Chesney Hawkes beams as he watches the Grand National at Aintree ahead of his Celebrity Big Brother stint
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Chesney Hawkes looked happier than ever as he watched the Grand National races at Aintree on Saturday.
The nineties pop icon, 53, is set to appear on ITV's Celebrity Big Brother, which kicks off on April 7 - coinciding with the launch of his chart comeback.
Ahead of the show’s launch, Chesney made one of his final public appearances in a stylish brown leather jacket paired with jeans.
Enjoying some downtime before entering the star-studded house, he struck a series of poses for the camera as he enjoyed the big day out.
The full line-up of this year's Celebrity Big Brother was revealed earlier this week, sending fans into a frenzy.
On Wednesday, Mickey Rourke was the final star to sign-up for the much-anticipated show.
Chesney Hawkes looked happier than ever as he watched the Grand National races at Aintree on Saturday
The nineties pop icon, 53, is set to appear on ITV 's Celebrity Big Brother , which kicks off on April 7, which coincides with the launch of his chart comeback
Those appearing alongside the Hollywood star include Love Island's Chris Hughes, Olympian Daley Thompson, JoJo Siwa and Patsy Palmer.
Trisha Goddard, Donna Preston, Coronation Street's Jack P. Shepherd, Ella Rae Wise, Michael Fabricant and Angellica Bell are also in the running.
Mickey, 72, marks one of the show's biggest signings in history and with public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, producers will be hoping the he brings plenty of drama to the house.
Drag Queen Danny Beard is also said to be arriving as a late entry.
Elsewhere, Chesney wiped away tears while appearing on live TV as Thursday's episode of Good Morning Britain took an emotional turn.
The One And Only hitmaker sat down with hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls to discuss music and grief.
He lost his childhood friend Vic Irvine, who passed away last month after battling cancer.
During the show, clips of Chesney and Vic were shown celebrating at a West Ham cup final game in Prague with their sons which caused the singer to pause and get emotional.
Ahead of the show’s launch, Chesney made one of his final public appearances in a stylish brown leather jacket
It comes after Chesney wiped away tears as Thursday's episode of Good Morning Britain took an emotional turn
Looking at the video, he teared up as he said: 'Oh bless him'.
Susanna then comforted the star and said: 'Oh it's so hard, I'm so sorry Chesney!'
Chesney replied: 'Oh thanks, it's just so odd that I'm talking about a song about loss right now, at this particular moment in time, he loved the song, he told me it was the way that he was going to keep in connection with his loved ones.'
During the show, the singer discussed his new album, Living Arrows, which is set to be released on February 28.
He discussed a single on the album, Loud, which centres around loss.
Vic was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and Chesney posted on Instagram about his death with an emotional tribute to his long-time friend alongside a video of them in Prague.
It read: 'You may have noticed I’ve been a little off radar recently. Many of you will know that my best friend Vic has been ill recently.
'I know a lot of you have gotten to know and love him over the years. Well, I am heartbroken to say that Vic passed away on Thursday morning.
'He did so peacefully holding hands with his beautiful family. There are no words to describe the pain we all feel, but now is about coming together and supporting his wonderful family through this tragic time.
'This video of him in Prague a couple of years ago is one of our most treasured memories.
'A day we were all so happy he lived to see and experience as one of life’s biggest Hammers. I will share more about this great man as time goes on, but for now here he is in his element. xx'
CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER 2025: MEET THE LINEUP!
MICKEY ROURKE
AGE: 72
FAMOUS FOR: The actor and former pro boxer is one of the show's biggest ever signings and after public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, he will be bringing plenty of drama.
DALEY THOMPSON
AGE: 66
FAMOUS FOR: The double Olympic gold-medallist is considered one of Britain's greatest athletes. He broke the decathlon world record four times.
PATSY PALMER
AGE: 52
FAMOUS FOR: It's an open secret that Patsy is leaving EastEnders, with the actress enjoying a wild leaving party this month. The Bianca Jackson star posted a snap of her character on Instagram with the caption: 'Bye bye B, always grateful to see her again.'
DONNA PRESTON
AGE: 38
FAMOUS FOR: While Donna has featured in several TV shows and movies, the comedy star is known for hosting Apocalypse and for the role of a circus Compere in 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. She plays Den in Coronation Street, has featured in Pants On Fire in 2019 and even wrote and co-produced BBC Three's Comedy Threesomes.
CHESNEY HAWKES
AGE: 53
FAMOUS FOR: The singer topped the charts for five weeks in 1991 with his hit The One And Only, before making a string of acting and TV appearances. His arrival on CBB has been described by a TV source as 'perfect timing', as he's just released a comeback album
ANGELLICA BELL
AGE: 49
FAMOUS FOR: The TV presenter is said to have landed a staggering five-figure deal to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Fans will be keen to see if the CBBC legend spills all on her untimely exit from The Martin Lewis Show - which left fans baffled back in 2023. Angellica currently co-presents Hits Radio while Fleur East is on maternity leave.
DANNY BEARD
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: The RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner - whose real name is Daniel Curtis - has signed up as a late entry. Danny previously made headlines after swearing on Big Brother's Late & Live last March whilst doing an impression of housemate Louis Walsh. The incident saw the guest say the word 'c***' before immediately apologising after being informed they weren't allowed to say that on the show.
CHRIS HUGHES
AGE: 32
FAMOUS FOR: After shooting to fame on Love Island in 2017, Chris went on to become a sports presenter and regularly hosts the horse racing coverage on ITV.
JOJO SIWA
AGE: 21
FAMOUS FOR: The American singer, who shot to stardom on reality show Dance Moms, is expected to draw a big American audience. The hitmaker has made a name for herself in the U.S. pop charts and is known for her outlandish looks and being a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community.
TRISHA GODDARD
AGE: 67
FAMOUS FOR: The talk show host regularly presented on ITV from 1998 to 2004 and then shifted to Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. Trisha has been suffering horrible side effects of her chemotherapy - but has bravely battled on.
JACK P. SHEPHERD
AGE: 37
FAMOUS FOR: The actor has played David Platt in Corrie since 2000 and is following in his pal Colson Smith's footsteps by taking part in the popular reality show. He has won a string of awards for the role including Best Actor at the British Soap Awards.
ELLA RAE WISE
AGE: 24
FAMOUS FOR: Producers have been keen to land the TV personality, who previously dated Pete Wicks and has had an on-off romance with Dan Edgar. Bosses are hoping the TOWIE star might reveal all about some of her other famous exes.
MICHAEL FABRICANT
AGE: 74
FAMOUS FOR: The former Conservative politician is understood to have signed a lucrative six-figure deal to take part after political stars were banned from the broadcaster's other reality show, I'm A Celeb. He served as MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire from 1992 until his defeat in 2024 as well as vice-chairman of the party under David Cameron. But he is perhaps best known for his blond mop for which he has been widely ridiculed but previously denied is a wig.
