When Rylan Clark-Neal answers the phone with a familiar “Hi, babe” in his Essex drawl, it is easy to understand how he has fast become one of TV’s most popular entertainment hosts.
He is warm, friendly and charming and as he says, “not a diva” in any way. When he burst on to our screens eight years ago on The X Factor, he was a bit of a national joke.
But not for long. The East End-born kid who wanted fame and fortune has become the one-in-a-million reality show success story, so famous he only needs his first name these days.
Rylan says: “Now look who’s laughing”, as he chats to me from the fabulous Brentwood smart home he shares with husband Dan Neal, who he met in 2013 when they were Big Brother housemates, and stepson Cameron.
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