms. I think we kind of lock ourselves into boxes because of the terms. It's more helpful if we throw away the terms and just get to know the individual.
Has she taught you anything?
Oh, yeah. Tara has taught me to not be so uptight! I think I'm typically, like 90% of the time, focused in series, you know. My down gear is not, “let me get five bottles of whatever.” My down gear is just like, “alright, let me have a sparkling water instead.” I think what she's helped me do in some of these moments, is just to have a more of a down gear. I think through the first series, I was on all the time, all the time. But I think now it's more like, let's just enjoy the fact that we're here like we're in freaking Ibiza and this is the first time we've been here.
What about Anna?
I've learned that I've never met anyone who farts as much and as openly. It's fascinating. So this is one. Secondly is I have not met anyone who goes to the toilet as much as Anna. I've never seen this before. I normally go once or twice a day. I think she goes seven, eight times a day. She could win the Olympics on bodily functions, you know. But no, she’s completely brilliant at what she does. She makes people feel safe and unjudged, which is such a special and rare talent. Anna and I have a brother, sister relationship. We tease each other all the time. We've got each other's backs 200%. I have absolute trust in her and of her.