Kim Woodburn

Kim Woodburn (born Patricia Mary MacKenzie on 25 March 1942 in Portsmouth, Hampshire)^[1] is an English television presenter and expert cleaner who is best known for co-presenting the British television programme How Clean Is Your House? and in 2007, starred in the Canadian series Kim's Rude Awakenings.

Career

Early career

Woodburn undertook many jobs in her adult life. She worked for a time as a social worker to teenage girls also as a member of staff in children's homes in Liverpool, in retail, and as a Littlewoods model in Liverpool in the late 1960s. In 1983, she made her first appearance on television on Pebble Mill at One, demonstrating knitwear. This was her only television appearance for the next 20 years, while she worked as a house cleaner in the UK and US. Kim also owned a fashion store in Childwall, Liverpool.

Television career

In 2002, she auditioned for Channel 4, while earning £1000 a month as a cleaner. She was hired as a presenter of new show How Clean is Your House?, which began in February 2003, and eventually became the highest paid Channel 4 female presenter. At the age of 61, Woodburn was catapulted into stardom as the show became an instant success. She has also filmed a version of the show in the US.^[2] In 2006 she wrote an autobiography, Unbeaten, which detailed her early life and was the first time she revealed the death of her baby.^[1] This revelation led to a police investigation, which she readily assisted with.^[3] In 2008, the sixth and final series of How Clean is Your House? was aired. She has also appeared in pantomime with TV co-star Aggie MacKenzie, appearing at The Theatre Royal in Brighton.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2009, Woodburn announced to Now Magazine that she would not be making any further series of How Clean is Your House?^[4] and Channel 4 announced soon afterwards that the show would be cancelled.^[5]

In December 2009, Woodburn was placed runner-up on ITV's reality show, I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!. She finished runner-up to TV chef Gino D'Acampo, and her success has led to a stand in role for This Morning a day time TV show. In March 2010 she appeared in Celebrity Come Dine With Me on Channel 4 alongside Claire Sweeney, Darren Day and Tom O'Connor.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Woodburn became a regular panellist on Big Brother 2011 spin-off show, Big Brother's Bit on the Side. In November 2011, she entered the Big Brother house to set a shopping task which she also judged, while berating the housemates for their lack of hygiene.^[6] In 2012, Woodburn took part in Channel 4s Hotel GB, a show designed to get unemployed people jobs by having them work in a hotel for a week under training by a Channel 4 star with all proceeds being donated to charity. Woodburn was head of housekeeping as part of Mary Portas` team and worked alongside Gordon Ramsey, Gok Wan, Katie Piper, Dr Christian Jessen and Hilary Devey.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Woodburn was constantly beaten by her mother throughout her childhood and neglected by her father, who later attempted to molest her as a teenager.^[1] Woodburn has one sister and one brother, and several half-sisters and half-brothers born to her mother and various men. Her mother died in 2000.^[1]

After fleeing from her home and moving from job to job, she became pregnant by her then boyfriend, who then left her. In February, 1966 she gave birth three months prematurely to a stillborn boy.^[1] Terrified of the stigma of being an unmarried mother and alone, she buried the baby's body in a nearby park.^[1] After this, she changed her name to Kim in an attempt to forget her past.^[7]

Her first marriage to a policeman ended in divorce in the 1970s, after she became a victim of domestic violence.^[1] She is currently married to Peter, also a former police officer and three years her junior. She has no children.

She owns two properties, one in Old Oxted, Surrey, the other in Crowborough East Sussex.^[8][9]

Bibliography

• How Clean Is Your House? with Aggie MacKenzie (2003) ISBN 0-7181-4699-9
• Too Posh to Wash: The Complete Guide to Cleaning Up Your Life with Aggie MacKenzie (2004) ISBN 0-7181-4769-3
• The Cleaning Bible: Kim & Aggie's Complete Guide to Modern Household Management with Aggie MacKenzie (2006) ISBN 0-7181-4906-8
• Unbeaten: The Story of My Brutal Childhood (2006) ISBN 0-340-92221-4

Hotel GB channel 4

References

External links

• Kim Woodburn at the Internet Movie Database