After taking time out from the spotlight following a string of controversies in her personal and professional life, Scarlett Moffatt is gearing up for a big comeback.
The 31-year-old reality star is set to return to screens next month to explore her religious beliefs on BBC2’s The Pilgrimage, as well as fronting her own new show, Scarlett’s Driving School.
And insiders say that despite a previously rough ride in the spotlight, taking some time away and her relationship with boyfriend of three years Scott Dobinson has given her the confidence to make a spectacular return.
A source says, “Scarlett’s been through a lot of life changes over the last few years and has been through some very dark times both personally and in her career. But thanks to finding Scott and taking a much-needed break from the limelight, she feels ready to return to the showbiz world; she wants to get back to doing what she loves.”
Bubbly Scarlett found fame on Channel 4’s Gogglebox in 2014 – becoming a fan favourite on the hit show for two years.
After winning the nation’s hearts when she was crownedI’m A Celeb..! Queen of the jungle in 2016, she became one of the most sought-after faces in TV – bagging the coveted backstage presenting role at the National TV Awards and landing her “dream” job on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
But her high-flying showbiz career soon hit a troubled patch.
After bagging her first solo hosting job as the face of the revived Streetmate in 2017, the show was shelved after just one series. And when Saturday Night Takeaway was temporarily axed amid Ant McPartlin’s drink-driving scandal in 2018, Scarlett didn’t return when it came back.
More upsettingly, Scarlett was accused of lying about how she’d achieved her 3st weight-loss, which saw her slim down from a size 18 to a size 8 for her lucrative fitness DVD, Scarlett’s SuperSlim Me Plan.
In addition to the controversy surrounding her career, Scarlett’s personal life also suffered with a series of rocky relationships including her most recent ex, Lee Wilkinson, who she branded a “cheating pathological liar”. She also had to deal with shock revelations that her mum Betty – who’d also found fame on Gogglebox – had allegedly stolen £50,000 from her daughter to fund her online gambling habit.
Thankfully, things have settled down for her since she got together with 36-year-old policeman Scott in 2019 – an old friend she’d known “for years”.
Opening up about their three-year relationship on her podcast, Wants To Believe – which covers everything from aliens to relationship issues – she gushed, “Honestly, this sounds really sad, but I never thought I would find true love.
“I don’t know whether it’s because I just met people who were a***holes, or what it was, or if I was giving a certain energy off. But I was just like, ‘Nah, I don’t think love is for me’. But then when I met Scott it all changed. He’s such a kind person.”
And insiders say being in love has helped give Scarlett new motivation to regain her TV crown.
Scarlett first appeared on TV screens in MTV's Beauty School Cop Outs - where are the other stars now? Find out...
Closer Beauty School Cop Outs WATN - slider
1 of 16Scarlett Moffatt Beauty School Cop Outs
Scarlett shared a smooch with Jeremy McConnell on the show (shudder) but was later mocked for being the 'worst looking girl' there. But who's laughing now?
2 of 16Scarlett Moffatt now
It's Scarlett who went on to great things in Gogglebox, won I'm a Celebrity and has stolen even more hearts with Saturday Night Takeaway.
3 of 16Jeremy McConnell Beauty School Cop Outs
Jeremy was quite a hit with the ladies on Beauty School Cop Outs. Surprise!
4 of 16Jeremy McConnell now
Jezza went on to Celebrity Big Brother where he started a toxic relationship with Stephanie Davis. The couple now have a child together and Jeremy has extreme lip fillers.
5 of 16Savannah Kemplay Beauty School Cop Outs
Savannah was one of the ladies to fall for Jeremy's dubious charms.
6 of 16Savannah Kemplay now
Savannah went on to appear in Ex On The Beach series seven, the Marty McKenna one. We can't remember a single thing she did but Jordan Wright and Dean Ralph, now of TOWIE, appeared too so odds on she snogged one of them.
7 of 16Calvin Lunt Beauty School Cop Outs
One of our Cop Out faves, Calvin would often drag it up for work and playtime.
8 of 16Calvin Fox now
Now going by the name Calvin Fox, he's bringing us fierce Liverpool realness over on Instagram where he has a not shabby at all 22k followers.
9 of 16Daniel Jarrousse Beauty School Cop Outs
Daniel cut his own time short in the Cop Outs house - he left due to feeling lonely, poor lamb.
10 of 16Daniel Jarrousse now
Dan's now a serious beefcake. Lordy.
11 of 16Tara Omidi Beauty School Cop Outs
Tara Omidi was a cast member of Beauty School Cop Outs. Yeah, we can't remember anything at all about her time on the show. Soz.
12 of 16Tara Omidi now
Tara's now an actor and has appeared in Little Red Riding Hood, the pantomime, playing the Wolf.
13 of 16Sacha Jones Beauty School Cop Outs
Sacha spent a lot of time talking about her pussy. Like, a LOT of time. She also snogged Jeremy McConnell but, frankly, who didn't?
14 of 16Sacha Jones
Sacha was crowned Miss Birmingham 2018! She's also a make up artist and still loves pussies.
15 of 16Richard Cull Beauty School Cop Outs
Richard and Scarlett began dating during their time on the show and stayed together for eight months.
16 of 16Richard Cull now
Richard went on to another reality show, Make or Break which was billed as Channel 5's answer to Love Island. Yeah, us neither.
The source says, “Being in a happy relationship for the first time has helped give Scarlett a different outlook on life, along with taking some time out for herself, spending time with her family and focusing on her mental health. It’s given her a lot of confidence and she’s excited about doing what she loves again.”
Scarlett has always been open about wanting children, saying last year, “One day maybe in a few years. Ever since I was a kid I’ve always wanted to adopt as I think every child deserves a loving home.”
In December, Scarlett revealed their hopes to start a family – confessing she’s already got a list of baby names.
“Me and Scott are planning on having kids together,” she said. “For a boy, I like Forrest or Apollo. And then for a girl, Celeste – it’s like a star constellation – or Posie.”
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The source adds, “Scarlett’s not ready for kids just yet, but it’s definitely on the cards and she hopes that when the time’s right, her career will be back at a place where she’ll be able to share her motherhood journey and follow in the footsteps of other working mum presenters such as Holly Willoughby and Rochelle Humes.
“She’s always said that she doesn’t want to be an old mum and would like a few kids, so she won’t be hanging around for ages. She feels so content with Scott and her life right now that it feels like the right thing to do, and she knows he’ll be an absolutely brilliant dad. She’s never been this happy before so she’s not rushing anything – she’s just enjoying life.”
In her new show The Pilgrimage, Scarlett will join six other celebs – including Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Nick Hewer and Monty Panesar – to explore their different faiths on a journey traditionally undertaken by pilgrims.
Speaking about her own faith, Scarlett said, “I would describe myself as Christian, but not a strict Christian. I don’t go to church, but I definitely believe and religion to me is security. I’m doing the pilgrimage as I want to know what my religion is. I want to be able to answer that question with confidence.”
But the source adds that as she plots her TV comeback, she’d love to do more TV with Scott following the success of him appearing on her podcast.
The source says, “Scarlett’s dream would be to eventually become the next Richard and Judy, and she loves the idea of bagging a reality show documenting her and Scott’s lives – insisting it would be a hit given how funny and crazy their lives are!
“Scott’s shown he has a talent for presenting and he’s up for exploring more opportunities with Scarlett. The future is looking rosy for them.”
The Pilgrimage starts on Friday 8 April at 9pm on BBC2.
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