The Secret Millionaire with Mr. Gay UK

Channel 4’s Rose d’Or-winning The Secret Millionaire was one of the channel’s most popular new series last year, attracting audiences in the region of 3.5 million.

It’s now back for a second, six part series, and this week, gay entrepreneur and multi-millionaire Terry George will leave behind his husband Michael and his pampered lifestyle and designer wardrobe to go undercover as a care assistant at a local nursing home in Penzance, Cornwall, one of Britain’s poorest rural communities.

Despite his multi-million pound fortune and lavish lifestyle, George is a self-made man. He grew up on a Yorkshire council estate and made his money through the pink pound, running Mr. Gay UK, as well as various gay nightclubs and bars in Leeds.

The premise of The Secret Millionaire, one of TV’s most humbling experiences, sees a different multi-millionaire searching for people whose lives he or she can change for the better. Each secret millionaire must guarantee to give away thousands of pounds of their own money, as they leave their wealthy lifestyle behind for ten days and go undercover and live anonymously as part of the community. They conceal their true identities and immerse themselves in communities with the aim of finding people they think are the most deserving of their hard-earned cash. It's only on the last day of their visit, that they reveal their secret and write their potentially life-changing cheques.

In his blog on the official Channel 4 website, George was full of praise for the experience: "When Channel 4 first contacted me about the show I wasn’t sure if it would be my type of thing but they gave me a DVD of the first series to look at before deciding. I watched it and cried my eyes out … I thought what a brilliant programme it was.

"The whole experience was a really life-changing time for me. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in such a short space of time ... It changed my outlook on life."

The Secret Millionaire is on Channel 4 tonight, November 28, at 9pm.