Who is George Shelley, why did he quit Union J and how did his sister Harriet die?

GEORGE Shelley started his career in the X Factor band Union J – and now he’s become a jack of all trades in British entertainment.

Here’s what you need to know about the singer turned presenter who has gone solo…

Who is George Shelley?

He was born George Paul Shelley on July 27, 1993, in Clevedon, North Somerset to parents Dominic and Toni who split when he was young.

He was a pupil at Kings of Wessex Academy in Cheddar and then attended Weston College where he completed a BTEC Extended Diploma in Graphic Design.

George worked part-time in Costa Coffee in Weston-super-Mare to finance his studies before finding fame.

The 25-year-old is a singer, songwriter and a broadcast presenter.

Does George have any siblings?

George had one younger sister, Harriet, who sadly passed away after being hit by a car.

Harriet was “in the wrong place, at the wrong time” according to her mum.

The 21-year-old sustained serious head injuries following the collision and had been in intensive care before succumbing to her injuries.

George later paid tribute to her with a heartfelt post on Instagram, which read: “I will never accept that you’re gone.
“You will always be with me. My best friend, my sister, my angel.
“Too pure and too beautiful to walk among humans, you now exist somewhere else, and I am honoured to have had the privilege to spend 21 years with you by my side.

“Don’t get used to it up there without me, I’ll see you soon beautiful girl. I love you.”

In his new documentary Learning to Grieve, George revealed that he couldn’t say his sister’s name for 5 months following her passing.

He said: “I don’t think I said my sister’s name for about five months afterwards, in a way I didn’t feel confident saying it.

“I was just by myself at home one day and started calling out ‘Harriet!’ because I missed shouting for her up the stairs, I missed that so much.”

George, far right, joined Triple J to become Union J and end up 4th on The X Factor

How did George first become publicly known?

In 2012, George auditioned for the ninth series of the X Factor as a solo artist singing Britney Spears’ hit song Toxic.

He was eliminated during the boot camp stage as were boy band Triple J.

But when boy band Rough Copy was forced to pull out of the competition due to visa issues, an extra spot was made available at Judge’s Houses for Louis Walsh’s category.

Triple J was recalled but X Factor bosses made it on the condition George was added to the line-up.

They renamed themselves Union J and went on to finish in fourth place.

How much success did Union J have?

The group – Josh Cuthbert, JJ Hamblett, Jaymi Hensley, Casey Johnson and George – signed a record deal with Sony in April 2014 and their self-titled debut album got to number six in the UK Album Charts.

They went on to have four top ten singles and supported Selena Gomez in Lisbon, Portugal, on the European part of her Stars Dance tour in 2013, and The Vamps UK tour in 2015.

In March 2016, George announced he was leaving to pursue other ambitions.

What did George do after leaving Union J?

George signed to Cole Kitchenn Management in 2015 and the following year he joined Capital FM as one of the presenters of the Capital Breakfast Show alongside Dave Berry and Lilah Parsons.

Unfortunately, in April 2017 he was dropped from the station after bosses weren’t prepared to put him in charge of their leading show after DJ Dave Berry stepped down.

He and Lilah also hosted the Brits Red Carpet and E! Golden Globes coverage alongside Sarah-Jane Crawford.

They are in talks to host something else on the station but nothing has been set in stone.

George also took time to work on his solo music and in 2016 he released his debut solo EP called 360.

In 2015 he was one of the contestants on the fifteenth series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me out of Here.

He finished as runner-up to Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison.

George  has also taken part in Celebrity Painting Challenge on BBC One.

How did he get into acting?

George has always cited acting as his real passion in life and started auditioning for roles after leaving Union J.

In 2016, he appeared in series two of the BBC Three improvised comedy show Murder in Successville.

In 2017 he had a guest role in the ITV sitcom Benidorm.

He starred as Giles, a posh university friend of holidaymaker Rob Dawson.

Who has George been romantically-linked to?

George has revealed that he is bisexual and has romances and relationships with men and women.

In a clip he shared on Twitter, he said: “I’ve had girlfriends that I’ve loved. But I’ve also had boyfriends. It shouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve not changed, I’m still me.”

He dated former Towie star Ferne McCann in 2015 and there were rumours of a jungle romance with Lisa Snowdon while they were on I’m A Celeb together.

In 2017 The Sun’s Bizarre column exclusively revealed George was secretly dating university student Matthew Holehouse – his first boyfriend since he opened up about his a year earlier.