Courtesy of Zurina Bryant PhotographyThe 31-year-old Brit — the host of popular Cash Cab Asia game show on AXN — glued audiences to their TV screens with his warm personality, good looks and spontaneous sense of humor
Courtesy of Zurina Bryant Photography
The 31-year-old Brit — the host of popular Cash Cab Asia game show on AXN — glued audiences to their TV screens with his warm personality, good looks and spontaneous sense of humor.
Oli, as he is fondly called, once confessed that he’s just ethnically British while deep down, he feels more Asian — his three-year-old son Ewan was born in Singapore, he was in Hong Kong, his father in India, his grandfather in Iran and his great-grandfather in Russia.
His strong Asian roots are probably the reason he can easily connect with audiences in some 20 countries where his shows, including Sony Style — going strong in its fifth season — Epad and Lonely Planet: Six Degrees, are up and running.
And the man, who first entered the industry at the Hong Kong fashion scene, found his latest cab adventure exciting.
“Cash Cab Asia is a great show to shoot. The unpredictability of it all is quite exciting for me. From one moment to the next I have no idea who is getting in the cab, where we’re going, what they’ll say — it keeps me on my toes!
We actually shot the whole season last year. I essentially worked as a cabbie full-time for a month. When you combine that with all the questions, competitors, driving, hosting and scoring, it can be quite mentally exhausting.
The first season was shot all in Singapore — but we’re already talking about doing some specials next year around the region.
For me, a Sunday changes as you get older and have kids. Sundays used to be the kind of day where you don’t even bother changing out of your PJs and just lounge around. Sundays are different for us now
Sunday is known as “family day”. It’s me, my wife Linda, and the kids. We’ll go out, hit the parks, go for lunch, go skating. Anything, really. Sunday is the day where we all just go out and “play”.
Last week my buddy and his family came with us. We took the train out to Sentosa Resort Island in Singapore, went to the butterfly park, had a big lunch, took the cable car and more. By the time we got home, the kids were ready to sleep! Which, as all parents know, is the goal.
My favorite place to be on Sunday is on my sofa — drinking wine with my wife once the kids are asleep.
But every couple of Sundays, though, I have to ask for a “Hall Pass” for Family Day where I can go to the pub for 2 hours and watch the F1 Grand Prix. I’m a huge F1 fan and it’s the only sport I actually watch! So it’s only like 15 times a year — my wife is cool with it. Just so long as she doesn’t have to watch it, she’s fine!
The one thing that I don’t want to do on a Sunday? Work!”
— As told to Stevie Emilia
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