Chris Tarrant's astonishing defence for cheating on his wife: 'There were no dead bodies'

Yet the multi-millionaire TV presenter made it clear yesterday that he could not understand what all the fuss was about.

He said the affair had left "no dead bodies" and added that he was "not Jonathan King or Gary Glitter" - both convicted paedophiles.

He added, however, that he is currently leading a solitary existence, living off Lucozade and Boost bars bought from petrol stations.

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Tarrant, 61, who still hosts Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, split from his wife Ingrid 16 months ago after she discovered his long-running affair with Fiona McKechnie, a teacher in her 50s.

He has four children - Toby, 16, and Samantha, 18, with Ingrid and Jennifer, 27, and Helen, 30, with his first wife Sheila.

The revelations about his cheating caused a huge family rift and led to a bitter war of words between the couple. But in an interview for the Sunday Times Magazine, Tarrant glossed over his affair, saying Toby had "handled the break-up very well".

"None of the kids are babies," he said. "They all know what's happened. A man had an affair with another woman ... these thing are never easy. But there are no dead bodies. I'm not Jonathan King or Gary Glitter. I can't work out why this continues to be news.

"There was one (picture) recently of me and my mate's wife. The caption read, 'Tarrant prefers blondes, but was out on the town with a brunette'. It was my mate's f****** wife and he was just behind us."

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Despite his attempts to brush the affair under the carpet, Tarrant, who is worth an estimated £20million, goes on to say how devastated he was when his marriage collapsed.

"There has been a lot to think about this last couple of years," he said. "Life's a bit ... complicated. But things are getting back to some semblance of normality. Very slowly.

"I'm not one to cry about things in public. I just bottle it up and carry on having a laugh. That's how my dad was.

"When he died I was devastated, and I was devastated when my marriage broke up, but I didn't go crying to people because I know my dad would have said, 'What's up with you, you silly bugger?' I don't want to disappoint him."

During the break-up, Tarrant moved out of the family mansion near Esher, Surrey, and now lives alone in a bachelor pad nearby although he also owns a home in the South of France. It appears that life without 52-year- old Ingrid has hardly helped him maintain a healthy diet.

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"Because of the situation with Ingy, I'm living on my own at the moment - the bachelor lifestyle. It's not as exciting as it sounds.

"A few pints down the local and maybe a DVD is what it usually amounts to. If the car's got to be filled with petrol, I might treat myself to a Boost bar and a bottle of Lucozade. I'm pretty sure you could live on Boost bars, Lucozade and beer. Well I'm pretty sure I can.

"Ingrid could never understand how I could go to the pub on my own, but I love it. I'll take the paper or a fishing magazine and relax over a couple of pints.

"The pubs around where I live are great because I've been going in there for years and no one bats an eyelid."

In September last year Tarrant was spotted with 44-year-old mother-of-two Jane Bird during a romantic break in Italy, but he made no mention of her in yesterday's interview.

At the time of his marriage break-up, aides hinted he would happily part with half of his wealth. There seemed to be no dispute that Ingrid would take £5million of his £10million property portfolio plus annual payouts which would total a further £3million over her lifetime.

Lawyers for the pair are said, however, still to be discussing how much of Tarrant's fortune will be handed over.

The worldwide rights to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? were sold as part of a £106million deal last month. It was rumoured in August that Tarrant was putting together a £100million bid, alongside TV executives and the U.S. private equity firm Carlyle Group.

But the broadcaster 2waytraffic - founded by the team behind Big Brother - was the only party publicly to declare an interest in buying the show.