TV star chokes up over homeless man who wants to return to jail: ‘It’s appalling’

Millionaire businessman Anthony Saxon Kearsley was overcome with emotion after a poignant interaction with a homeless person.

The wealthy Suffolk-based magnate had the eye-opening experience in Channel 4’s new show, Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing, a social experiment hosted by Jonathan Ross in which strangers from different walks of life are literally handcuffed 24/7.

The nine pairs are competing against one another to win a £100,000 prize pot; in the meantime, they are being introduced to entirely new perspectives and life experiences.

Airing weekly, the upcoming episodes check in with Tilly, 37, a North London barmaid juggling three jobs who works closely with the local homeless community, providing meals through her charity.

Still bound to rich automotive enthusiast Anthony, in the new episode, the chalk-and-cheese duo discussed the initiative while prepping meals.

Anthony espoused out-of-touch opinions that some people ‘don’t want to help themselves’ and compared homelessness to ‘camping’, while the group looked on askance.

They headed out to deliver the hot meals, as Tilly tried to explain how vital this work is. In one interaction, Anthony had in a McDonald’s with a homeless man, recently out of prison.

The latter shared the struggle to go to the job centre without an address, adding: ‘I’ve been out of jail for a while, I just feel like going back, I can’t stand it.’

As they parted ways, Anthony said he ‘hopes things work out’ for, and clearly remained troubled by the interaction.

Speaking to the cameraman, cigarette in hand, he said: ‘I am a bit [overwhelmed]. He wants to go back to prison because he can’t cope with life. It’s appalling.

‘It’s really shocking. I was wrong to say some people don’t want help. It’s appalling, dreadful. Thank you [Tilly] for showing me. I won’t be as flippant again.’

Tilly explained: ‘That is like a tiny percent of what I see day in, day out.’

‘I’m amazed that you’re so positive and I’m amazed that you’ve survived this intact,’ he said. Choking up, he continued: ‘Anyway, God love you. Terrible isn’t it. I’m quite cut up about it to be honest…’

Discussing her experience handcuffed to Anthony, Tilly told Metro: ‘He just thinks everything comes really easily to people and it doesn’t, sadly.

‘Until he came and saw the work that at my homeless charity, saw how people actually live, he was taken quite aback. I probably took for granted how easily it comes to me to speak to people, and it doesn’t come that easily to him, especially people that aren’t on his level.’

The show has already been subject to controversy, with one pair’s experience coming to a shocking end in the first episode after clashing over Hitler and the Reform Party.

Handcuffed airs Monday and Tuesday at 9pm on Channel 4.

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