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TV star Kim Woodburn, who rose to fame presenting How Clean Is Your House?, has died at the age of 83 after a short illness, her manager said.
A statement said: “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.
“Her husband, 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. We will not be releasing any further details.”
Woodburn was selected as one of the hosts of Channel 4’s 2003 housework-based reality show, How Clean Is Your House? while working as a professional cleaner. It was a career she had begun aged 16, as a live-in cleaner for a laundrette-owning family that saw her earn £2.10 a week – a role she described to the Guardian as “I was just a piece of flesh.”
Upon being teamed with journalist Aggie Mackenzie, their reality series – in which they tackled dirty homes while treating their inhabitants to catty comments – proved a surprise hit. It earned 4 million viewers, matching Big Brother’s ratings. As the show’s “dirt detective”, Woodburn once treated The Guardian offices to barbed comments as part of a publicity tour where she inspected its cleanliness and announced of its state: “It’s sheer laziness! If your mum could see this she’d smack your bum!”
Woodburn also became a reality star, following the 2009 cancellation of How Clean Is Your House? She entered the Australian jungle for the 2009 edition of I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! and came runner-up to Gino D’Acampo. She regularly appeared on Loose Women, and starred in the 2017 edition of the Channel Five version of Celebrity Big Brother.
During Big Brother’s run she fell out with fellow Loose Women host Coleen Nolan, and a resulting reunion between the pair on the female-fronted ITV daytime show caused controversy after Woodburn stormed offset and over 7,000 viewers complained to Ofcom.
Woodburn’s 2006 autobiography, Unbeaten, caused controversy when she admitted to having a stillborn child in her early 20s, and burying the body in a Liverpool park. Following the book’s serialisation, Merseyside Police announced they were considering whether to take legal action – only to not do so.
TV presenter Lizzie Cundie, who appeared alongside Woodburn as a talking head on Big Brother-analysis show, Bit on the Side, was among those to pay tribute.
“Very sad to hear Kim Woodburn has passed away. We had many fun times on the Big Brother Bit on the side show, such a character and she always said what she thought! A ball of energy that will be very much missed.”
