Say Yes to the Dress: Doncaster-born host Tan France wants to explore multicultural bridal fashion

He’s a natural at making people feel good about themselves and this skill, alongside his aptitude for styling, makes him the perfect choice to host a brand new version of Say Yes to the Dress on Really.

The bridal fashion reality series has had plenty of iterations over the decades, predominantly in the US but also in the UK and Australia, but France was determined to bring a fresh perspective for his version.

“Say Yes is what I would describe as a heritage show. It’s been around for a heck of a long time, it’s seen many different versions across the globe, and I really wanted to do my version of it,” says France.

“It’s such a successful show, but I have a unique perspective, I have a unique way of producing. I really wanted to take on bridal because it really is the most important outfit anyone will ever wear. It felt like a really tough, but exciting undertaking.”

France grew up in Doncaster and has previously spoken about racist bullying he experienced in his formative years. He now calls Salt Lake City, Utah, home – living there with his husband and their two sons.

Of Pakistani descent, he is one of the first openly gay South Asian men on a major television show, and one of the first openly gay Muslim men on western television.

It’s fair to say, then, that multiculturalism and diverse representation is important to France, and he was keen to incorporate bridal styles from many different cultures in his version of Say Yes to the Dress. “That was the condition of me joining the show,” he says of exploring multicultural bridal fashion.

“I said I wanted to really show the audience what other cultures look for when it comes to bridal. Don’t get me wrong, I love a white wedding dress.

"I think they’re gorgeous. But there are other wedding dresses that are equally beautiful that we really should be talking about.”

“With everything that I do, every project I’ve taken on since I started in entertainment I’ve been very clear: I have an agenda,” he adds.

“I don’t just want to do the same job as everybody else that’s done it before me. I want them to know there was a reason why you hired me and it’s because I think differently than somebody else.

“When it came to this show, I said I want to create a space where we’re not just in a store with all white wedding dresses, I want it to be a bespoke boutique where they send me information of what they’re looking for beforehand, and we do a bespoke pull.

“It feels very personal for every bride, and hopefully that translates well for the audience thinking: They didn’t just pick from a bunch of white dresses that they have in the store – which is wonderful if you’re an American bride or a British bride – but what if you are an Indian bride, a Thai bride, a Nigerian bride?

"You want options that make sense for who you are. In my opinion, it makes for a great story where you understand and you learn about other cultures. I think that that’s incredible.”

France has become known for his expertise and thoughtful opinions, whether that’s on the styling choices of regular people on Queer Eye or the ground-breaking designs of fashionistas on Next in Fashion.

But he found himself having to bite his tongue a bit more on Say Yes to the Dress. “Here’s the difficult part of it… on Queer Eye, or any other show I do, I get to say exactly how I’m feeling,” France says.

“When it’s bridal, they come in with an idea of the dress that they’ve dreamt of for years, possibly ever since they were a little girl… they can’t come to me and me say: ‘you can’t wear sleeves, that’s gonna look shocking!’

“I just kind of have to roll with it. Even if I hate it, I have to roll with it…If that’s what you have dreamt up, who am I to say no, you shouldn’t wear that on your wedding? So that’s the most complicated part, for me, of this show.”

Navigating other people’s opinions is a tricky part of wedding preparation most brides and grooms can relate to.

If even Tan France thinks he needs to keep his thoughts to himself sometimes, how should we deal with the endless opinions of family and friends in the run up to a wedding?

“Maybe just take people whose style you like,” France suggests for outfit shopping. “Because – it’s not an age old adage… I think it started when social media crept in – ‘I don’t care about the negative opinions of people whose lives I’m not interested in’.

"If somebody’s incredibly right wing, hates the gays, hate(s) the brown people, hate(s) the Muslims – I’m not really concerned about what you think of how I live my life, or what you think of my outfit. Couldn’t care less.

“What I do care about is the people who I think: Oh, you live a similar life to me, and I respect you and I care about you. I want you to think I look nice. And so if … you have a friend that you think: ‘God, her style’s killer, and I wish my style was that great’, that’s the person you take.

"If I was looking for a wedding outfit I’d take Timothée Chalamet! Take the people whose style you really care about, respect. Don’t take the person who wears the clothes that you look at thinking: ‘What were you thinking?'”

Say Yes to the Dress with Tan France starts at 10pm on Wednesday, August 16 on Really and catch up on discovery+.