Who is Kellie Maloney and why was the Celebrity MasterChef star rushed to hospital while filming?

KELLIE Maloney made the courageous decision to open up about her decision to undergo gender reassignment and ditching her famous name, Frank Maloney, in the process.

She famously starred Celebrity Big Brother in 2014 and now she’s competing on Celebrity Masterchef 2019 – Here’s all we know about her and why she was rushed to hospital during the cooking show.

Who is Kellie Maloney, how old is she and what is her background?

Kellie Maloney is a 66-year-old trans woman who initially rose to fame as a boxing manager and promoter.

During her time in the industry, Kellie managed Lennox Lewis from 1989, and helped him achieve the title of Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World.

She was born and raised in London’s East End, with her family base being in Peckham.

In 2004 she ran for London Mayor as a candidate for UKIP – and was slammed for her criticism of the LGBT community, refusing to campaign in Camden because there were “too many gays.”

Ten years on, Kellie revealed her gender reassignment in August 2014, and requested from that point onwards she was no longer known as Frank.

The star completed her transition in 2014.

She took time away from boxing between 2013 to 2015, before returning to the same position.

Kellie has been married twice, the first marriage bearing one daughter and the second marriage bearing two.

Her second marriage to wife Tracey lasted for more than fifteen years.

What happened to Kellie Maloney on Celebrity MasterChef?

It’s been revealed that Kellie was rushed to hospital during Celebrity MasterChef filming due to exhaustion.

The hard work on the show took its toll on the star after she had to continue filming through her fatigue.

She told The Mirror: “Mentally I got exhausted. I wanted to go home but they wanted some more filming.

“The next thing I knew I was on the floor with all my fellow celebs and the judges around me. Paramedics arrived and said I needed to go to hospital.”

Kellie continued: “When they took my blood pressure I was 240 over 180. The paramedic said they couldn’t believe I hadn’t had a stroke. I didn’t want to go to hospital but they said I had to and rushed me there in an ambulance.

“I was there for nine hours. I can’t remember much about that day. But I got some nice text from Vicky [Pattison] and Greg [Rutherford] checking I was okay.”

The show officially kicked off on September 2, 2019 at 9pm on BBC One.

It’s been given a timeslot for 9pm on BBC One, with the 14th series consisting of 18 episodes in total.

And if you miss any of the episodes, you can always catch them again on BBC iPlayer.

What happened the first time Kellie was in Celebrity Big Brother?

Kellie appeared during the September 2014 series of Celebrity Big Brother – the fourteenth series of the long-running reality show.

During her time in the compound, she credited her housemates White Dee and Lauren Goodger for helping her “learn a lot about herself”.

Lauren in particular helped her understand make-up, hair and dealing with boys as she adjusted to life as a female in the spotlight.

However, she clashed with actor Leslie Jordan and reality star Frenchy Morgan – but she outlasted both of them in the house as they were evicted before her.

Kellie became the fifth evictee from the series in a double elimination with Made in Chelsea’s Steph Pratt.

When she left the house she dropped her knees at seeing the outside world once more.

The series was won by Gary Busey.

Did Kellie return to Celebrity Big Brother for a second time?

Kellie revealed to The Sun Online that she would have “loved” to return to CBB 2017 after admitting that she wasn’t in the best mindset the first time round.

When she appeared in 2014, she was still undergoing her transition – and believed her mental state affected how well she did.

She told us at the time: “I would like to go back into the Big Brother house now so that people could see the real Kellie Maloney.

“When they saw me back in 2014 I was in a very bad place because I was coming to terms with myself and I was fighting myself as well as being accepted by the world, because there was still a lot of Frank in me.

“The Big Brother house helped me a lot, so I’d love to go back, as I don’t think the world really met the real Kellie Maloney.”

She added: “I wouldn’t say no if it was offered to me, as it would give me the opportunity to show the world how I’ve matured and how I’ve grown up and how I’ve become the real me.”

Despite her hopes to join CBB again, producers did not bring her back for another run.