From Stacey Solomon’s smelly side hustle to Katherine Ryan’s Hooter’s gig – the very surprising first jobs of the stars
THEY seem to have the world at their feet, but we often forget even celebrities have to start somewhere, and for many, it is at the bottom of the ladder.
Many well-known names started out in jobs worlds away from their glam lives now, and we’re sure they’re all the happier for it.
Here, we reveal the very normal jobs our favourite celebrities did back when they were teens.
Owl-ed Life
The Canadian beauty has appeared on our screens in numerous shows – from stand-up comedy to panel shows and a leading role in the Netflix hit The Duchess.
But before then the quick-witted comedian who always has something to say first started off working as a waitress in Hooters.
She recently revealed to Captial Radio: “Infamously, I worked at Hooters.
Katherine joked: “Which is an owl sanctuary back in Canada. I am a bird lover.
“And then I used to work in my dad’s engineering office. I did a lot of waitressing and bartending and things like that.”
When Katherine headed over to the UK she helped open the Nottingham branch of Hooters, confessing proudly ‘I was Miss Hooters Toronto 2004.’
While many see Hooters as controversial for making waitresses wear tight vests and short shorts, Katherine, now a mum-of-two, says she had ‘a great, fun life’ working there.
Eventually, she made her way up to the corporate side of the company before trying her luck as a comedian – and the rest is history.
Oh My Cod
Stacey Solomon is mostly known for her stint on X Factor where she was repelled to fame – now boasting a homeware line at Asda, a clothing line at Primark, a panelist on Loose Women, and even her own show on BBC, Sort Your Life Out.
But the down-to-earth Essex star obviously didn’t get these deals handed to her from the get-go.
The now millionaire once worked part-time shifts at the aptly named Oh My Cod! in Hornchurch, East London when she was a single mum and studying at college.
She told her co-stars: “They did an amazing battered sausage and I loved working there. I was really good at wrapping chips. I go back in all the time.”
While auditioning for The X Factor Stacey continued to work there in 2009.
“It was the best experience of my life, it was so surreal,” she said.
Stacey Solomon's career so far
Stacey Solomon has been a familiar face on viewers' screens for over a decade. Let's take a look back at her career.
The X Factor (2009): Stacey competed in series six of long-running ITV singing competition The X Factor. During her time in the show, she was mentored by Danni Minogue in the ‘Girls’ category. The star finished in third place, behind Joe McElderry and Olly Murs.
I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here (2010); In late 2010, Stacey headed to the infamous I’m A Celeb Aussie jungle. After 21 days, she triumphed to win the tenth series. It was through I’m A Celeb that she met future husband Joe Swash – who’d won two years earlier and was hosting the ITV2 spinoff.
Celebrity Juice (2011―2013, 2016―2019): The star appeared as a panellist on 21 episodes of the comedy panel game show hosted by Keith Lemon. Stacey was a regular in the 21st series, broadcast in 2019.
Loose Women (2016 – present): Stacey has been a permanent panel member of the daytime show since 2016. She previously made guest appearances in 2011 and 2012.
Sort Your Life Out (2022 -present): This BBC show sees Stacey, with the help of an expert team, transform participants’ living spaces after removing clutter.
Are You Not Entertained?
We’re used to belly-laughing in the morning thanks to Alison Hammond’s wicked humour and upbeat personality, but it turns out she’s had a knack for it all along.
The 48-year-old learned how to please an audience and make the best out of blunders by being a holiday rep in Tunisia in her early twenties.
She said: “I went there with a friend and the entertainer in the hotel had left.
“The next thing I know, I’m on the stage on my holiday entertaining the kids, doing mini disco, singing I Am The Music Man.
“The manager came up and asked if I wanted to get a job and I didn’t have a job at the time.
“So you never know – by going on that holiday, I wound up in that sort of career.”
Total Lifesaver
Molly-Mae Hague is often seen posing in her latest line of Maebe clothes or in a bikini on the beach somewhere sunny, and it seems she has had plenty of practice.
Molly’s first job was working part-time as a leisure centre lifeguard in Manchester alongside her sister Zoe.
Shortly after, Molly-Mae went on to compete and win Miss Teen Hertfordshire and World Teen Supermodel.
Now a mum-of-one, she shared a photo on Instagram of the pair eating lunch in their yellow and red uniforms, she joked: “Had this job for three years. Not gonna lie, never saved a life.”
The super-influencer also trained as a spin instructor and worked in Boots before starring in Love Island and clawing her way to charging £65,000 per sponsored social media post.
Feeling Fruity
The Britain’s Got Talent judge and Kiss FM radio host Amanda Holden is known for making her fair share of fruity jokes.
And it turns out there might be a reason it comes so naturally to her as her first job was working in a fruit and veg shop in her hometown of Bishop’s Waltham, Hampshire.
She would do Saturday shifts at greengrocers Hylands before getting her big break in musical theatre.
But the 53-year-old never forgot her roots as she went back there to do a book signing decades on.
She said: “I had this brainwave to do a book signing in the shop I worked in when I used to get £13 a day and spend the money on clothes in a shop up the street.
“I was a Saturday girl from 13 to 16 and it smelled just the same.”
Served Up
Cheryl Tweedy could be seen wiping tables and serving dishes before finding fame with Girls Aloud.
The 41-year-old worked shifts in a restaurant while training to be a dancer and doing minor childhood modelling jobs.
In 2002 she left Newcastle to become a superstar in the girl group who recently did a reunion tour.
Cheryl would later become a judge on The X Factor and score five number-one hits as a solo artist.
Not bad for a Geordie girl from The Toon.
Stay Connected
Davina McCall didn’t have the easiest start in life as a hard-partying teen, developing addictions to drugs after being introduced to them by her mother.
At the age of 17, Davina was in debt from her lifestyle and got a sales assistant job to try and clear it.
“I owed about £3,000, which was a lot of money then,” says the 56-year-old TV presenter.
“I had to pay it off with a Saturday job, working in French Connection in London’s Covent Garden for £20 a day.
“It took me over five years to pay it off, but now I’m very careful not to be overdrawn because I remember how awful that felt.”
Extra Baggage
Michelle Keegan got her first big break as Tina McIntyre in Coronation Street and her career has gone from strength to strength starring in Netflix hit Fool Me Once, but that’s in stark contrast to what she did in her younger years.
Pre-fame jobs for Michelle included working at Selfridges in Manchester on the make-up counter and as a check-in assistant at Manchester Airport.
But the Stockport-born actress wasn’t stuck in customer service jobs for long.
She landed the role of Tina at only her second audition, beating 900 other girls to the part in 2008.
Roll the Dice
Alesha Dixon has won Strictly Come Dancing, was a judge on Britain’s Got Talent and has had top ten hits in her career as a singer and dancer.
But before the glitz and glam Alesha worked in a gambling shop on the high street.
The 45-year-old star revealed: “I worked in Ladbrokes but I spent most of the day daydreaming about my music career.”
She also aspired to be a PE teacher, planning to go to Loughborough University, until she was scouted on a train home from London to Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.
During her Ladbrokes days, she also secretly romanced fellow popstar Noel Simpson from R&B boyband Damage.
He said: “I used to wait outside for her to finish her shift and then we would go off together.”
Scrub Up
Gabby Logan might be the daughter of footballer and manager Terry Yorath, but she isn’t afraid to get stuck into some hard graft.
She got a cleaning job at her grandmother’s café in Leeds – aged just nine.
The BBC sports anchor, 50, earned £5 a shift for helping out, before taking a different job at 13 sweeping floors at a hairdressing salon.
She got the TV bug a couple of years later when she appeared on Blue Peter as a gymnast.
Gabby would write to the director of the show to thank him and say she wanted to work in telly – and he replied to encourage her to go to university.
Her telly dream came true and years later she would make a show for his production company for ITV2.
She said: “He walked on set and said: ‘You took my advice!’.”