Fred Sirieix's one classic British trait that leaves French people completely baffled

Fred Sirieix opened up in an exclusive new interview (Image: CHANNEL 4)

Fred Sirieix believes he's become a "better person" since moving to Britain - but puzzled Paris residents might not always understand his new cultural traits, as he revealed in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk.

The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star left one woman totally confused after he apologised for colliding with her in the street. Nearly three decades spent in the UK had left Fred with a "reflex reaction" that stuck out like a sore thumb.

He recalled with amusement that a major study found 80% of Brits regularly apologise for things they are not responsible for and have no control over. Now he's started to include himself in that category too.

Fred had been reporting on the Paris Olympics for the BBC at the time, while his daughter Andrea - a renowned diver - competed. "I was walking up the Champs Elysees and I was just oblivious to everything around me because I was just so happy to be there," he recalled.

"It was so beautiful - and somebody bumped into me. My initial reflex? I turned around and said, 'Oh, I'm so sorry.'" The woman turned round and looked at him in pure confusion, as his attitude was so out of place.

Fred Sirieix on the red carpet (Image: GETTY)

"The irony wasn't lost on me," he chuckled.

"My book was just about to be published. I was in Paris reacting in a very British way in France as a Frenchman and doing what British people do - apologise for something!"

He added: "There has been research showing 80% of Brits apologise for things they are not responsible for. They just apologise because they don't want to upset people.

"You see, the Brits, they don't like to offend, and they don't like to say something that's going to make somebody feel bad, so they are much more subtle."

However, he doesn't think the same reservations apply in the culture he was born into.

"The French, on the other hand, they just say whatever they want whenever they want to - it doesn't matter whether it's going to upset you or not!" he declared.

"Being here all these years, sometimes in a situation I'm in, I'm torn between the British answer and a French one. Which one am I gonna go for?"

Despite the occasional dilemmas, he believes that living in the UK has made him a "better person" as he has become versed in multiple cultures and now has more flexible thinking, instead of assuming that "there is only one way".

Fred Sirieix's book Seriously British: A Frenchman's love letter to Britain, is available to buy now.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in his career, he's teamed up with Auto Trader – the UK’s largest automotive platform for new and used cars - to craft bespoke scent profiles for leading car brands as the new car smell named one of Brits' favourite unusual smells.