Kim Woodburn, the star of How Clean Is Your House who made headlines after her fiery Celebrity Big Brother appearance, has died at the age of 83.
A statement announcing the TV personality’s death read: “It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness.
“Kim was an incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person.”
Woodburn’s representatives said that her husband of 46 years, Peter, is “heartbroken at the loss of his soulmate”.
“We are so proud of the amazing things Kim achieved in her life and career. We kindly ask that Kim’s husband and close friends are given the time and privacy they need to grieve,” they continued.
Woodburn, who always wore her hair in a signature tight-braided bun, shot to fame after a cleaning company recommended her for a lifestyle show titled How Clean Is Your House in 2002. The channel had posted a listing for “a really good cleaner with quite a funny temperament”.
She secured a presenting slot after a successful screen test with co-host Aggie MacKenzie, and went on to front the show alongside her from 2003 to 2009.
MacKenzie claimed she fell out with Woodburn that same year while performing panto in Brighton together, and in 2003, she reflected on her professional relationship with her former co-star.
“I think we’re chalk and cheese,” she told GB News. “Because of the friction there was between us, it created this energy and so we knew how to be in front of the camera.
“I think for her [Kim] it’s kind of normal to have conflict and I think that if things are calm and easy, I think she found that quite difficult. That’s not me, I like it easy peasy.” However, MacKenzie added that there were “lots of highs”.
Nicknamed the “Queen of Clean”, Woodburn generated a cult following thanks to her scathing remarks and, after leaving the show, she became notorious for her unpredictable, often hilarious, showdowns on a string of reality shows.
Despite a rocky journey on the 2009 series of ITV’s I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Woodburn finished in second place behind Gino D’Acampo.
Her other reality show stints included Celebrity Come Dine with Me, Let’s Dance for Comic Relief and A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun, on which she appeared alongside her husband.
But perhaps most memorable was her time on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, which was mired in controversy due to her many clashes with housemates including Jamie O'Hara, Nicola McLean and Coleen Nolan.
The following year, she went on daytime series Loose Women “to make amends” with Nolan, but ended up walking off following another row.
The show’s panellists were accused of “bullying” Woodburn and the interview prompted 8,000 complaints to broadcasting regulator Ofcom.
Nolan, who had won their series of Celebrity Big Brother, said afterwards: “We have got members of our team with Kim backstage. We didn’t intend for it to actually end like that, we were hoping – actually, genuinely hoping – for some kind of reconciliation, but that wasn’t going to happen.”
ITV said: “We invited Kim on the show to reconcile with Coleen and put their differences behind them. But it didn’t go to plan. After 18 months, we were hoping the two women would let bygones be bygones. But it wasn’t to be.”
Woodburn is survived by her husband, Peter.
