She was one of three late arrivals on I’m A Celebrity… South Africa after the ITV spin-off series had already welcomed back 10 stars from the show’s past.
Musician and TV presenter Myleene Klass was joined by Coronation Street actor Andy Whyment and media personality Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo when she entered the camp.
Myleene said of returning to the show: “When do you get to do an adventure like this Doing the all-star series feels like an incredible thing to be part of. It is also a great honour. There have been hundreds of contestants to choose from and it feels like we are in the Avengers!”
The 44-year-old added: “My children are excited too. They weren’t around when I first went in and it is something we have always talked about. When we sat down together as a family to talk about it, they told me to do it because it looked like so much fun.”
But who is Myleene Klass, what happened between her and Hear’Say band member Kym Marsh and when was she involved in a gang attack? Here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Myleene Klass?
Myleene began her career as a member of the band Hear’Say, who formed on the television show Popstars before ultimately splitting in 2002. After that, she went on to release a her own classical album, before going on to become a well-recognised TV/radio presenter and reality TV star.
Myleene appeared in the sixth series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2006. She came runner-up to Busted’s Matt Willis. Three years later, she went on to host the US version of I’m A Celebrity in 2009.
In 2020 Myleene was a contestant on Dancing on Ice for its 13th season and was paired with Łukasz Różycki, but became the first celebrity of her run to be eliminated after a skate-off. Since 2006 Myleene has hosted a show on Classic FM and can currently be heard every Saturday and Sunday evening from 10pm to midnight.
What happened between Myleene Klass and Kym Marsh?
Myleene and Hear’Say co-star Kym Marsh met on the television show Popstars. The band - which consisted of the two of them and Suzanne Shaw, Noel Sullivan and Danny Foster - was formed by music mogul Nigel 'Nasty' Lythgoe.
In 2002, however, Hear’Say split with Kym quitting the band first. Speaking about her decision, Kym said at the time: "I was lonely, stressed and sad when I should have been loving it. Tensions were building in the band and I felt like I was the odd one out."
Kym made the decision to leave after her and Myleene argued before the band went on The Jerry Springer Show in the US. "Me and Myleene had a slagging match but someone split us up as we were due to go on air," Kym said in her 2013 autobiography.
She added: "Going on to perform our single was horrible. At one point, me and Myleene had to put our arms around one another. It was so fake and I hated every minute of it. We had been overheard arguing by staff at the studios and the following day our row was all over the newspapers. We managed to put it behind us but the niggles remained. I wish we'd been able to explain honestly how we were feeling. But the problems festered."
Kym had no real contact with Myleene until her son Archie died in February 2009. Kym and then-partner Jamie Lomas lost their little boy shortly after he was born at 18 weeks early.
"We hadn't really kept in contact but, being a mum herself, Myleene rang to see how I was," Kym continued in her autobiography. “We were both in tears on the phone and, in the days after Archie's death, we talked more and more. Myleene really was there for me. She helped me choose the music for Archie's funeral and sent the most beautiful bouquet of flowers to the crematorium."
Kym and Myleene also appeared opposite each other on ITV’s Popstar to Operastar in 2016. At the time, Kym said of her and Myleene’s relationship: "We have both grown up now that we have children of our own. Life is too short to hold grudges and what happened back then isn't anyone's fault. I am determined not to let anything or anyone come between us again."
Myleene’s gang attack
In December 2005 Myleene was the subject of a vicious gang attack. The altercation saw her attacked by a group of teenagers in a newsagent in Bermondsey.
At the time The Mirror reported how the girls sang the Hear'Say song ‘Pure and Simple’ at Myleene. One of them then said: "I'm going to kill you".
After that, another of the girls dumped a bag of chips on Myleene’s head before hurling the singer and TV presenter to the ground. As she lay stunned, another of the thugs said: "Shall I bitch slap her?" The gang then tried to take photos of her on their mobile phones before running to a nearby Tube station.
I'm A Celebrity... South Africa continues on ITV1 at 9pm on Wednesday, April 26. You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.
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