‘Celebrity Big Brother’ bosses are facing a scramble to find a new contestant, after Koo Stark reportedly pulled out of appearing on the new series.
READ MORE:
The erotic film star, who previously dated Prince Andrew, was rumoured to have been among the famous faces heading into the reality TV house next week, but has apparently changed her mind at the last minute.
Koo Stark
Her decision is said to have been a blow to bosses, who were hoping that she would reveal details of her connections to the royal family.
A source told The Sun: “Koo has remained discreet about her fling with Andrew but Channel 5 hoped the other celebs might get her chatting and she would spill some juicy royal secrets.”
US film star Koo enjoyed a whirlwind romance with Prince Andrew in the 1980s and were tipped to marry but split after 18 months when it was revealed she had appeared in an erotic movie, ‘Emily’, in 1976.
Producers will now be searching to find a replacement for Koo, before Tuesday’s (5 January) live launch show.
Koo dated Prince Andrew in the 1980s
Other stars rumoured to be taking part in the latest series of the Channel 5 reality show former ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ cast member Gemma Collins, Ola Jordan, David Gest and Nancy Dell’Olio.
Despite her representative denying that she’d be taking part, Danniella Westbrook has still repeatedly been linked with a place in the house, while Vanilla Ice and John Partridge have also been rumoured.
Reports last week suggested that Kris Jenner was trying to block daughter Kim Kardashian’s best friend Jonathan Cheban from appearing on the Channel 5 show, worried that he would spill secrets about the famous family.
Discussing this year’s line-up, host Emma Willis teased last month: “I do think this is one of the strongest we've ever had. When we had Lee Ryan and Jim Davidson, everyone said, 'This is the peak, it can't get better than this'. But they just keep matching it or doing even better with every series. They are so fantastic at getting the right types of people.
“There are a couple in there that I was so excited about, purely because of my own love of them in the past. Aside from people you may have loved in the past, there are just some great characters who I think will give TV gold.”
‘Celebrity Big Brother’ launches on 5 January at 9pm on Channel 5.