Stephen Fry reveals how his proposal to Elliott Spencer nearly didn't go to plan

Stephen Fry has spoken about how he proposed to his new husband Elliott Spencer. Speaking to Jonathan Ross in his first TV interview since tying the knot with Elliott in January, presenter and author Stephen revealed that it nearly didn't go the way he had planned. The 57-year-old told host Jonathan that he popped the question while the pair were dining in a London restaurant, adding that a potential disaster with the ring was averted at the last minute.

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Stephen and Elliott at a pre-BAFTA party on Friday night

"I kind of knew that he'd say yes," said Stephen. "We had kind of danced around the subject [of marriage] and I bought a ring and waited for him to pop off to the loo and put the ring on the prongs of a fork so that he would see it as he started to eat. "I thought it would be charming," laughed the QI presenter. "Of course he came back and he started chatting and he started playing with the fork and I thought "for God's sake look at the fork" - you don't really ever look at forks do you - and I thought "he's going to pick it up and the ring is going to fly off into that lady's soup." Luckily, however, Elliott noticed the ring at the last minute. "Fortunately he, just in time, caught sight of it," said Stephen. "And it was a very teary and splendid moment."

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Stephen told the story of his proposal during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show

Stephen and Elliott married on 17 January in Dereham in Norfolk. "We chose it [Dereham] because it's a small market town, they call it 'the heart of Norfolk' that's its little slogan." Stephen also opened up about the first time he met comedian Elliott. "We met at a friend's house," he said. "I knew pretty much straight away that this was someone I wanted to spend, what I considered, the rest of my life with.

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Stephen tweeted a photo from the couple's wedding ceremony

"Whether he thought the same because he's got rather a lot more [life to go than me]." he jokingly added about their 30-year age gap. "There is an age difference and I keep forgetting which way round it is but I think he's younger than me… but I don't mind…" The newlyweds are now planning a celebratory wedding party which will take place in the summer, as well as their honeymoon. "We are going off to a secret location as honeymoons must be," he said.