Latest news with #Unbeaten
Indianapolis Star
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
English TV personality Kim Woodburn dies at 83 after 'short illness'
Kim Woodburn, the English professional cleaner turned television personality known for starring in "How Clean Is Your House?," has died, her manager said in a statement. She was 83. "It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness," Woodburn's manager, Craig Johnson-Pass, said in a statement to USA TODAY on June 17. The statement added, "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." The statement also asked for "time and privacy" for Woodburn's husband and close friends and said they will not be releasing any further details. Kim Woodburn was an English television personality known for starring on the reality show "How Clean Is Your House?" The show, which ran from 2003 to 2009 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, followed Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie as they cleaned dirty houses. Before appearing on the show, Woodburn worked as a house cleaner in the U.K. and U.S., according to BBC. Born Patricia Mary McKenzie on March 25, 1942, Woodburn had an abusive childhood and left home at the age of 15, she wrote in her 2006 book "Unbeaten." Her role on "How Clean Is Your House?" earned Woodburn the nickname The Queen of Clean, according to BBC. After the show was canceled, she went on to appear on several other reality shows, including "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2017. On her Instagram following her death, Woodburn's husband shared a video slideshow of photos of her. "My wonderful, beautiful, Kim passed away last night. God bless, my love, xx xx," Peter Woodburn wrote. Fans took to the comments to react to the news; one user called her "a national treasure." "RIP Kim. You rocked the reality TV world and made us laugh so much throughout the years. Thank you for the laughs," one person wrote. Another said, "Kim gave us all so much laughter and rare honesty what a gem."
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
English TV personality Kim Woodburn dies at 83 after 'short illness'
English TV personality Kim Woodburn dies at 83 after 'short illness' Woodburn's manager said the TV personality was "an incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person." Kim Woodburn, the English professional cleaner turned television personality known for starring in "How Clean Is Your House?," has died, her manager said in a statement. She was 83. "It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness," Woodburn's manager, Craig Johnson-Pass, said in a statement to USA TODAY on June 17. The statement added, "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." The statement also asked for "time and privacy" for Woodburn's husband and close friends and said they will not be releasing any further details. Who was Kim Woodburn? Kim Woodburn was an English television personality known for starring on the reality show "How Clean Is Your House?" The show, which ran from 2003 to 2009 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, followed Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie as they cleaned dirty houses. Before appearing on the show, Woodburn worked as a house cleaner in the U.K. and U.S., according to BBC. Born Patricia Mary McKenzie on March 25, 1942, Woodburn had an abusive childhood and left home at the age of 15, she wrote in her 2006 book "Unbeaten." Her role on "How Clean Is Your House?" earned Woodburn the nickname The Queen of Clean, according to BBC. After the show was canceled, she went on to appear on several other reality shows, including "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2017. Fans react to Kim Woodburn's death: 'A national treasure' On her Instagram following her death, Woodburn's husband shared a video slideshow of photos of her. "My wonderful, beautiful, Kim passed away last night. God bless, my love, xx xx," Peter Woodburn wrote. Fans took to the comments to react to the news; one user called her "a national treasure." "RIP Kim. You rocked the reality TV world and made us laugh so much throughout the years. Thank you for the laughs," one person wrote. Another said, "Kim gave us all so much laughter and rare honesty what a gem." Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kim Woodburn's tragic early life before she found fame: How Clean Is Your House star was abused by BOTH parents and buried her stillborn baby in a park
Kim Woodburn was brash, loud and famously controversial. The How Clean Is Your House? star was never afraid to shy away from a public feud, most famously when she branded fellow Big Brother star Coleen Nolan 'lying trash'. But the lashings of public opprobrium she received as a consequence were nothing compared to the suffering Woodburn had gone through as a child and younger woman. The star, who has died aged 83 after a short illness, previously revealed how she buried her stillborn son in a park after he was born four months early. And she also detailed the shocking abuse and neglect inflicted on her by her mother, who she described as a 'vicious alcoholic'; whilst her first husband was allegedly 'abusive'. Years later, on TV in 2017, Woodburn alleged that her father had sexually abused her. Such revelations were a world away from her popular TV image as a confident star; one who found fame through hard work after being plucked from obscurity while working as a cleaner and housekeeper. Her double act with Aggie MacKenzie proved hugely entertaining; as Britons lapped up the sight of the pair discovering and blitzing dirt and grime in ordinary homes. Woodburn made the shocking admission about her stillborn son in her 2006 autobiography, Unbeaten. She told how, as a frightened and confused 23-year-old in February 1966, she gave birth to the premature and stillborn boy alone in her flat, and was too embarrassed to seek medical help. Having given birth, she laid the baby in a bowl next to her bed and went to sleep. The following night, she went to a nearby park in Liverpool and buried the child, with tears streaming down her face. She then kept the episode secret. Police later said that they were examining her revelations because it is a criminal offence to conceal the birth of a baby. Woodburn was interviewed by officers but not charged. She wrote in Unbeaten: 'The poor little soul was so beautiful. In my confused state, I still felt this was my sole responsibility. I had never felt so wretched in my life.' Describing the moment she buried her son, who was born four months early, she wrote: 'I lowered my precious boy in and wrapped the towel around him before slowly replacing the earth.' She described the event as the worst night of her life. She also told how she would still 'talk' to her child and added: 'The deep sadness doesn't go away.' Born in Eastney, Hampshire, in March 1942 to parents Pat and Ron Mackenzie, Woodburn's early life was marked by upheaval and trauma. She told in her autobiography that her mother 'deprived me of the love and security a child ought to have.' Woodburn claimed that the very fact that she was a girl was seen by her parents as her first 'crime'. Her mother would 'regularly' brand her a 'little b****' and tell her that if she could 'send her back' she would. She and her sister Gloria, who was 19 months older than her and known as Gezzie, were sent to live with their grandmother after their mother 'took off' with one of her philandering father's friends. And when that arrangement proved too taxing, the sisters were sent to a foster home. Their mother would turn up every few weeks 'without warning' to 'claim us back', Woodburn said. The star was also savagely beaten by her mother. She recalled the 'sharp intake of breath' of an NSPCC inspector when he saw the bruises covering her back after a beating that her mother falsely blamed on her husband. Woodburn detailed how she fled her mother's influence a month before she turned 16, when she found refuge at the home her father shared with his second wife. However, in 2017, Woodburn claimed that her father also abused her, including sexually. Speaking on This Morning, she said: 'My father was a Royal Marine. He was physically abusive. He would hit me with carpet brushes.' Asked if it was sexual, she added: 'Oh yes'. Woodburn had more trauma with her first marriage, which she described as 'abusive'. The couple tied the knot in 1971 and divorced four years later. It was in 1979 that she married Peter Woodburn. The couple, who did not have children, remained devoted to each other. Before she found fame, Woodburn worked as a social worker and live-in housekeeper. When her mother died in the year 2000, she and her husband were caring for the home of a wealthy German industrialist in Belgravia. It was in 2002, when Woodburn was working as a cleaner for a family in Kent, that she got her big break in showbusiness. Woodburn was put forward by a cleaning firm after Channel 4 said they were looking for a 'really good cleaner with quite a funny temperament for a new series'. She was chosen alongside magazine journalist Aggie MacKenzie to star in How Clean Is Your House? The programme proved an instant hit and continued to air until 2009. Woodburn, now known as the 'Queen of Clean', became a household name. She was a regular on shows including This Morning and Loose Women and also starred in reality behemoths such as I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and Celebrity Big Brother. She first appeared as a regular panelist on Big Brother's spin-off series Bit on the Side in 2011 and then entered as a housemate in 2017's celebrity edition, where she came in third place. In recent weeks, Kim had cancelled her work commitments due to health concerns, confirming she would no longer be offering Cameo videos in a statement on Instagram on March 2 Loose Women star Coleen Nolan won and Irish pop twins Jedward were second. The cleaning guru was regularly challenged over her angry outbursts and controversial attitude during her time in the Big Brother house. Nolan and Woodburn fell out during the show, and Woodburn appeared on Loose Women in 2018 in an attempt to settle their feud but things quickly turned nasty between them. Woodburn broke down as she discussed her traumatic childhood, before walking off the set and branding Nolan 'lying trash'. The clash sparked more than 3,000 complaints to regulator Ofcom, with the majority about how the Loose Women panel treated Woodburn. Her stint on I'm A Celebrity saw her finish runner-up behind Gino D'Acampo. News of her recent poor health emerged earlier this year. She had been offering personal video messages to her fans on content-sharing website Cameo for £25, but paused selling the content in March. She cancelled her work commitments and her husband is believed to have been managing her Instagram in recent weeks. 'We regret to tell you that Kim is unable to record any further videos for the foreseeable future, due to a health problem. Kim sends her love to you all,' a statement confirmed at the time. 'No more videos for now, my loves, I need to get better,' she wrote in an Instagram post shared on March 2.
Daily Mirror
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Kim Woodburn's heartbreaking tragedy before little-known name change
WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT: Before finding fame as the 'Queen of Clean', Kim Woodburn, who has sadly died at the age of 83, endured a tragic 'watershed' moment that changed the course of her life forever 'Queen of Clean' Kim Woodburn, who has died at the age of 83, enjoyed a stellar TV career. However, her early life was far from easy, with a tragic incident in her early 20s continuing to haunt her decades later. Born Patricia Mary McKenzie, Kim's childhood was marked by physical abuse. At the age of 16, the Hampshire-born star moved to Liverpool, where she worked as a live-in cleaner. Sadly, this fresh start was far from the end of the future How Clean Is Your House? icon's personal difficulties. At the age of 23, Kim found herself pregnant by a man who'd deserted her. Then, on February 22, 1966, came what Kim would later describe as "the worst night of her life". While climbing the stairs to her flat, Kim, who was five-and-a-half months pregnant at that point, realised her baby was coming. In her candid 2006 autobiography, Unbeaten, Kim wrote: "My little baby was coming out feet first. I'd never been so frightened or in so much pain in my life. I took the washing-up bowl from the sink, threw it on the floor and stood straddled across it. "Then I got hold of a tea towel, wrapped it around the little foot and eased it gently out of my body." In a heartbreaking revelation, Kim recalled how she "could tell he was dead straightaway". She remembered: "There was no sign of breathing, but he had such perfect little legs and hands." In a "terrible state", Kim placed the body of her little boy in a bowl beside her bed and eventually fell asleep. The following night, she buried the stillborn child in a park. According to Kim: "I put the baby on the ground and then knelt down and started digging with the spoon. As I gouged the earth, tears streamed down my face. I brushed them away with my dirty hands. "When I felt I had dug down deep enough, I lowered my precious little boy into the hole and wrapped the towel around him before slowly replacing the earth. When the job was done, I still couldn't leave." She continued: "I was in the pit of despair, blown apart. It was something someone should never have to go through. I could never go back there. It will always be with me, but it would be too painful." A police inquiry ensued after her autobiography was published, but ultimately, no action was taken. Addressing the reaction she'd had to this particular chapter in an interview with the Liverpool Echo, Kim said: "I'm bearing up under the strain of it all. And people have been so kind. "I've had so many letters and phone calls from people saying lovely things, some from people who have been in a similar situation to myself, others just wishing me the best. "What people forget is that all this happened 41 years ago when things were so very different. "You had to be a virgin on your wedding day, and to be pregnant and single, there was an enormous stigma. I had no family to turn to. I was ashamed and frightened." After the death of her son, Kim, who was then still known as Pat, decided to change her name, in an attempt to move on from her troubled past. She picked Kim after Kim Novak, the legendary actress behind classics such as Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 nailbiter, Vertigo. Following this "huge watershed" moment, Kim went on to find love with her retired policeman husband Peter, who is "heartbroken" over her death, which came after a short illness. A representative for Kim shared in a statement: "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."
CNA
27-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
Industrial designer Tom Dixon wants to still be excited by things and to remain 'juvenile'
I first met Tom Dixon in 2018. The British furniture and industrial designer was in Singapore to promote his eponymous brand. During an event at the Xtra store, I became enamoured with his Peg lounge chair and purchased a copy that he signed. The seat is now out of production, but it has survived more than a decade of children climbing over it. Every time I sit on it, my hands naturally gravitate towards the joints clearly expressed as combined timber rods. Dixon has a knack for injecting quirk and surprise to familiar forms shaped by his intrigue with industrial processes. One will surely remember his Beat collection. The trio of brass lamps with hand-beaten, golden internal surfaces became so widely copied that Dixon created a more affordable aluminium range called Unbeaten. 'I think my design language is very simplistic. I get obsessed with these really basic shapes like the sphere and the cube – geometric elements that form the basis of design,' explained Dixon. His early childhood, though, was far from the world of objects. Born in North Africa where his parents were based, his first four years were spent in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Suez. 'It was mainly memories of animals. I remember camels at the water wheel going around in circles. I was fascinated with flying fish I saw during a trip to Egypt. And the locust swarms – we would drive up to the plague of locusts and they'd be crushed right onto the windscreen,' recalled the 66-year-old, who founded the Tom Dixon brand with David Beg in 2002. In February 2025, I spoke with Dixon again in the Xtra showroom, seven years after our first interview. He was at the tail end of an Asian tour to launch his latest furniture designs ahead of the annual Milan Design Week, held from Apr 7 to Apr 13 this year. He now prefers this strategy, meeting his distributors and supporters up close in their home countries rather than putting up displays in the world's biggest design event. Those displays were really grand. For example, in 2012, to showcase the possibilities of accessible high-tech manufacturing, he brought a Trumpf sheet-steel machine into Milan's Museum of Science and Technology, houses in a 16th century monastery. I recall the brilliant juxtaposition of historic machines – a train and antique flying contraptions were some of them – against the modern one stamping steel lamps that Dixon gave away to visitors. Thirteen years on, this experiment with metal has materialised the Groove aluminium chair and table, which is his first outdoor collection. Another recent design is the Fat sofa. The modular version of the loveseat adapts to modern-day use of the sofa where apart from watching television, one also lounges on the seat to use the mobile phone or work on the laptop. 'People still want to be together, but they don't need to sit in a row, looking at the television,' Dixon explained. The chair had Kim Kardashian's approval – she modelled her Skims collection on two Fat lounge chairs positioned in opposite directions like a loveseat, he said. This year, Dixon introduced the task chair variation called Fat Work. It was birthed during the pandemic when Dixon was confined to working from home and decided the conventional office chair was 'too ugly' for a home environment. 'I adapted one of our Fat chairs to have a swivel base and the bare minimum of mechanism for an office chair,' said Dixon. 'At home, you're doing some of your work on the sofa then getting up to walk the dog or make a call; you're never sitting eight hours straight in front of the computer where you need all those levers, lumber supports and [adjustable] armrests.' Like many others, the pandemic had allowed him to reset from a hectic work life where more time was spent on meetings than making things in the workshop. 'During Covid, I went a bit feral. We were not supposed to go into the office, so I pretended I was horticulture and inhabited my friend's orchid farm in Sussex. There, I played with materials. It was really good fun,' shared Dixon. He even bought a kiln. 'It's in the southern part of England that sits on a massive block of clay, so the buildings are made of brick. I dug up a load of clay and made mainly flowerpots and vases,' said Dixon. From a young age, he already loved working with his hands. Attending Holland Park School gave him some formal training. 'It was really poor at academics but had an amazing art department. I thought I had a lot of luck with that. Quite early on, I found refuge in those spaces,' shared Dixon, who earned a pottery certification at the end of his schooling years. The self-described introverted child also sought refuge in books. 'My sister used to beat me because I was very bookish and wouldn't play with her,' chuckled Dixon. This changed when he 'discovered girls and music.' Dixon enrolled in Chelsea Collage of Arts but left after half a year when a motorcycle accident confined him in hospital for three months. A brief career as the bass guitarist for disco band Funktapolitan followed, where Dixon opened for bands like The Clash. 'The music business was interesting because it allowed you, without a lot of skill, to kind of output your creativity,' remarked Dixon on the parallels between music and making things. A second motorcycle accident saw him being replaced in the band when it went on tour so Dixon started working in London's nightclub and warehouse party scene. Fortuitously, it left him time in the day to muck around with recycled and found materials. Dixon would make one-off objects and sell them. One of these would change the course of his life. The S Chair, made of rubber inner tubes and with a steering wheel for a base, caught the attention of Cappellini. The Italian furniture manufacturer acquired the design and made several elevated versions, thrusting Dixon into the international design world proper. While he did not have a degree in design, Dixon did gain plenty from the school of life. In the 1990s, Dixon joined Habitat as its head of design before rising the ranks to become creative director. It was owned by Ikea, which had acquired the furniture empire founded by Sir Terence Conan. 'There was something really fabulous about jumping from being a kind of naive, self-taught designer-maker to working for this organisation, which was and still is the largest furniture business on the planet,' said Dixon. 'If we wanted to sell a plant or soft toy, we'd sell millions.' The rite of passage at Habitat was to work in the complaints department in the first week. 'What a nightmare! But I did learn a lot about what really happens in the furniture business, like deliveries not fitting in through the door, or people buying stuff and using it for a party before sending it back, claiming it was the wrong textile,' mused Dixon. He was exposed to endless business opportunities, as well as had access to a global sourcing map. He also learnt about marketing brands and consumer behaviour. 'When we launched something, we could tell the following week who was buying,' said Dixon on the data accessibility. This was indispensable groundwork for when he established his own company. In 2004, the Tom Dixon brand partnered with venture capital company Proventus to form Design Research. The entity owns and manages the Tom Dixon brand and Finnish modernist furniture manufacturer Artek. In 2007, Dixon started Design Research Studio to design spaces – filled with Tom Dixon products, of course. These include the interior design of Jamie Oliver's London restaurant Barbacoa, boutique hotel Mondrian London and Virgin Voyage's first sea vessel. It also designed The Manzoni in Milan, which was Tom Dixon's inaugural European base comprising a restaurant, shop and offices. Dixon now launches his designs at The Manzoni during Milan Design Week. At the recent edition, his new Whirl lights floated in the restaurants like shimmering jewels. They are his latest exploration of mirrored reflections, inspired by the op-art movement. For a self-taught designer, Dixon has done excellently. His products are sold in over 90 countries, and he has hubs in London, Milan, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Some designs are immortalised in the most reputable museums, such as London's Victoria and Albert Museum, New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Early this year, Dixon was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) – a rank up from the OBE (Order of the British Empire) that he received in 2000. It is the highest order excluding a knighthood or damehood in the ranks established by Kind George V in 1917. Other personalities who have become CBE include director David Attenborough, architect John Pawson and artist Anish Kapoor. I asked Dixon how things have changed for him. 'I don't think I'm that different actually; I'm still curious. Twenty years is the longest time I've spent doing anything, so my battle is not to be stale, really. I just want to remain interesting and excited by things, to remain 'juvenile',' he articulated. There are still many things that he has not explored, such as transportation vehicles ('electric cars are evolving so fast'), camping gear ('camping is trending, but I've never done any tents'), and electronics. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tom Dixon (@tomdixonstudio) Dixon pointed to his mobile phone. 'I swear, last week I took someone else's phone all the way to Leeds because it looked exactly like mine. There's no personality in electronics anymore; there must be a way of thinking differently about the thing you use most in your life.' The great thing about a creative career is that it does not really have a retirement age. 'It's like being a journalist, allowing you to poke into other people's business,' said Dixon. 'Everyday is a fresh opportunity or challenge if you manage not to become cynical or bored with your own narrative. There are so many materials and typologies I'd like to work with that I haven't done so in the end if I get bored or stale, it's my own fault.'
