As she began filming a six-part BBC series on decluttering called Sort Your Life Out last week, it was reported that ITV Loose Women favourite Stacey Solomon was also being “poached” by the rival channel for their other top shows, including the next series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Speaking about her new show, which is due to air at the end of the year, Stacey, 31, excitedly said it was “an absolute dream come true.”
The move by the BBC showcases Stacey’s popularity with both TV execs and fans. Her recent book, Tap To Tidy, became an instant best-seller. And while her “mumfluencer” content on Instagram rakes in £10k per post according toBaby Thingz and thanks to her 4.2million followers, it’s also estimated her TV gigs have helped earn her a whopping £5million fortune.
Her personal life is also thriving, as last week she showed off her new £1.2million Essex home with fiancé and fellow TV presenter Joe Swash, who she is set to marry in July.
A source tells Closer that, despite having her “fair share of tough times” during her 10 years of fame, Stacey has grown in confidence as she’s seen her popularity soar – and loves the comparison to her pal Holly Willoughby.
The source says, “Stacey’s often struggled with her self-worth and confidence, but with her career going from strength-to-strength and the support of Joe, she’s at the point where she’s starting to accept and acknowledge her success and believe she can be as big as some of her idols, such as Holly.
“There’s talk about Stacey being lined up for daytime TV and fronting some of the biggest shows like Holly. Stacey really looks up to Holly, especially as she’s also a busy mum-of-three who’s managed to juggle family life with her career, so she would love to emulate that success. While it’s taken a while for her to get here, she’s starting to believe she has what it takes to follow in her footsteps.”
Stacey’s career is already following a similar trajectory to Holly’s. Two years ago, Stacey landed a job as a series regular on hit ITV show Celebrity Juice, while Holly was team captain on the show for 12 years until leaving last year. In 2018, Holly stepped into Ant McPartlin’s shoes as he took time away from I’m A Celeb!, but Stacey was also tipped by bookies for the gig. Away from TV, both are hugely successful influencers and their partners have TV careers too – Holly is married to producer Dan Baldwin.
Fans are often highlighting similarities between the pair. “Stacey and Holly Willoughby are the nicest people on TV,” one wrote on Twitter recently and another said, “Holly and Stacey are the most inspirational celebrity women.”
But her stardom has taken Stacey – who rose to fame on The X Factor in 2011 – by surprise and she’s previously admitted to suffering from “imposter syndrome”.
She explained, “This goes back to The X Factor. I couldn’t believe where I was. And I just couldn’t believe what the hell I was doing and when it was over, I thought, ‘OK, this is enough for me,’ and every year after that, every venture, every opportunity I’ve ever been given, I almost have like a slight imposter syndrome.”
The Dagenham-born star gave birth to her first child, Zach, 13 – with childhood sweetheart Dean Cox – when she was 17 and she recently admitted that at the time she felt “completely out of control” and “ashamed” of becoming a teenage mum.
She said, “I feel really guilty about the way I was as a parent when he was a baby, because I just wasn’t good… I found it all very, very difficult.”
Her success on The X Factor was a breakthrough moment for the then-single mum, and a year later Stacey won over the nation to be crowned winner of I’m A Celeb!.
But her initial stardom came at a price. During her pregnancy with second son Leighton, eight – with ex-fiancé Aaron Barnham – in 2012, she was pictured smoking four times in two hours, leading her to be stripped of the Mum Of The Year title given to her by Foxy Bingo. Stacey apologised profusely and broke down during an interview with Holly and Phil on This Morning amid the backlash over the scandal.
Over the years, Stacey – who also has a one-year-old son called Rex with Joe – has taken herself off social media at least three times due to cruel trolling. In May 2020, she deleted Instagram after being repeatedly called “ugly”, while just two weeks ago, she took a few days’ break after someone said she had a “horse face”.
Check out: The X Factor 'joke' contestants - where are they now?
The X Factor joke acts - where are they now? - slider
1 of 20Wagner then
You need to cast your mind back to 2010 to remember Wagner, the Brazilian pocket rocket who had us in stitches with his theatrical performances, while simultaneously covering our ears to block out the noise he was making with his mouth.
2 of 20Wagner now
Wagner's comic appeal saw him finish sixth in the seventh series – a placing which irked top judge Simon no end. In 2012 he caused controversy when he had a baby with his then 20-year-old girlfriend Lydia – who's 36 years his junior.
3 of 20Stevi Ritchie then
Resident joke act in 2014 was Stevi (he dropped the 'e' - pure edge) Ritchie, a fan of big songs and big vocals that verged on shouting a lot of the time. He went on to have a relationship with fellow 2014 contestant, Chloe Jasmine but definitely not for publicity or anything like that.
4 of 20Stevi Ritchie now
Stevi has been busy showing off his killer new bod on Instagram after dropping over three stone in just eight weeks with a grueling diet and exercise regime. Sadly, his romance with Chloe wasn't to last, but he did pop up in a selfie of hers on Insta earlier this year.
5 of 20Diva Fever then
Also from series seven and one of the only novelty acts to be mentored by Simon Cowell, Diva Fever were a camp-as-they-come party act made up of Craig and Josef. They made it to week two of the live shows before they were booted off.
6 of 20Diva Fever now
Though it looks as though Diva Fever have officially disbanded, we're pleased to report that Josef and Craig are still pals and were out in force this year to celebrate Pride with their squad.
7 of 20Johnny Robinson then
Series eight saw one of our all time FAVOURITE contestants take to the stage and blow away the judges - this time with Gary Barlow in the top spot – with his mega voice. Johnny Robinson was mentored by Louis Walsh in his over 25s category, and lasted until week five in the live shows.
8 of 20Johnny Robinson now
Prior to his stint on The X Factor, Johnny performed as his drag alter ego, Sarah Lee, and in 2016 he reprised the role and released two singles, Eaten Alive and Deliver Me. Last year he gave an interview for The Sun's Back To Reality series, where he said he'd "rather bake a quiche" than find love.
9 of 20Chico then
The original joke act, Chico was mentored by Sharon Osbourne way back in 2005 for the second series of The X Factor, which was won by Shane Ward and was the first series anyone really paid attention to, anyway. His performances were crazy high energy, and one time he poured a glass of water over himself mid song.
10 of 20Chico now
Chico went onto have some success with his single, It's Chico Time (erotic, hypnotic, exotic, that's for sure) and since then has launched his own fitness program and classes, Block 1. Last year he suffered a stroke following a blood clot on the brain, but quickly made a full recovery.
11 of 20Jedward then
Another of Louis Walsh's bright ideas, Jedward were bound to win over the X Factor mainstay hailing from his native Ireland. They delivered consistently cringe-worthy productions with backing vocals – but still made it to week seven, because, as we've seen – the public love a novelty act.*sarcasm
12 of 20Jedward now
This photo is from 2017, but let's be honest, Jedward haven't changed a bit, leading us to suspect they are in fact alien bots from the future sent to Earth for reasons so evil we couldn't possibly comprehend them. So far they're not doing a bad job of that, so we'll leave it there.
13 of 202Shoes then
In 2011, Essex- based duo 2Shoes won over Tulisa and took their place in the groups for series eight - but were pipped to the post by another girl group now known as Little Mix. Their infectious girly pop - and fondness of referring to each other as 'Shoe' – was cute, but got old quickly and they were eliminated in week one.
14 of 202Shoes now
SHUT UP! Far from having their confidence knocked from their time on X Factor, Charley and Lucy have continued to perform as 2Shoes, and earlier this year released a fab cover of Ariana Grande's Thank U, Next on YouTube. Meanwhile, Charley is now a mum of two after announcing her first pregnancy during the live show rehearsals.
15 of 20Rylan Clark then
Rylan had already starred on Signed By Katie Price when he auditioned for X Factor with long, platinum blonde hair and a bizarre dance version of Des 'Ree's Kissing You in 2012. But he really cemented his future sleb status with his LEGENDARY breakdown at Nicole Scherzinger's house, after she told him he was going through to the live shows.
16 of 20Rylan Clark-Neal now
It can be easy to forget about Rylan's humble beginnings, what with being a bona fide national treasure these days. He's worked on everything from Big Brother's Bit on the Side to the Eurovision spin off, You Decide. He's got a regular slot onThis Morning, stole the show on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside his mum Sandra and is currently filling the iconic shoes of Dale Winton in the reboot of Supermarket Sweep. In his personal life, he married policeman and Big Brother 14 housemate Dan Neal. Oh also, we love him.
17 of 20Same Difference then
Same Difference was made up of brother and sister Sean and Sarah Smith, and their brand of pop-meets-musical-theatre saw them sail through to third place under the mentorship of Simon Cowell – without falling into the bottom two ONCE during the live shows.
18 of 20Same Difference now
Sean is still singing, most recently performing at the Weston-Super-Mare Pride event in August 2019, and he's still got Same Difference in his Twitter bio so he's clearly not even embarrassed about it. Meanwhile little sis Sarah has been popping out kids, and is now mum to two boys, Bertie and Barney. Cute.
19 of 20Honey G then
It's unclear whether Honey G - real name Anna Georgette Gilford – was a parody character or just one of the most dedicated acts in X Factor history, but either way, the public certainly warmed to her polite rap persona and she placed fifth in 2016 under Sharon Osbourne, who returned to the show for that series.
20 of 20Honey G now
Honey did actually sign to SyCo, Simon Cowell's record label, before Christmas of that year but was dropped after just four months when her single charted at no. 149 in the UK charts – one of the lowest performing X Factor singles of all time. In 2017, she went on to star on Channel 5 make-under series 100% Hotter (dubbed "the most judgemental show on TV" by critics) where she was stripped of her hat and sunglasses.
She admits she suffers from “debilitating” anxiety, but has turned her negatives into positives – managing her stress by crafting and cleaning, which led her to writing her best-selling book.
And instead of hiding behind Instagram filters, she’s been praised for embracing her “flaws” by showing her real body in unfiltered images and saying, “Cellulite is beautiful, back bumps add character and tummy ledges are great for resting a baby on.”
It’s this honesty that media expert Nick Ede believes will see Stacey go from strength to strength – and even become “the next Holly”.
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Likening her to Holly – who started her presenting career in 2004, has amassed 7.1million followers and an estimated £10m fortune thanks to This Morning, Dancing On Ice, I’m A Celeb!, Celebrity Juice and collaborations with Marks & Spencer, Garnier and Oral B, Nick says, “Stacey has authenticity and so does Holly, and we’ve grown up with them – we’ve seen their flaws and they’re honest about what they’re going through, which makes them attractive to brands and channels, as well as to the public.
“Stacey having her own show on the BBC really sets her aside from ‘just’ being a panellist, or the funny, goofy one. Having her own show is testament to her realness, and I can see her doing morning TV – she could be the next Holly.”