Grant Denyer says why he accepted a lucrative deal from a magazine that called him a drug addict
GAME show guru Grant Denyer explains why he accepted a lucrative deal with a magazine that had labelled him a serious drug addict.
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GRANT Denyer has officially ended his own bitter feud with Woman’s Day, saying he’s no longer angry about the magazine labelling him a serious drug addict.
In February 2014, the glossy alleged the television star and his wife Cheryl were being treated in a Thai rehab facility for a long-running $4,000 a day methamphetamine addiction.
Denyer strongly denied the claims and immediately threatened legal action. But the Family Feudhost says he has now moved on.
“Life is too short to hang on to anger or resentment,” Denyer says.
“There’s always time to heal relationships. I didn’t want to live with the anger I was holding inside, to be honest. It’s not a healthy emotion — it can do a lot of damage.”
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Part of that apparent healing process was also a four-page spread in the same magazine last month, exclusively announcing the arrival of the couple’s baby daughter Scout.
According to unconfirmed reports, they pocketed $30,000 for the interview and photo shoot. Denyer declined to go into details of the arrangement.
“There are a number of reasons why we did it, not all of which I can reveal,” Denyer says, alluding to a rumoured confidential agreement with Bauer, the publisher of Woman’s Day.
“It was the right thing to do. I think there’s been a bit of healing on both sides — a bit of admission as well on (the) other side. It’s nice to have that behind me.”
The damaging drugs story came at a time when Denyer’s career was on a low, having suddenly quit the popular Seven quiz show Million Dollar Minute just months earlier.
But he bounced back quickly, signing on to host Ten’s reboot of Family Feud, which turned out to be a ratings smash.
In 2016, there will be a celebrity spin-off, All Star Family Feud, and he’s aiming high when it comes to guest. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been invited, Denyer says.
“It’ll be politicians, sports stars, TV people, film actors, musicians ... it’ll be a lot of fun.”
There will also be a second season of his other show, the surprise hit The Great Australian Spelling Bee.
And of course, there’s Denyer’s other new project, baby Scout, born in September, who joins four-year-old Sailor at the rapidly expanding Denyer ranch near Bathurst.
“It’s been wonderful — Scout is really pleasant and she doesn’t really cry,” he says. “But she feeds every two hours, day and night, which is a mission for my wife.
“She’s starting to smile and that’s when it really sets in for me, as a dad. She smiles and laughs and it has a powerful effect.”
Family Feud airs Sunday to Friday at 6pm on Network Ten
Originally published as Grant Denyer says why he accepted a lucrative deal from a magazine that called him a drug addict