Wearing a blue Nike sweatshirt while in her back garden at Pickle Cottage where she resides with her blended family, Stacey Solomon was unaware of the impact she was about to have on her successful career.
The previous evening had begun positively. She had impressed bystanders on the red carpet at the prestigious Bafta TV awards by donning a revamped version of her wedding gown from her marriage to actor Joe Swash, and her BBC home improvement program Sort Your Life Out seemed poised to win in the Factual Entertainment category.
However, in the event, she was beaten by Rylan Clark and Rob Rinder’s programme Grand Tour.
Certainly, most individuals would be disheartened by this setback. However, many celebrities would choose to confide in their closest companions about their frustrations.
Instead, Stacey – who is highly prized by the BBC and seen by bosses as key to improving their appeal to a younger audience – opted to go on a very public rant.
In an ill-judged video, which I’m told left her own PR team blindsided, she fumed to her six million Instagram followers: ‘We didn’t win a Bafta. And I know I’m supposed to take it gracefully like a champ but, I’ll be honest, I’m devastated. I’m not handling it very well, I’m not taking it very gracefully – I’m devastated! I’m devastated for our whole team, like I’m so gutted for our team.
Standing in her back garden, Stacey Solomon fumed to her six million Instagram followers: ‘We didn’t win a Bafta. And I know I’m supposed to take it gracefully like a champ but, I’ll be honest, I’m devastated. I’m not handling it very well’
With husband Joe Swash and children in the garden of the much publicised Pickle Cottage, where Stacey made the ill-judged video
‘Everyone got dressed up and was really hopeful, I think because they work so hard. It’s not an easy show to make, Sort Your Life Out, and the team work so hard to
make it happen and they so deserve the Bafta.
‘I’m not saying that everyone else didn’t deserve their Baftas, they absolutely did.
‘People think making TV is really easy and it’s not, so everyone deserves recognition. But I’m gonna say it – I’m gutted!’
Going on to reveal the hard work that goes into making their show, she went on: ‘We’ll pack up a house and within seven days that house is packed up, into vans, over to a warehouse, laid out on the floor, we go through it meticulously, we make sure it doesn’t just get chucked away.
‘We donate, we recycle, we resell things. We put it all back and try and put it in systems to help families move forward…’
I can reveal, however, that BBC executives were left stunned by Stacey’s outburst. The Corporation is heavily invested in the 35-year-old presenter, having also given her an at-home reality show on BBC1.
One told me: ‘Stacey is television gold. She has made herself so appealing to young adults. It’s a BBC priority to attract the 18-to-30 age group and Stacey was the right person to do this, hence why she was given her fly-on-the-wall show. She’s seen as normal, relatable and a good laugh.
Joe and Stacey with their three youngest children, two-year-old Belle; Rose, three, and Rex, five
‘So when she put her video up on Monday morning there was some horror here. It felt entitled and was all very out of character.
‘Admittedly, she did say she came out to share her frustration in support of her behind-the-scenes team who she wanted to pay tribute to. But there are other behind-the-camera teams on other shows who all work hard, too.
‘You can’t wonder if the gloss might start to come off for Stacey. It would be a disaster for the BBC, they are hanging so much on her.’
This isn’t the only black mark against Stacey’s name for BBC bosses. Another issue has cropped up following her show, Stacey & Joe, which stars the couple and their family as they navigate life at Pickle Cottage.
The family moved into this £1.2 million Essex property in 2021, which they proceeded to renovate. However, some in the Corporation are said to be cross at how she and Joe have plugged their own lucrative brands all the way through. Publicly, the BBC has backed Stacey, but privately some are fuming at how ‘ghastly’ it looks.
Across four episodes, the couple, who met on I’m A Celebrity in 2010, openly showcased their private business projects, flouting the Corporation’s editorial standards.
Viewers saw her decorating for a Halloween-themed event to promote the At Home With Stacey Solomon homewear range. She also plugs Rehab, a haircare brand she invested in. ‘I had no idea what I was doing when I invested in Rehab,’ she declared onscreen. ‘I just knew I wanted to be a part of that company because I loved the girls and I loved the products.’
Joe’s coffee company, his participation on a Spotify podcast, as well as Stacey’s upcoming perfume line and their own social media accounts have also been mentioned onscreen.
‘It’s not what the BBC does,’ said one source. ‘But Stacey is the golden girl so she’s allowed to do what she wants in some quarters.’
Regardless, a career pinnacle of sorts is approaching as she’s now being touted as a potential contestant for Strictly, which would make her the first celebrity to achieve the hat-trick of appearing on the X Factor, I’m A Celeb and the BBC dance show.
Indeed, Stacey’s career began on the X Factor in 2009 when she was instantly hailed as a potential winner before judges Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh had even heard her sing.
Stacey, now 35, eventually came third in the show. She then went on to win I’m A Celeb in 2010, a success which she hoped might lead to a pop career. Instead, more reality TV beckoned, and she appeared on ITV’s The Jump in 2016. She is also a regular on Loose Women.
Stacey’s career began on the X Factor in 2009 when she was instantly hailed as a potential winner before judges Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh had even heard her sing
Cannily, she’s since carved out a career as a ‘mum-fluencer’, thanks to her brood of children, who include Zachary, 17, Leighton, 12, Rex, five, Rose, three, and two-year-old Belle.
The couple’s public image is, needless to say, highly controlled, as with many reality TV stars.
Last year, however, the pair were spotted having a heated row in the street. It was a rare glimpse of a crack in an otherwise impeccable marital image.
Indeed, I can testify that Stacey’s wholesome on-screen persona isn’t the entire story. I spent the day with her for an interview and photoshoot in 2011 when she was pregnant with Leighton. She admitted that she needed a cigarette, before then putting the fear of God into me about ever revealing she was still smoking while pregnant.
Some weeks later she was caught smoking and the pictures appeared on the front of a newspaper. She was said to be ‘absolutely raging’, although her publicist quickly smoothed over the furore.
Now, as fans criticise her for being ‘too big for her boots’ and ‘whingeing’ – BBC bosses can only hope this storm dies down as quickly as all the others.
