Former Tory MP and Reform UK spokesperson, Ann Widdecombe, who has died aged 78, appeared in a whole host of reality TV shows, giving us some of telly’s most memorable moments
Ann Widdecombe gave us a raft of memorable TV moments after swapping parliament for the small screen. The former Tory MP, whose death aged 78 was announced today, took a step back from politics in 2002 before deciding to throw herself into the world of reality TV – sequins and all.
Her unforgettable journey on Strictly Come Dancing will go down as one of the show’s most talked about stints. Quite literally dragged around the dance floor by an exasperated Anton du Beke, Ann lasted an impressive nine weeks on the series.
She also took part in Celebrity Big Brother, causing outrage from the get-go with her thoughts on gay marriage.
Here’s a look back on her most memorable small screen moments, starting with Celebrity Fit Club…
Celebrity Fit Club
Before the uber popular My 600-lb Life on TLC, there was Celebrity Fit Club. Famous faces who were well outside of their Body Mass Index (BMI) tried to lose weight by tackling different physical challenges. They then had to weigh in to see if they reached their target weight after being monitored by a nutritionist and a psychologist.
After some no-nonsense boot camp treatment from fitness coach Harvey Walden IV, Ann lost a total of 2.5 stone on the show and even returned three years later on the judging panel.
Speaking about her credentials for the show back in 2013, the Tory MP said: “My credentials for Celebrity Fit Club are not because I look like Twiggy, because I most emphatically do not, but because I’ve managed to keep two stones of the 36lbs I lost. I’m not a diet or fitness guru.”
Adding that she dismissed the advice of the nutritionist, she continued: “The nutritionist told me that I could eat between meals. I thought, this is good. Then he told me I could eat two walnuts. I said to him: ‘Look, even if I did that, which is extremely doubtful for the duration of the programme, I wouldn’t be doing it after that’.”
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2010, Anne appeared on Strictly alongside professional partner, Anton Du Beke. Despite her constant low marks from the judges, the former MP won the support of viewers, earning her an impressive nine weeks on the show, performing routines strongly flavoured by comedy, before she was eliminated.
Giving us some erasable memories, including one of Ann literally being dragged around the dance floor by an exasperated Anton in the Charleston, the star will be remembered as one of the show’s most entertaining competitors.
Ann recently revealed she “insisted on” having leggings that matched her multiple brightly-coloured outfits to dodge wardrobe malfunctions when her Anton whirled her around the dance floor.
Writing in her column for Best magazine, she said: “I was the dresser’s nightmare on Strictly.
“I insisted on knee-length matching leggings underneath my dresses so that Anton could throw me about without either of us fearing a wardrobe malfunction.”
In August 2024, Anton – who replaced Bruno Tonioli, 70, as judge in 2021 – said Ann was a “remarkable” dance partner. During an appearance on BBC Breakfast, he recalled: “We had the most brilliant time, and I can say that about all of my partners.”
Celebrity Big Brother
Ann made quite the entrance on Celebrity Big Brother but confessed she only agreed to go on it because she’d never watched it.
Despite many predicting that Ann, who was 70 at the time, would be among the first to be evicted, she finished as runner-up with nearly 40 per cent of the vote.
Her time on the show was jam-packed with controversy, clashing with the eventual winner, drag queen Courtney Act, over her anti-LGBT voting history.
The outspoken housemate seemed perfectly content in the house, ruffling feathers with her controversial views – including that the survivors of Harvey Weinstein “had a choice” about the way they were treated by him.
She also locked horns with India Willoughby on the issue of gay marriage, which saw Ann get slammed by many viewers who branded her the series’ hated villain.
Upon leaving the house after sticking it out to be crowned runner up, Ann revealed that she had strict rules for her contract.
Talking to The Sun, she said: ““I’d laid down several things. First of all I wasn’t going to share a bed – I mean forget it, absolutely not. Secondly, modesty. I said modesty is important to me, and I’m not going to be in a situation where there’s any immodesty. I wouldn’t have done it without those guarantees.
“I was the same on Strictly Come Dancing – I insisted on knee-length leggings that matched every single dress I wore.”
The Ann Widdecombe Project
In one of her biggest transformations, Ann became an agony aunt to families up and down the country in BBC2’s The Ann Widdecombe Project.
Boldly attempting to solve family crises, love triangles or workplace spats, the matriarch advised a would-be glamour model, talks to parents who want their grown-up sons to leave home, and a wife about her man’s tattoo obsession.
Fans wondered how someone with no experience of marriage or children, qualify as an agony aunt? After all, Ann was at the time living with her mum and had never been married, although she did have a boyfriend at Oxford University.
Talking to the Manchester Evening News, she said: “I don’t tell people how to solve their problems. I wouldn’t presume to do that,” she says, “but I tell them what I would do if I were in their situation.”What qualifies her to do that? “Nothing,” she huffs. “That’s why I don’t tell them what to do. I simply say, ‘Look, if I were in this situation this is what I would do’.”
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