Nobody is perfect. Not even the Mail’s Showbusiness team. So we don’t mind admitting that we may have overlooked a name or two when it came to writing our much-read list of Britain’s ten most desperate celebrities this week.
In fact, we were inundated with responses from our very astute readers, who were keen to share who they think are the ultimate hangers-on, wannabes, and the nobodies of the showbiz world.
You were right about some of them – but we couldn’t help but notice that some of you had got the wrong impression of others, who might appear grasping but are hardworking and genuine behind the scenes.
So here is our verdict on the desperate celebrities chosen by Mail readers…
Amanda has developed a rather unedifying habit of complaining about stories that aren’t totally fawning
There was one name you mentioned more than anyone else – Amanda Holden. Frankly, we are not surprised.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge’s personal life has certainly kept her in the headlines for decades – namely, a very public affair with actor Neil Morrissey during her marriage to TV presenter Les Dennis.
Despite this past, Netflix thought it appropriate to offer Amanda a chance to front the show Cheat, where couples explore their experiences of infidelity. More shocking was the fact that Amanda said ‘yes’.
‘You can only imagine what people were saying behind her back when she took that gig,’ said one TV insider.
And just this weekend, Amanda posted pictures of her 19-year-old daughter Lexi in a bikini, despite once insisting: ‘I won’t push my children into the industry.’
To give it to Amanda, she has always got time to talk to the press. The only thing is, she has developed a rather unedifying habit of complaining about stories that aren’t totally fawning. We are already bracing ourselves for a phone call!
Meghan Markle – Verdict: DESPERATE
Meghan was a C-list actress, famous for starring in the hit legal drama Suits. Her ruthlessness and desperation to claw her way to the top was obvious even then
How did we manage to miss out the Queen of Montecito in our original list?
Long before she met Prince Harry, Meghan was a C-list actress, famous for starring in the hit legal drama Suits. Her ruthlessness and desperation to claw her way to the top was obvious even then.
Keen to make a name for herself in Britain, her publicist positively begged showbusiness journalists to meet with their starry-eyed new client.
The performative reticence that Meghan today displays towards the press was nowhere to be seen back then, as she waxed lyrical to journalists about her ambition – both on screen and in her private life.
She even reportedly asked TV personality and former WAG Lizzie Cundy: ‘Do you know any famous guys? I’m single and I really love English men.’
It seems to have worked for Megs – now a mother-of-two and a duchess to boot – having bagged her prince and tried to blow up the British Royal Family in the process.
Helen Flanagan – Verdict: DESPERATE
According to one insider, Helen has made a reputation for herself in the industry as a ‘diva’ to work with
Aged 10, she was the brown-haired darling of Coronation Street in her role as Rosie Webster, with a bright future ahead of her and tipped to break Hollywood.
Twenty-five years later, and things have not panned out quite the way Helen Flanagan, 34, would have hoped, as she now briefly appears on reality shows such as Celebs Go Dating.
So what happened? One insider tells us that Helen has made a reputation for herself in the industry as a ‘diva’ to work with.
They said: ‘She was really sweet as a young teenager and was polite and helpful and kind to everyone. But then something happened when she met [her footballer ex-boyfriend] Scott Sinclair in 2009. She just became rude and entitled – even to hair and makeup people. Behaviour like that. Eventually, word got round that she was a diva and people stopped wanting to work with her.’
It was rumoured earlier this year that the mother-of-three might reprise her role on the Cobbles, but ITV has said there are no plans to do so.
And in January, she was slapped with a six-month driving ban for speeding. Last month she revealed she was selling her £1million ‘forever’ home amid financial struggles, claiming she could not afford taxis to take her children – who she shares with Sinclair – to school.
Rita Ora – Verdict: DESPERATE
Rita came under scrutiny when she paid the Notting Hill restaurant Casa Cruz £5,000 to break lockdown rules to host her 30th birthday party
Yes, Rita Ora is one of the most successful female artists to emerge from the UK. But putting her musical talents aside, we can reveal the 34-year-old is viewed as a ‘hanger-on’ in the industry.
An insider tells us: ‘The thing about Rita is that she spreads herself very thin and wants to achieve a lot with her career, so she tries to insert herself into the presenting gang with people such as Jonathan Ross, the London gang with Kate Moss, and also the LA music scene. She’s kind of a jill of all trades, master of none, when it comes to establishing herself.
‘I mean, she even went for Brooklyn Beckham when he was 18 and she was 26…’
The Let Me Love You singer also came under scrutiny when she paid the Notting Hill restaurant Casa Cruz £5,000 to break lockdown rules to host her 30th birthday party. CCTV hard drives were wiped two days later, and the singer faced immense scrutiny from the British public, who at the time were cooped up in their homes.
It is unfortunate for Rita that another London-born pop singer, Dua Lipa – whose family originates from Kosovo, Albania – is tearing up the music scene and headlining Glastonbury. The two women are said to have an unspoken rivalry.
Kerry Katona – Verdict: DESPERATE
Kerry has spent the past 26 years grabbing headlines for a whole array of reasons – from drug addiction to bankruptcy and being fined £500 for failing to send her child to school
Katie Price’s partner-in-crime and friend of 20 years, Kerry Katona, certainly deserves a place on the list.
Kerry and Katie – who came in at number one in our last rankings – are embarking on a UK-wide tour in September. An Evening With will see the two best friends ‘share stories of their friendship, marriage and divorce, bankruptcy, I’m A Celebrity, the importance of family, their constant press attention and turning their lives around’.
On top of this, they are offering their adoring fans the opportunity to buy VIP meet-and-greet packages – for a bargain £20.
Kerry will certainly have a lot to talk about. The former Atomic Kitten has spent the past 26 years grabbing headlines for a whole array of reasons – from drug addiction to bankruptcy and being fined £500 for failing to send her child to school.
The mother-of-five told a recent podcast she gets ‘quite embarrassed’ about her sex life, before admitting: ‘I’m loud and lairy and I’ve done Page 3 and I’ve done OnlyFans, I’ve been a lap dancer.’
Her latest beau, who she met on the Channel 4 show Celebs Go Dating, is personal trainer Paolo Magaglione, who is 11 years her junior.
I’m sure we’ll be hearing all about him on her tour with Pricey.
Jamie Laing – Verdict: NOT DESPERATE
Mail sources say Jamie has always been extremely pleasant and buzzing with ideas
It’s true – Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing constantly seems to be embarking on a new podcasting venture.
But to be fair to him, off the back of his reality TV success, he now owns one of the fastest-growing confectionery businesses in the UK, Candy Kittens, as well as his own media company, Jampot Productions.
He and his wife, Sophie Habboo – who he met on the reality show – have done very well for themselves, now both being sought after as brand ambassadors and red-carpet hosts.
Unlike his ex-best friend Spencer Matthews, our sources say Jamie Laing has always been extremely pleasant and buzzing with ideas.
An insider said: ‘Jamie genuinely cares about his projects and gets very stressed when things aren’t going his way – which is very rarely. He puts 100 per cent into every project. Working with him is like working with an overstimulated child who’s eaten too many sweets.’
Lauryn Goodman – Verdict: DESPERATE
We can’t help but notice that every time Kyle Walker hits the headlines, Lauryn soon follows
The on-again, off-again mistress of England footballer and love rat Kyle Walker, Lauryn has certainly made a name for herself in recent years – fathering not one but two of his children while he was married to wife Annie.
We can’t help but notice that every time Kyle hits the headlines, Lauryn soon follows – usually illustrated with a collection of ‘candid’ pap shots of her and the kids.
Who could forget the set of her packing boxes into the back of a lorry just days after Kyle Walker moved to Italy to play for Milan, giving the impression she was preparing to quit the UK and follow?
A source told us: ‘She’s always got a story – if you’ve got enough cash.’
Molly-Mae Hague – Verdict: DESPERATE
In a recent video, Molly-Mae ignorantly complained from her £4million mansion that she has had ‘no fun’ this summer – despite attending Wimbledon and enjoying multiple trips abroad
This will certainly cause uproar among Molly-Mae’s legion of Gen Z fangirls. But Molly-Mae is indeed desperate – just not in the conventional sense.
The former Love Islander and fashion magnate has recently found herself in a Catch-22 situation, desperate to remain ‘relatable’ (the word her brand thrives on) to her supporters. But with her growing fame and heaving bank account, she is becoming anything but.
And so, instead, she scrabbles to remain down-to-earth in videos posted to her YouTube channel – but fails dramatically. In a recent video, she ignorantly complained from her £4million mansion that she has had ‘no fun’ this summer – despite attending Wimbledon and enjoying multiple trips abroad.
She certainly cares a lot about her image, with one insider telling us: ‘Everything that comes from Molly-Mae is meticulously planned within an inch of its life.
‘She reads every article about herself with a fine-tooth comb – but she’s far too grand to pick up the phone and speak to us. She gets her team to do that!’
Nicola Peltz – Verdict: DESPERATE
We think her constant posting of herself and husband Brooklyn snogging each other, as well as completely naked shots of herself in the bath, certainly qualifies her place on the list
Is there anything more desperate than casting yourself as the main character in a film you wrote, which is completely funded by your father – and which ultimately receives terrible reviews for being ‘out of touch’ and completely ‘off the mark’?
Well, if that wasn’t enough to earn Nicola Peltz a place on the list, we think her constant posting of herself and husband Brooklyn snogging each other, as well as completely naked shots of herself in the bath, certainly qualifies her.
Surely she isn’t that desperate for attention from her followers? Or maybe it’s her parents-in-law, the Beckhams, she is trying to provoke – as part of the ugly rift between their families?
Peter Andre – Verdict: DESPERATE
Peter continues to live off his one-hit wonder – all while wearing the same suit and open shirt he did three decades ago
Though he is famed for his hit 1996 single Mysterious Girl, Peter Andre is anything but mysterious.
Peter continues to live off his one-hit wonder – all while wearing the same suit and open shirt he did three decades ago. He can be found at every Z-list event he can get invited to.
One insider said: ‘He’s perfectly pleasant but he’s been doing the same old act for 30 years. He’s like a perma-tanned Ken Dodd.’
Although perhaps it’s best that Peter does stick to what he knows. Just a few months ago, he came under fire from fans after sharing the official trailer for his new film Jafaican.
The trailer saw him donning a dreadlock wig before putting on a Jamaican accent.
He, of course, scrambled to quickly take down the social media posts showcasing the trailer just moments after he realised it was not a good look. We agree with one fan who questioned: ‘Who the f*** signed off on this?’
Elizabeth Hurley – Verdict: NOT DESPERATE
Elizabeth has been a brilliant mother to son Damian, whose father – American businessman Steve Bing – died in 2020, taking on gig after gig to boost the family coffers
We were surprised that many of our readers considered Elizabeth Hurley to be a desperate celeb. Quite the opposite: Hurley is a hard worker and very far from desperate.
The actress has been a brilliant mother to son Damian, whose father – American businessman Steve Bing – died in 2020, taking on gig after gig to boost the family coffers.
She also gave a particularly touching tribute to her ex-fiancé, cricketer Shane Warne, who died in 2022, describing him as her ‘beloved lionheart’.
Those who have met her agree she is an absolute hoot.
Maybe it is her endless bikini pics to promote her hugely successful beachwear on Instagram that rub people up the wrong way. But as one insider put it: ‘If I had a body like that at the age of 57, I would be living in my swimwear too!’
