Vibrant and vivacious

Ca roline w as o ne of a ki

Closer’s news editor Rebecca Twomey looks back on working with Caroline Flack and shares how she will remember her

Caroline won Strictly Come Dancing in 2014

n the showbiz world, most celebrities prefer to clock on and off while dealing with press, never ex changing more than a few pleasantries with reporters once the interview is over. But C aroline –who I met several times throughout m y career –w as one of a kind. She wanted you to feel happy in her company. She’d w elcome you as if she recognised you, and she laughed loudly at a rubbish joke I made once, just to make me feel comfortable.

When she saw you, she’d jump up and hug you as if you were a long-lost friend, squeezing you tightly. She was never late or rude, and would even hang around after interviews to have dinner with everyone.

On one occasion, the group of journalists I was with were drinking Champagne, about to interview Caroline. Before anything else, she yelled, “Where’s my bubbles?” She was vibrant and vivacious – you wanted to be around her.

For a “pocket rocket”, as she I

once dubbed herself as a jok e, her laugh more than made up for what she lack ed in inches. You wanted to be a member of her gang when she w as at festivals with Laura Whitmore and the like . She w as alw ays gig gling at events and looking lik e she w as having the time of her life . It had become something of an annual tradition to meet up with C aroline in M ajorca for the launch of each series of Love Island . It w as her baby –she’d nurtured the show from the start. When I’d rock up to the villa, she would pose in the door way as if it was her home , ex cited as an y fan. That enthusiasm w as infectious. “I’m happy,” w as the last thing Caroline said to me last year. She seemed to have her spark back, coyly saying she w as dating, but that she couldn’t tell me “any more than that.” Two months later, she went official with tennis player Lewis Burton. That was Caroline, though. She teased us with a few details, while managing to balance just the right amount of privacy. She w as clever like that. It’s why it surprised me when, last minute , she cancelled an interview before Christmas –it w as so out of character. Shortly after came the news of her arrest. So many women in their thirties had an affinity with her – m yself included – especially when it came to dating and relationships. And she had so much empath y. She told me

once she’d cried in a hotel lobby watching Camilla Thurlow break down on the third series. When Michael Griffiths chose someone else on last year’s series, Caroline had her arm around Amber Gill the entire time.

She’d joke about the perils of having big boobs, how her hair would take ages to style, or how she once fancied her personal trainer – she worked out with full make-up, before giving up. Reflecting on the highs and lows of her life last summer, she told me, “Sometimes, you can be at the highest point and suddenly lose it all. You just get back up and try again.” And I always thought she would.

SAM:

‘ S he m ade s ure e very Love Island c ontestant felt okay’

He was a late entry into Love Island in 2018, but during Sam Bird’s short time in the villa, the show’s host Caroline Flack had a lasting impact on him. Speaking to Closer at the Warner Music and Ciroc BRIT awards afterparty, Sam, 33, says, “It’s a desperately sad and tragic situation. It just makes you think about the world and the industry. She was an amazing person and I’ve got nothing but great things to say about her.

“She was such a big part

PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK. INSTAGRAM, BBC ARCHIVE of my journey into the showbiz world. She made sure every single Love Island contestant felt they were OK before they went in, and even during [the show].

“There was a time when I was really down in the villa, and I was sitting on my own off camera. And Caroline came and sat with me. She knows where I’m from quite well, as she has family in Norwich. And she said, ‘I know your hometown well’, and we got chatting. She just made me feel so comfortable.”

nd’

She presented The X Factor with Olly Murs

Celebrating Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham’s win on Love Island

NEWS

COLEEN:

‘Wayne and I are ready

for baby no.5’

After her husband finally dit ches boo ze and part ying, Coleen R ooney is reportedly going full s team ahead with her dream of ha ving a daugh ter

hey’d not

been pictured together in public for six

months, but

last w eek W ayne and C oleen

Rooney put on a displa y of

unity when they w ere snapped

walking side by side as they

went out for breakfast.

And while Wayne, 34, may

have been regarded as one

of the biggest party boys in

football, he appears to have

changed his ways after new

reports claimed he’d given up

alcohol and, as a result, their

11-year marriage is said to be

“stronger than ever”.

Insiders say the pair are

in such a good place that

Coleen, 33 – who has

previously expressed her

wish to have a daughter – are

planning baby number five.

A source says, “Coleen

and Wayne have had a lot of

Wayne’s drinking days are largely behind him PHOTOS: PLANET, INSTAGRAM, BACKGRID, SPLASH ups and downs and dramas, but they’ve got through it together and W ayne has really proved himself to her. Coleen is thrilled and thinks now is the time to focus on the future with some happy positive news, and she would lik e to make plans for another baby.” The news of W ayne’s new-found sobriety comes five months after Closer first reported that W ayne was taking drastic action to prove to his wife he w anted to change following a string of alcohol-related incidents .

NO ANGEL After W ayne’s drink-drive shame with par ty girl Laura Simpson in 2017, C oleen released a statement sa ying, “T oo much alcohol on a night out is dangerous, and a lot of stupid mistak es are made and things are said under the influence. I would never tr ust ANYONE who has had a lot of alcohol –it changes some people drastically.” Insiders reveal that seeing the change in W ayne following his return to the UK last year after a stint playing in America has made Coleen feel they’re now ready for another baby.

A source says, “Coleen knows Wayne is no angel, but since he’s come back to the UK, she’s surprised by how he’s stuck to his promises. He’s stayed true With their four sons to his word and cut back on the booze , rarely even drinking. The turnaround has even surprised W ayne, as he wasn ’t sure he could do it. But he’s pow ered through just to show how serious he is about the marriage and their family.” In the past two y ears, Wayne’s behaviour has increasingly been under the spotlight. H e allegedly lost £500 ,000 in a gambling spree in May 2017, and then later that year he w as arrested for public intoxication and sw earing at Virginia A irport. A nd last year he stripped down to his pants during a hot tub par ty with teammates in Vancouver. Their marriage has also been tested multiple times –not least in 2010 , when claims surfaced W ayne had slept with escor ts Jenny Thompson and H elen Wood while C oleen w as pregnant with their son K ai, now ten. Coleen has alw ays backed her husband and focused on their sons –also including Klay, six, Kit, four, and Cass, two. After the family returned to the UK last year, they moved into their £20m Cheshire mansion in the hope of starting afresh. But as Closer reported two weeks ago , Coleen struggled in the aftermath of the “WAGatha Christie” scandal, in which she implied R ebekah Vardy’s I nstagram account w as leaking stories about her – something Rebekah denies. Although at first Coleen was praised for her detective work, Rebekah quickly amassed a wave of support in the form of 50,000 new Instagram followers and red carpet invites, and landed her own TV Christmas show with Phillip Schofield. SMUG But a couple of weeks ago the tables turned when Rebekah was slammed for claiming the stress she suffered was only eclipsed by childhood trauma she endured at the hands of her abusive stepfather. Coleen then waded back into the row and released a statement saying, “She remains confident in the legal process and sees no reason to take the numerous opportunities that have been offered to engage in further public debate on this matter.” After pals claimed Coleen sometimes wished her life

NEWS

Their rela tionship is said t o be “s tronger than e ver”

❛ SHE HASN’T HAD IT EASY,

BUT FOR THE FIRS T TIME IN

YEARS SHE FEELS SETTLED ❜

was more lik e that of R ebekah – who has just given bir th to her second daughter –insiders say Coleen feels that if Wayne can continue with his sobriety, she’ll actually be the one who’s “Queen of the WAGs” again. The source says, “Coleen hasn’t had the easiest of marriages, but for the first time in years, she feels very settled. With Wayne, Coleen felt she was always waiting for the next thing to happen. Now she ’s con vinced that he’s in a good place and she wants to mak e the most of it. W ayne is happy to have more kids, as he is enjoying focusing on his family.

“She hates feeling like she’s comparing her life. So instead of sitting around thinking about it, she is pushing on with her baby plans and hopes to have some good news within the next year or so.” By Daisy McLure

KIM STEPS IN TO HELP POSH WITH NEW REALITY SHOW

hey’re both global superstars with multi-millionpound business empires, but that’s not all that Posh and Kim Kardashian have in common. Both performed incredible transformations – Kim, 39, from reality star to A-lister, and Posh, 45, from Spice Girl to fashion designer. And now the stars – who Closer reported last week have struck up an unlikely friendship – are set to share more similarities, as Kim has told her fellow mum-offour tha t she’ll help her create a reality sho w to boos t her struggling fashion label, which has failed to mak e a profit sinc e its launch 12 y ears ago . A source sa ys, “Kim kno ws how desperate V ic is to boos t sales, and said opening up for the cameras is a sure-fire w ay of giving her label the e xposure and publicity it needs. “V ic e xpressed her c oncerns ov er opening herself –and her family – up to more scrutiny and cheapening her brand, but Kim insisted if she takes a producer role, she can control the edit to suit her target audience. Kim has managed to hold more back in recent years and wants to share that knowledge with Vic.” This wouldn’t be the first time the former Spice Girl – who shares Brooklyn, 20, Romeo, T

On Coming To America in 200 7

17, Cruz, 15, and eight-year-old Harper with husband David, 44 – has shared her life on camera.

In 2000, she interviewed fellow celebrities for her sho w Victoria’s Secrets , which w as followed b y Being Victoria Beckham tw o y ears later to c oincide with the release of her firs t solo album. T he c ouple then opened their doors in 2006 for a one-off film on their W orld Cup party, Full L ength & Fabulous , and documented their move to the US the following year in the one-off reality sho w Coming To America . And pals sa y with Da vid’s upcoming mo ve to Miami for his MLS soc cer team, Posh – who insiders recently told Closer is tempted to join her husband – is considering Kim’s advice.

The source adds, “Vic has an amazing personality, which most people never see, and Kim said with a show like theirs, which could be aired all over the world, expanding her mass appeal and popularity, she’ll see profits soar.”