In December 2023, no one had heard of Harry Clark. But by the end of January 2024, he’d become one of the most talked about people in the UK. After winning over viewers with his easy charm and impish grin (and breaking Mollie’s heart), Harry won one of the most exciting shows on TV, the backstabbing and lying gameshow ‘The Traitors’. Since (metaphorically) lying and murdering his way to the top, he’s left his army job and is grabbing his newly found fame by the horns. There are rumours of another massive reality show, and he’s learning to DJ. But he hasn’t forgotten his home comforts either. Here, Clark tells Time Out about the hometown pub that was the place of many of his defining moments.
‘The Henry VI pub in Windsor is a boutique pub that’s quite small, which means you have to talk to people when you’re in there, and it gets absolutely packed. It’s one of those old pubs that makes you feel good. You bang your head in the doorway if you don’t duck, which makes me feel tall. They have live music on Fridays and Saturdays, and it’s all music from the 1980s like Abba, which I love.
I first went with my dad when I was 16 to play darts. And when I turned 18 that was the first pub I went to. I can’t tell you what happened on my 18th birthday.
My dad still owes me £50 because we once had a full blown argument about whether it was called Henry VIII or Henry VI. We put 50 quid on it. We rang them up and the person answering the phone said ‘Hi this is Henry VI’. He put the phone straight down. My dad grew up going to the pub because he’s from Windsor.
It’s me and my best mate’s, who is called Harry as well, favourite place to go. The best night we had there was just as ‘The Traitors’ was coming out. One drink turned into a few too many and we ended up standing up singing with the band who was singing ‘Mamma Mia’. Usually we’ll get a kebab from Ramsey’s and sit with our legs dangling over the River Thames.
I’ve got five siblings and 30 odd cousins. My nanny Peggy was one of 14. We’re all really close and every summer we go on a long walk with my dog Bosco – an obese pug – from Eton to Windsor. We’ll stop at Henry VI and have a drink.
The Henry VI is a place where you can go and just talk. Coming from a family of macho men, you don’t always have time to talk. But this pub brings it out of you. It’s a safe haven.
I haven’t had a minute to go there since ‘The Traitors’ came out. My feet haven’t really touched the ground. Now I’m learning to DJ and have some gigs coming up. Imagine if I played at Henry VI? It would be rammed. Being able to bring a party vibe is the best feeling ever. My music taste ranges from the UK Top 40, to Drake, to Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. And my favourite singer is Frank Sinatra. Not many people are gonna like me playing Frank Sinatra in the DJ booth.’
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