What happened next to five Yorkshire reality TV stars
The 30-year-old stay-at-home mum, who is studying for an Open University degree and lives in Leeds, has a legion of fans that extends right to the upper echelons of society.
The Prime Minister David Cameron has revealed he will be sitting down to watch the final just hours after giving his party conference speech in Manchester and he is backing Nadiya to win.
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Hide AdAs the rest of us get ready to nestle down in front of the box for a tense final bake off this week, we take a look back at some other local reality TV stars and ask: What happened next?
CHANELLE HAYES
THEN: Would-be Victoria Beckham lookalike Chanelle Hayes walked out of Channel 4’s Big Brother in 2007 after her on-of romance with fellow housemate Ziggy Lichman turned sour.
NOW: Wakefield’s Chanelle has modelled for lads’ mags such as Loaded, Zoo and Nuts while her relationships with footballer Matthew Bates and TV personality Jack Tweed have made her a familiar presence in the tabloids.
She has also released a perfume and a pop single and penned an autobiography, entitled Baring My Heart.
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Hide AdThe former Pontefract New College student has faced tough times while in the limelight, she needed hospital treatment in 2009 after taking an overdose. Chanelle, mum to son Blakely, showed a happier and more homely side in 2012 when she launched a cakemaking business called Love Cake Love Me.
JACK CARROLL
THEN: Teenage comedian and cerebral palsy sufferer Jack Carroll finished runner-up in the 2013 series of ITV programme Britain’s Got Talent.
NOW: Jack has built on his reputation as a genuine rising star with appearances in two TV sitcoms, Sky’s Trollied and BBC One’s Big School. Big School was co-written by funnyman David Walliams, one of the judges wowed by the youngster on Britain’s Got Talent.
Walliams said: “[Jack] was perfect to play a kid in this series and he was really funny. Myself and the Dawson brothers (co-writers Andrew and Steve) wrote the part with him in mind, and we had a lot of fun writing material for him.”
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Hide AdKeen Leeds United fan Jack, from Hipperholme, has also spent some time in Blackpool making a short film called Going to Mecca, and appeared in two series of the CBBC show Ministry of Curious Stuff.
SADIE FLOWER
THEN: Leeds lass Sadie Flower showed all the right moves when she won BBC One’s Strictly Dance Fever in 2005.
NOW: Sadie has built on her success in the Graham Norton-hosted show and today runs her own Tingley-based dance academy for budding performers aged five to 21.
She has a sideline as a promoter, putting on an annual freestyle and street dance event at Doncaster Dome.
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Hide AdSadie, who has a young daughter and is originally from Methley but now lives in Birstall, said: “Strictly Dance Fever was a massive thing in my life. I’d encourage anyone going into a TV competition to grasp the opportunity with both hands.”
CLAIRE YOUNG
THEN: Claire Young got to the final of BBC TV’s The Apprentice in 2008, with her no-nonsense style earning her the nickname “The Rotweiler” along the way.
NOW: The former Wakefield Girls’ High School pupil has put the entrepreneurial flair she demonstrated on the programme to good use in a successful career as a businesswoman and has even gone on to act as a government adviser on initiatives around employment education and women in business.
Her own firm, School Speakers, provides “experienced, interesting and knowledgeable” speakers for schools, colleges and universities.
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Hide AdClaire, from Wakefield, admits the level of recognition that came with TV fame was something of a surprise: “I can remember being in M&S packing some shopping and this man came up and started telling me his opinions about me!”
But she also says she has no regrets about her decision to appear: “The show has changed my life.”
CAROLYNNE POOLE
THEN: Songbird Carolynne Poole reached the final of BBC One’s Fame Academy in 2003 and made it through to the live stages of ITV’s X Factor in 2012. Show judge Gary Barlow called her “supremely talented” and threatened to quit The X Factor after she was controversially kicked off the series.
NOW: Former Intake High School pupil Carolynne released her debut album earlier this year which showcased her love of country music.
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Hide AdShe spent most of last year in America working in Nashville and Los Angeles on the album with well-known figures such as Sandi Thom, and now spends much of her time in Manchester.
In January, Leeds Rhinos fan Carolynne told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “My music isn’t your typical country music. We call it ‘funky country’ as it’s a fusion of country, pop and rock. Tongue-in-cheek, fun country pop songs with some powerful ballads should be expected from the album – think Shania Twain meets Kelly Clarkson.
“The first release from the album is due in April and I’m pretty excited to finally be able to get something out there.”
Asked about her X Factor experience, Carolynne said: “I don’t regret the show at all, it has put me in front of the people in America that I would’ve never reached before.”
Some you may have forgotten about...
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Hide AdLeeds singer Richard Wilkinson was one fifth of boyband Futureproof, who reached the live finals of The X Factor in 2007; Andy Jackson, a Leeds-born car dealer, was the first contestant to get the “you’re fired” treatment in the 2007 series of The Apprentice; Leeds business studies student Vanessa Nimmo, originally from South Africa, lasted a month in the Big Brother house back in 2004; Helene Speight, a global pricing leader from Leeds, made it through to the final of The Apprentice in 2008; Dewsbury’s David Ramsden finished third in Big Brother in 2009 - but came out of the house to find his real-life flat had been burgled.