When this good south Walian doctor (of evolutionary science) isn’t on your TV, anchoring Rhys Jones’ Wildlife Patrol, he’s in Cardiff University, helping to mould the next generation of animal experts. He had been writing his autobiography, but with that set to be published this month, how does Rhys Jones spend his leisure time?
What’s the most recent film you’ve watched that made you cry?
Easy – Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny. My great friend John Rhys Davies has just written an amazing foreword for my autobiography, Becoming Dr Jones, so it was very special for me to see him reprise his role as Sallah in …Dial Of Destiny – however, it was seeing Indiana reunited with Marion that was the real tearjerker for me!
Which celebrity (alive or dead) would you be too nervous to meet?
I’d love to meet Harrison Ford, but I have no idea how I would react. My head likes to think I would remain cool and collected throughout our meeting, but my heart knows that I would probably be a complete fanboy!
What’s the last thing you wrote in your notes app (or wherever you keep notes to yourself)?
An updated list of dates for the podcast and radio interviews I have in the coming months. I keep multiple copies of events as I’m paranoid I am going to miss one! Still, I should be grateful that people are interested in what I have to say.
Which TV show is your guiltiest pleasure?
I have so many to choose from! My number one guilty pleasure has to be Supernatural, but as a huge sci-fi nerd, anything Marvel, Star Wars or Star Trek is right up there too! Marvel’s Secret Invasion is the most current.
What’s the last meal you’d request on the final night of I’m A Celebrity?
Salmon sashimi.
What song would you play to an alien who’d never heard human music before?
Something calm and beautiful, like Vangelis’ Soil Festivities, Movement 1.
What was the last outfit you wore that made you feel great?
Wearing my university robes to see my students graduate.
If you could go back in time, which decade would you choose and why?
If I could go back in time, it would be to see dinosaurs, or to live amongst other human species like Denisovans or Neanderthals. But if we are talking about recent time, the 1930s to meet Einstein – or the 1830s to meet Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace.
What’s your pettiest pet peeve?
I dislike bullies and rude people in general, but especially when they are behind the wheel of a car. I loathe inconsiderate road users.
What’s your favourite and least favourite recurring dream?
In my favourite recurring dreams, I seem to be able to hover – not quite fly, but hover, like a Poundland Superman! My least favourite involves Mark A Sheppard – Crowley from Supernatural – in the front row of one of my Cardiff University lectures, heckling me throughout. Eventually, students start walking out and Mark adds “I don’t blame you, he’s boring the pants off of me too!” This is all the funnier as Mark and I are friends in real life, and he enjoys nothing more than winding me up during onstage interviews…
Becoming Dr Jones is published on Thurs 3 Aug via Hachette.
Price: £22. Info: here
There’ll be a launch event for it at Waterstones, Cardiff on Tue 8 Aug. Tickets: £6. Info: here
Rhys on Twitter
