Kim Woodburn has died aged 83, her family has sadly confirmed. The TV star, who first shot to fame on Channel 4 show, How Clean Is Your House with Aggie MacKenzie, died on Monday, 16 June, after a short illness.
Her husband-of-46-years Peter, who she lived with in their Cheshire home, is “heartbroken” over the loss of his soulmate. A representative for Kim shared the sad news in a statement: “It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness.
“Kim was an incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person. Her husband Peter is heartbroken at the loss of his soulmate.
“We are so proud of the amazing things Kim achieved in her life and career. We kindly ask that Kim’s husband and close friends are given the time and privacy they need to grieve.
“We will not be releasing any further details.”
Kim appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2017 and was among the line-up for E4’s Celebrity Cooking School in 2022.
In Channel 4 show How Clean Is Your House?, along with her sidekick Aggie Mackenzie, Kim would visit dirty homes and proceed to clean them, sharing tips as they went. The show, which ran from 2003 to 2009, was a huge hit and turned the pair into overnight stars.
Kim went on to appear in a number of reality programmes including I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2009, where she finished as runner-up. Her hilarious remarks, brutal honesty and no-nonsense attitude to Bushtucker trials made her a firm favourite on the show, with her coming in second place to Gino D’Acampo.
Kim later finished in third place on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017 after Loose Women star Coleen Nolan was crowned the winner, beating Irish pop twins Jedward to the top spot. The cleaning guru was regularly challenged over her angry outbursts and controversial attitude during her time in the house.
Kim and Coleen fell out during the show, and Kim appeared Loose Women in 2018 in an attempt to settle their feud but things quickly turned nasty and Kim walked off the set.
Speaking after Kim left the set, Coleen explained to viewers: “We have got members of our team with Kim backstage. We didn’t intend for it to actually end like that, we were hoping – actually, genuinely hoping – for some kind of reconciliation, but that wasn’t going to happen.”
The ITV show added at the time: “We invited Kim on the show to reconcile with Coleen and put their differences behind them. But it didn’t go to plan. After 18 months, we were hoping the two women would let bygones be bygones. But it wasn’t to be.”
Kim faced much adversity throughout her life and overcame many tragedies including an abusive childhood and suffering the trauma of delivering a stillborn baby.
Her autobiography titled Unbeaten: The Story Of My Brutal Childhood was published in 2006. She described a miserable childhood spent living between her parents, a succession of children’s homes and a convent, before making an escape just before her 16th birthday.
But it also described happier times as an adult, including her “wonderfully happy marriage” and becoming Britain’s “queen of clean”.