Early life and family
Christopher Michael Maloney was born on 27 December 1977 in Liverpool. He worked as a call centre operative before shooting to fame on The X Factor in 2012.
He was swiftly dubbed the ‘shaky Scouser’ after nerves plagued his early performances.
Career
Chris appeared on the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012. His beautiful rendition of Bette Midler’s “The Rose” won the approval of Gary Barlow and secured his place at bootcamp.
He went on to the judge’s houses but his ‘cabaret’ reputation meant he didn’t make Barlow’s final three.
Record executives Simon Cowell and Louie Walsh branded Chris “out-dated” but the public loved him – the former cruise ship crooner won the wildcard vote for the final live shows where he ultimately bowed out.
In April 2013, Chris signed a contract with independent label, Tristar Records. His debut single "My Heart Belongs to You” was released on 27 October but failed to make the top 100 in the UK Singles Chart.
Not to be deterred from his musical passions, Chris launched a dance and drama academy at Kirkdale Community Centre in 2014.
He intends to release another single in the spring and go on tour after working with the team behind the Bay City Rollers.
Controversies
In May 2015, Chris revealed he had a breakdown after being trolled throughout his time on The X Factor.
He said: "X Factor was great, but as the series was going on and the further that I got in the competition, I was getting really bad trolls and they were telling me that they were going to kill me, shoot me, that I was ugly, that I had a big nose.”
He consequently spent £60,000 on plastic surgery including three hair transplants, two nose jobs and an eyelid lift at Europe Surgery in Poland.
Before entering the CBB house, the 38-year-old said he couldn’t look at ‘stressed out’ pictures from his time on the reality show but he was feeling happier and more confident than ever.
On last Thursday's episode of Celebrity Big Brother, Chris revealed he fell out with Danniella Westbrook over a pantomime. He claims she was jealous of his inclusion after producers cast her aside for a reported drug relapse.
Chris has been caught between Danniella and ex-partner, Tom Richards. He said: “I think she thought that I took his friendship over hers, but it wasn’t like that. I don’t hate her. It’s just that we haven’t spoken.”
Relationships
Chris came out as gay back in 2013 and got engaged to long-term partner, Gary Doran, in January of last year.
Former BFF Danniella joined them in Egypt for the nuptials. Perhaps CBB will spark a happy reunion.
