Kim Woodburn, who shot to stardom for her no-nonsense attitude and witticisms on Channel 4’s How Clean Is Your House with Aggie MacKenzie, died on Monday

Kim Woodburn has died aged 83, her family has sadly confirmed.

The TV star, who shot to stardom for her no-nonsense attitude and witticisms on Channel 4’s How Clean Is Your House with Aggie MacKenzie, died on Monday.

Her beloved husband-of-46-years Peter, who she lived with in their Nantwich, Cheshire home, is “heartbroken” over the loss of his soulmate.

She was described as an “incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person” by her loved ones, who were “so proud” of what she achieved in her career.

A representative for Kim shared 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.

Kim shot to fame on Channel 4’s How Clean Is Your House? (
Image:
Mike Lawn/REX/Shutterstock)
“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’s husband Peter has since taken to her Instagram page to share a sweet video of pictures of Kim throughout the years.

Overlaid with classical music, photos showed Kim at four years old in 1946, in a model-esque shoot in 1962 in buckled heels and a leopard print mini dress, writing letters at a table in 1978, posing in a garden with a bright smile in 1979, taking on a Bushtucker Trial in 2009, pointing at a cat and kicking up her bare feet in a car. The last photo saw her posing with her trademark knotted blonde hair as he wrote over it: “Thank you for everything xx xx.”

He captioned the video: “My wonderful, beautiful, Kim passed away last night. God bless, my love, xx xx.”

While Kim’s co-star Aggie McKenzie also paid tribute, telling the Mirror that Kim was a “tormented soul”. She said: “Kim was a tormented soul, but now she’s finally at peace. We clashed often. Behind the fierce persona was deep pain and incredible strength. She survived because she had to. I hope she’s resting now. She was an unforgettable woman.”

Kim faced much adversity throughout her life and overcame many tragedies, including an abusive childhood and suffering the trauma of delivering a stillborn baby.

She had been just 23 years old when she went into labour three months early and delivered a stillborn baby. Unmarried and terrified of what her parents would say, Kim buried the child’s lifeless body in a park.

Speaking in her 2006 autobiography Unbeaten: The Story of My Brutal Childhood, she called the night in 1966 “the worst of her life”.

Kim starred on Celebrity Big Brother (
Image:
Channel 5)
Kim had recalled: “I had never felt more wretched. I still talk to my son now. The deep sadness doesn’t go away.”

After the harrowing details were released in her book, she was contacted by the police who later decided not to file any charges against her. “Being an unmarried mother years ago was terribly shameful,” she continued. “You were a whore and a man would only marry a virgin.

Kim with her beloved husband Peter (
Image:
REX)
“It was a very sad part of my life. I would never go back to visit the spot where it happened. That would just be too much. I couldn’t do it.”

Kim also previously bravely spoke about her abusive and neglectful parents. “I always regret the fact that I never had a decent mum and dad. I wanted nice parents and a warm home with lots of love – crikey, wouldn’t that bad wonderful?

“Good parents are your backbone. I don’t think anyone gets over an unhappy childhood.”

Kim starred on I’m A Celebrity and came second to Gino D’Acampo

Kim tragically revealed during an appearance on Loose Women in 2017 that she was physically and sexually abused by her dad Terence, who died in 1992.

“My dad was a Royal Marine and he was a bit of a naughty man,” she said. “He’d have a bit of a touch of the old naughty bits when he could get away with it.”

Meanwhile, she said her mum was physically abusive and would strike her with ‘carpet brushes.’

Kim’s relationship with How Clean Is Your House co-star Aggie, who she worked with from 2003 until 2009 on the Channel 4 show, also proved to be challenging at times. During an interview in 2023, Aggie admitted that Kim “is not the most straightforward person”.

“I think we’re chalk and cheese, and so different from each other, but I think that was one of the reasons why it worked,” she told Nana Akua on GB News.

Kim and Aggie struggled to get along at times (
Image:
Unknown)
“Because of the friction there was between us, it created this energy and so we knew how to be in front of the camera. I mean, most of it was ad lib. We had an idea of the storyline, but we just kind of made it up as we went along.”

“Kim is not the most straightforward person,” she continued. “I’m somebody who just likes to get on and Kim had a very difficult beginning, a difficult childhood and I think in her home, growing up, there was lots of conflict, many rows and she spent a lot of her childhood in a children’s home.”

Aggie added that she thought it must be ‘kind of normal’ for Kim to have conflict in her life. “I think that if things are calm and easy, I think she found that quite difficult,” Aggie explained. “That’s not me, I like it easy peasy. There were lots of highs, and a few lows.”

She went on to add that the show came to a ‘natural’ end and that her and Kim’s relationship became ‘a bit difficult’.

“A bit too difficult actually, and I think we both needed a change as well,” Aggie said. “We did it for a while and it became really I mean, it was very stressful. We did it for six years, and that’s a long time.”

Kim’s iconic appearances in a number of reality TV shows also found her a new legion of fans, kickstarting from her 2009 appearance in I’m A Celebrity. Her hilarious off-the-cuff remarks, brutal honestly and no-nonsense attitude to Bushtucker eating trials made her a firm favourite on the show, winning her second place to Gino D’Acampo.

She famously became emboiled in a legendary heated row on CBB (
Image:
Channel 5)
Yet it was her 2017 appearance on Celebrity Big Brother with her memorable clapbacks towards her co-stars that saw fans fall in love with her even more. From furiously taking on Bianca Gascoigne and Nicola McLean to branding Jamie O’Hara an “adulterer” while sloshing around around a glass of wine in her hand, it was truly iconic behaviour and landed her in the CBB hall of fame.

She eventually finished in third place on the show after Jedward and winner Coleen Nolan, the latter of whom she became embroiled in a row with live on Loose Women before walking off 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 with her beloved husband Peter (
Image:
Wenn)
During her time on CBB, her husband Peter often spoke up in defense of his wife as she struggled with the behaviour of her co-stars. Yet Kim was equally as proud of her husband and always spoke fondly of him whenever she could.

While sharing advice with a caller after transforming into an agony aunt in aid of Stand Up to Cancer in 2018, she said: “When you first meet, it’s sex, it’s lust, but lust will not last. But when there’s love left, you’ll last forever. Go out for a nice dinner, have a little talk and a chat and a kissy cuddle, it’ll all sort itself out.”

Kim wed Peter in 1979 after her marriage to first husband Kenneth Davies ended in divorce in 1975. Kim and Peter don’t have any children together.

TV icon Kim famously enjoyed conversing with her fans, often making appearances at drag shows and, in recent years, filming video messages. Her last Instagram post from March revealed that she was unable to record any more videos for the foreseeable future “due to a health problem”.

Kim was beloved by fans after her reality TV appearances (
Image:
Getty)
She captioned the photo: “No more videos for now, my loves, I need to get better!” Sadly, there was no further update, with fans left concerned for her wellbeing as they wished her a speedy recovery.

Following the news of her death, heartbroken fans have flooded social media with devastated tributes to the Queen of Clean, with one writing: “I’m literally shaking. Our beautiful Kim Woodburn. Fly high my dorlin, her impact on Twitter and British pop culture especially should be studied. A British legend.”

While another wrote: “All I’m saying is God better prepare himself. Because heaven’s got one heck of a storm coming. Kim Woodburn, we love you always x.”

A third gushed: “Kim Woodburn is a solidified British TV icon. Just pure telly gold from How Clean Is Your House? to I’m a Celeb… and who could forget her infamous stint on Celebrity Big Brother. RIP Kim, thanks for the laughs.”

Jedward also paid tribute, writing: “Rest in Peace Kim Woodburn you will forever be our Celebrity Big Brother Friend! We grew up watching you and to share those memories together you will be truly missed for the tv gold you created for all generations.”