Rylan Clark-Neal

Ross Richard Clark-Neal (né Clark; born 25 October 1988), known professionally as Rylan Clark-Neal, is an English television and radio presenter, singer, narrator and model. After finishing in fifth place in the ninth series of The X Factor, he went on to win Celebrity Big Brother 11. Later that year, he presented Big Brother's Bit on the Side, This Morning and The Xtra Factor. He is also the host of the revived editions of Supermarket Sweep and Ready Steady Cook, as well as presenting the BBC's You Are What You Wear.

Rylan Clark-Neal
Clark-Neal in 2014
Born
Ross Richard Clark

(1988-10-25) 25 October 1988
Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, England
Occupation
  • Singer
  • television presenter
  • radio presenter
  • voiceover narrator
  • model
Years active2010–present
Employer
Spouse(s)
Dan Neal
​
(m. 2015)​

Early and personal life

Clark-Neal was born Ross Richard Clark[1] on 25 October 1988 in Stepney, East London,[2] to mother Linda Clark.[3] In 2007, he applied for Big Brother 8, but, "the day I was going in, it got taken away from me because it got leaked to the press. It was devastating."[4]

Clark-Neal has been a part-time model since he was 16.[5] It was during his early modelling career that he adopted the stage name "Rylan",[1] which was conceived when he went into a branch of WHSmith and chose the name from the R section of a baby name book.[6] He was in several Take That and Westlife tribute bands in Ibiza,[2] and was also part of a Spanish boy band called 4bidden until 2010.[5][7]

In September 2014, Clark-Neal got engaged to Big Brother 14 housemate Dan Neal.[8] On 7 November 2015, the couple got married.[9]

Career

2010–2011: Television appearances

In 2010, Clark-Neal appeared in four episodes of the BBC series John Bishop's Britain. Clark-Neal was then a finalist on Sky Living modelling series Signed by Katie Price.[10]

2012: The X Factor
See also: The X Factor (UK series 9)

In May 2012, Clark-Neal auditioned for the ninth series of The X Factor at The O2 Arena in London in front of Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow, Tulisa and guest judge Rita Ora. He performed a dance version of Des'ree's "Kissing You". Barlow said afterwards: "Rylan, love your personality, hate your voice, really strange song choice as well." Walsh also admitted that he was "a bit worried". Barlow gave Clark-Neal a "no", but Ora, Tulisa, and Walsh all decided to say "yes" and they put him through to bootcamp.

At bootcamp, Clark-Neal sang The Pussycat Dolls' "Don't Cha" with former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, who was now a judge. After his performance, Barlow admitted: "[I] think he's going to haunt me throughout this competition." Barlow was reluctant to send Clark-Neal through to judges' houses, but the other three judges were in favour of him advancing. Clark-Neal was eventually put through into the boys category with Scherzinger as his mentor. At judges' houses in Dubai, Clark-Neal performed a stripped-back rendition of Rihanna's "We Found Love" in front of Scherzinger and Ne-Yo. Scherzinger later put Clark-Neal through to the live shows as one of her final three along with James Arthur and Jahméne Douglas. She told him: "Rylan, it's such a big risk... but I have to take it, and you are in my final three.", and then Clark-Neal appeared to have an immense breakdown.[11]

Clark-Neal sang "Gold" by Spandau Ballet in the first week of the live shows, and was in the bottom two with Carolynne Poole the following night. Scherzinger voted to save Clark as he was her own act, while Barlow and Tulisa voted to save Poole, based on their final showdown performance. Walsh, who had the casting vote, voted to save Clark, sending the result to deadlock, in which Clark had received more public votes than Poole and was saved, much to the disgust of Barlow, who stormed off-stage and later called Clark-Neal a "joke act" and "talentless".[12]

In week 2, Clark-Neal persisted to wind Barlow up by first performing part of Barlow's "Back for Good" and then claiming afterwards that he had booked him a cab in advance in case he stormed off stage again, to which Barlow responded "That's funny [because] I've had yours on hold for two weeks."[13] That week, Clark-Neal was put through to week three on the public vote.[14] In week 5, he was in the bottom two again with Kye Sones, but he was saved by the public vote. This followed after Barlow and Walsh voted to eliminate Clark while Scherzinger and Tulisa, who had the casting vote, voted to eliminate Sones. Tulisa sent the result to deadlock and Sones was eliminated.[15] In week 7, Clark revealed on The Xtra Factor that his psychic had told him that he would reach week 7 of the competition before leaving,[16] but the following night, he advanced to the quarter-final by the public vote.[17]

Celebrity Big Brother
See also: Celebrity Big Brother 11

Clark-Neal became a housemate in the eleventh series of Celebrity Big Brother in January 2013. He was the second celebrity to enter the Big Brother House. On launch night, he and Italian jockey Frankie Dettori selected which celebrities would join them in the House and who would be banished to the Basement. It was revealed midway through the series that, contrary to the show's rules of staying in the Big Brother House throughout the series, Clark-Neal had been leaving the house each Sunday to rehearse for The X Factor Live Tour, which began a day after the live final on 25 January.[18] He made it to the final five with Neil "Razor" Ruddock, Claire Richards, Ryan Moloney and Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (Heidi & Spencer being counted as a single housemate). Clark-Neal was announced as the winner during the live final, after which he broke down into tears.[19]

Channel 5 (2013–2018)

On 14 May 2013, as part of a revamp by Channel 5, Clark-Neal and AJ Odudu were announced as the new co-hosts of Big Brother's Bit on the Side, replacing Jamie East and Alice Levine. Emma Willis replaced Brian Dowling as the host of Big Brother.[20] In the 2015 series of Celebrity Big Brother UK vs USA, he also presented Bit on the Side at the weekends. For this series, it was renamed Bit on the State Side and filmed in an American-style studio. Clark-Neal presented Big Brother's Bit on the Side until the series was cancelled by Channel 5 in 2018.

In October 2015, Clark-Neal co-presented a special edition of Most Haunted Live with Jamie East on Really. It became the highest-rated show the channel had ever seen, outperforming Channel 4 and 5 in its time slot.

In May 2016, Clark-Neal presented his own primetime chat show for Channel 5 called Up Late with Rylan.[21]

ITV (2014–present)

Since the tenth series of The X Factor, Clark-Neal has provided all the gossip from the show on This Morning. He has also acted as a Hub presenter until its removal from the programme in 2014. Since late 2014, Clark-Neal has also been credited as the main relief presenter for the series. He has presented with others including Ruth Langsford, Lorraine Kelly, Dan Neal (his husband), Alison Hammond, Phillip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Amanda Holden, Sarah Greene, Geri Halliwell, Gok Wan, Lisa Snowdon, Emma Willis, Rochelle Humes and Eamonn Holmes.

On 1 July 2016, it was confirmed that Clark-Neal would co-host The Xtra Factor Live alongside Matt Edmondson.[22] This would be the second time a former X Factor contestant has co-hosted the series, the first being Olly Murs, who co-hosted from 2011 to 2012.

In January 2017, it was announced that Clark-Neal would present a new daytime game show for ITV called Babushka.[23] He also hosted the non-broadcast pilot for ITV2 panel show Codswallop, however, it was not commissioned for a full series.

In December 2017, it was announced that Rylan would be taking a break from his duties with This Morning from the following January for a few months. Clark-Neal returned to This Morning briefly in both April 2018, July 2018 and August 2018 as a main show stand-in presenter.

On 10 July 2019, it was announced that Clark-Neal would present a revived version of Supermarket Sweep. The first series aired on ITV2 on 9 September 2019 to 4 October 2019.[24] The second series aired on 1 September to 19 December 2020, however the show moved to its original channel ITV.

BBC (2018–present)

In 2018, it was announced that Clark-Neal would be a regular panellist on Eurovision: You Decide, and remained there until its cancellation in 2020.[25] He also took over Mel Giedroyc's role as co-commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest semi finals alongside Scott Mills.[26] In 2018, he covered for Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2,[27] and took over her show when she moved to the station's breakfast show in January 2019, now titled Rylan on Saturday.[28] Since January 2019, Rylan has also hosted multiple episodes of The One Show as a stand-in guest presenter.

On 18 April 2019, it was announced that Clark-Neal would begin co-presenting Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two alongside Zoe Ball.[29][30] In May 2019, Clark-Neal was the spokesperson for the United Kingdom as part of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.[31] On 2 September 2019, it was confirmed that Clark-Neal would host a revived daytime series of Ready Steady Cook on BBC One in 2020.[32]

Other work

In February 2014, Clark-Neal made a guest appearance in the Sky 1 comedy series Stella.[33] In 2015, Clark-Neal reached the final of BBC One's Celebrity MasterChef competition.[34]

On 21 January 2016, Clark-Neal announced on Twitter that he would release his autobiography titled The Life of Rylan on 30 June 2016. It reached number 1 in The Sunday Times Bestsellers List. He appeared as Ryan, an air steward, in the 2016 film Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. In 2017, he narrated the ITVBe reality series Spa Wars.

In June 2020, it was announced that Clark-Neal would be co-hosting Big Brother: Best Shows Ever with Davina McCall.

Filmography
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2010 John Bishop's Britain Model 4 episodes
2011 Signed by Katie Price Contestant Runner-up
2012 The X Factor 5th place
2012–2013 The Xtra Factor Guest
Daybreak Guest Entertainment Presenter
2013 Celebrity Big Brother Housemate Winner
2013–2014 This Morning's Hub Presenter
2013–present This Morning
2013–2018 Big Brother's Bit on the Side
Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side
2014 Big Brother's Bit on The Psych Presenter
2014, 2017 Celebrity Big Brother 3 episodes
2015 Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on The State Side
Celebrity MasterChef Contestant Finalist
Most Haunted Live! Presenter Halloween special
2016 Up Late with Rylan
The Xtra Factor Live Co-presenter Series 13
The X Factor Audience Reporter Series 13
2017 Big Brother: Rylan's Rant Presenter
Rylan Live: Big Brother Gossip
Babushka 1 series
Big Brother: Full House with Rylan Launch companion show
Spa Wars Narrator 8 episodes
2017–2018 Celebrity Ghost Hunt[35] Presenter
2018 The Wave 1 series
Celebrity Big Brother: Behind The Scenes One-off special
2018–2019 Eurovision: You Decide Panellist
Ferne McCann: First Time Mum Narrator Series 2–4
2018–present Eurovision Song Contest UK semi-final co-commentator With Scott Mills
2019–present The One Show Guest co-presenter[36]
2019 Eurovision Song Contest 2019 UK spokesperson
2019–present Celebrity Gogglebox Himself
Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Co-presenter With Zoe Ball
Supermarket Sweep Presenter
2019 Buy it Now
2020 Ready Steady Cook
Sport Relief Co-presenter
The A-Z of Eurovision Narrator One-off special
Big Brother: Best Shows Ever Co-presenter With Davina McCall
You Are What You Wear Presenter Fashion show
It Pays to Behave One-off special
2021 Taskmaster Participant New Year Special
Radio
Year Title Role Slot Station Notes
2018 The Zoe Ball Show Presenter 15:00–18:00 Saturdays BBC Radio 2 Stand-in presenter
2019–present Rylan on Saturday
2020–present The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show 06:00-09:30; Monday-Friday Stand-in presenter
2021 Steve Wright in the Afternoon 14:00-17:00; Monday-Friday
Film
Year Title Role Notes
2014 Stella Himself Guest appearance
2016 Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie Rylan Air steward
Stage
Year Title Role Note(s)
2016 The World's Biggest Panto (Snow White) Evil Huntsman
2019 Nativity The Critic

Awards and nominations

In 2015, Clark-Neal won The Telegraph's 'LGBT Celebrity of the Year' award.

In 2016 and 2017, he was nominated for a National Television Award in the Best Presenter category, but lost out to Ant & Dec on both occasions.

In May 2016, Clark-Neal's chat show Up Late with Rylan was nominated for a TV Choice Award.

Clark-Neal was named The Sunday Times no. 1 best seller for his debut autobiography, The Life of Rylan, in June 2016.

References
  1. "X Factor 2012: Shocker as Rylan Clark reveals his REAL name". OK!. Northern & Shell. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  2. Jack Seale and Tom Cole (2 October 2012). "The X Factor 2012: Rylan Clark". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  3. "Episode 23". Celebrity Big Brother. Series 11. Episode 23. 25 January 2013. Channel 5.
  4. Garo-Falides, Victoria; Curtis, Beth (26 January 2013). "Rylan Clark: 'I'll sue the f**k out of Speidi'". Digital Spy.
  5. "ModelMayhem.com – Rylan Clark". ModelMayhem.com. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
  6. "Series 1, Episode 1". I'll Get This. 23 June 2019. BBC2.
  7. "Live show 6". The Xtra Factor. Series 9. Episode 22. 10 November 2012. ITV2.
  8. Kadrou, Hayley (16 August 2018). "Rylan Clark and Dan Neal's relationship timeline: Inside the This Morning presenter's adorable romance, from his husband's dramatic proposal to their secretive wedding and making TV history". OK! Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  9. Duffy, Nick (11 January 2019). "Rylan Clark-Neal faces homophobic abuse on London street". Pink News. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  10. Aitkenhead, Decca (16 December 2012). "Rylan Clark on The X Factor, death threats and being seen as a fame-hungry diva". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  11. "X Factor: Final Contestant Rylan Clark Overwhelmed By Getting Through, But Suffering Death Threats Behind The Scenes". The Huffington Post. AOL. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  12. Eames, Tom (7 October 2012). "Carolynne Poole first to leave 'The X Factor'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  13. Vallahis, Maria (14 October 2012). "Put your money where your mouth is...will Rylan Clark prove Gary Barlow wrong?". Heat. Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  14. "X Factor results show two drama as Rylan Clark breaks down in tears". stv.tv. STV. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  15. Samander, Lema (5 November 2012). "Kye Sones loses out to Rylan Clark after X Factor deadlock vote". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  16. "X Factor: Rylan packs bags following elimination 'tip'". stv.tv. STV. 17 November 2012.
  17. "X Factor's Rylan Clark breaks down over his 'guilt' at Ella Henderson's shock exit". OK!. Northern & Shell. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  18. Sperling, Daniel (21 January 2013). "Celebrity Big Brother: Rylan secretly exiting house for 'X Factor'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  19. Graham, Daniella (25 January 2013). "Rylan Clark has X Factor-style meltdown after being named Celebrity Big Brother winner". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  20. Clark, Rylan (14 May 2013). "Twitter / RylanClark: Ok guys it's OFFICIAL. I'm the new presenter of Big Brothers Bit On The Side! So excited to join the BB Team x @bbbots #RylansBIGnews xxx". Twitter. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  21. "Rylan is getting his own evening talk show". 20 March 2016.
  22. Wightman, Catriona (1 July 2016). "The Xtra Factor: Rylan Clark-Neal officially joins Matt Edmondson as a co-host this year". Digital Spy. United Kingdom: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  23. "Rylan Clark-Neal lands his own ITV gameshow - leaving CBB?". 30 January 2017.
  24. "Rylan Clark-Neal to host Supermarket Sweep reboot". BBC News. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  25. McCaig, Ewan (6 February 2018). "United Kingdom: You Decide panelists revealed". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  26. "2018 presenter line-up revealed". BBC. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  27. "The Zoe Ball Show: Rylan Clark-Neal Sits In". BBC. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  28. "Rylan Clark-Neal to launch new Saturday afternoon show on BBC Radio 2". BBC. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  29. Rodger (18 April 2019). "Rylan Clark-Neal joins Strictly Come Dancing as It Takes Two host". birminghammail. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  30. Mozafari, Laurence (18 April 2019). "Strictly Come Dancing's It Takes Two adds new host Rylan Clark-Neil alongside Zoe Ball". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  31. Herbert, Emily (24 April 2019). "United Kingdom: Rylan Revealed as Eurovision 2019 Spokesperson". Eurovoix.
  32. "Rylan Clark-Neal to host all new Ready Steady Cook on BBC One". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  33. Clark, Rylan (18 July 2013). "Best time filming 'Stella' x". Facebook. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  34. Mayer Nissim. "Rylan Clark, Sarah Harding and Chesney Hawkes join Celebrity MasterChef". Digital Spy.
  35. "Celebrity Ghost Hunt Live enlists Love Island's Chris". 8 August 2017.
  36. "The One Show". 25 January 2019.
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