Tarrant 'wants wife back' after affair

Chris Tarrant has said his seven-year affair meant "nothing" and he wants his wife Ingrid back, it was reported today.

The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host has spoken of his regret - and wishes his wife of 15 years could forgive him.

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The Tarrants announced their separation in mid-September, following reports that the 60-year-old had an affair with deputy headteacher Fiona McKechnie, 10 years his junior.

He told today's News of the World: "I know this will be hard for most people to understand but she didn't mean anything to me.

"It was nothing and I mean that. It wasn't a big thing, it's over and I regret it and that's the end of it."

He told the newspaper his affair lasted for seven years.

Tarrant added: "I wish the old girl could forgive me and we could get back together but she doesn't seem to be budging.

"I still love her. We used to have a great life together and a real laugh.

"We were a great couple and a team - but I can't get through to her."

He said he feared divorce - "because once the lawyers get involved these things become inevitable".

Ingrid, 52, later revealed she had known of the relationship for several months - and hired private investigators to confirm her suspicions.

Tarrant was also spotted drunkenly kissing another woman in a wine bar near his Surrey home.

The paper reported Tarrant had sent his wife a £2,000 Tiffany watch and his children are refusing to speak to him.

"To cheer myself up I am going to Auschwitz," he told the paper, saying he thought it would put his problems "into real perspective".