Steps star Ian ‘H’ Watkins finds love again three years after splitting from husband
IT’S a case of 5, 6, 7, date for Steps star Ian “H” Watkins, who has found love again three years after splitting from his husband.
I can reveal the Welsh singer is head over heels in love with dancer-turned-tour-manager Tom Hope.
In 2017, former Dancing On Ice contestant H had a messy split from partner Craig Ryder after a decade together and just a year after the couple had twin sons via a surrogate.
But now he’s got a new lease of life with boyfriend Tom.
A friend said: “H is smitten and it’s lovely for everyone to see.
“He had been single for almost three years and was totally focused on his twin boys and his work.
“Then Dancing On Ice earlier this year was hectic for him, too. But now he’s met Tom it feels like everything has fallen into place.
“His friends and family have met Tom but they’ve kept their romance low-key and decided not to plaster it all over Instagram.
“He is the happiest he has been in a long time and everyone is saying he’s got that old smile back.”
Following his split with Craig, H threw himself into work, including reuniting with Steps bandmates Faye Tozer, Lee Latchford- Evans, Lisa Scott Lee and Claire Richards.
During their original run together from 1997 to 2001 they racked up an impressive 15 Top 40 hits, including two No1s with Tragedy and Stomp.
The group will be back with their sixth album, What The Future Holds, tomorrow and have an arena tour scheduled for next autumn.
H certainly has plenty to sing and dance about now.
Rita curls up with a good look
RITA Ora turns 30 today – but she won’t be calling time on the sexy photoshoots any time soon.
The Anywhere singer posed in a latex dress with curlers in her hair in photos for the new issue of fashion magazine Numero Berlin, which is out today.
Talking about what she has learned from lockdown, she said: “It’s taught me that slowing down is OK. I worked ten years straight and it’s taught me you’re not gonna miss anything by slowing down mentally.
“My mental health has changed a lot in this pandemic. I’ve learned more about meditating, taking care of my family and being able to just breathe.
“It’s taught me to write better, be a better lyricist and read more.”
Her upcoming third album should be the best one yet, then.
Peri cool
DJ Nathan Dawe knew Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall must be a big deal when it slipped her mind that she has a Nando’s black card, which gives her unlimited free food at the chicken restaurant.
Nathan, who is releasing a collaboration with the group called No Time For Tears tomorrow, said: “When I was in the studio writing No Time For Tears with Jade from Little Mix, I said to everyone, ‘Who wants food? Nando’s? Cool’.
“I went on Deliveroo and ordered the Nando’s and after I’ve ordered and paid for it, Jade goes, ‘Oh, I’ve got a black card, I forgot about that’.
“I want to get to the level that I forget I’ve got a black card.”
Sour grapes at Grammy nods as trio spit dummy
IF 2020 has taught people anything, it should have given some perspective about what really matters in life.
But judging by the amount of childish artists throwing their toys out of the pram over the Grammy nominations, there are plenty of celebs who still can’t appreciate what is truly important.
Justin Bieber was the first to have a tantrum on Tuesday evening when the shortlist was revealed, complaining that although he was up for four gongs, they were mostly in pop categories rather than R&B.
Hate to break it to you Justin, but Changes, which you were nominated for, was a pop album, and having listened to it you were lucky to get any nods at all.
He wailed: “I am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said, I set out to make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album.
“It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album, which is very strange to me.”
Then came The Weeknd who, to be fair, was shockingly snubbed entirely despite a stellar year with his No1 single Blinding Lights and hit album After Hours.
But instead of holding his head high and getting over it, the Canadian made himself look like a sore loser by going on Instagram and branding the awards show “corrupt”.
Then there was Nicki Minaj, who lived up to the surname of her husband, Kenneth Petty.
It’s no surprise she was snubbed, given that she hasn’t released an album since 2018.
But in a self-righteous tweet she groaned about how Bon Iver had beaten her to be named Best New Artist EIGHT years ago.
If anything has ever proven that this industry is full of egomaniacs who have no grip on the real world, it’s this.
Ri-ally like Jacko
NO, it’s not a resurrected Michael Jackson in the baseball cap – but Rihanna.
She looked just like the late king of pop with her facemask, dark locks, hat and red coat as she stepped out for dinner in Los Angeles.
Of course Jacko, who died in 2009, wore his trademark mask to ward off germs long before Covid-19 came along.
But Ri-Ri’s likeness is uncanny.
Meanwhile, it’s nearly five years since her last album, Anti, and when we can finally expect some more music from her is being kept as guarded as her face behind that cap and mask.
But the Work singer is said to have shot a music video in LA a few weeks ago. Fingers crossed the rumour is true.
Taylor's Joe and tell
TAYLOR Swift has finally confirmed her actor boyfriend Joe Alywn secretly helped write her hit album Folklore.
I told in July how Joe used the pseudonym William Bowery – after New York’s Bowery Ballroom where they had one of their first dates – for songs Betty and Exile.
Opening up for the first time about the record, which this week secured six Grammy nominations, Taylor said: “There’s been a lot of discussion about William Bowery and his identity.
“So William Bowery is Joe, as we know.” She got the idea for her track Betty when hearing Joe make up the chorus while singing at home in lockdown.
Taylor recalled: “It was a step that we would never have taken because why would we have ever written a song together?
“So this was the first time we’d had a conversation where I came in and I was like, ‘Hey, this could be really weird, and we could hate this – so because we’re in quarantine and there’s nothing else going on, could we just try to see what it’s like if we write this song together?’ ”
Get in tape with Girls Aloud
NADINE Coyle has admitted she and her Girls Aloud bandmates had to be physically gaffer taped into their tour costumes due to their fluctuating body shapes during their heyday.
She explained: “You would do a tour and you’re in shape and you’re rehearsing. Dancers are throwing you around and then you get into your costumes and it’s great.
“But then you take a few weeks off and do summer festivals and use the same tour costumes that you fitted into when you were in really good shape.
“So the stylists would have loads of gaffer tape on the side.”
That was the least of her mum’s worries though. Nadine continued: “My mum made me watch movies like Gia, where someone had forced drugs upon the models.
“My mum had this idea that music and entertainment agencies would give you drugs to give you a certain look in your eyes. She had me petrified.”
Most read in Bizarre
Speaking on the My Wardrobe Malfunction podcast, she said of bandmates Cheryl Tweedy, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh: “I think it took a long time realistically for all of us to bond because I think everybody was so vulnerable.
“In the group it’s quite isolating. Sarah and I became close not that long into it, but I was like Sarah’s big sister.
“I was like, ‘No, Sarah, we can’t do that. No, we have to get organised this weekend’.
bizbit
DUA Lipa will be joined by Sir Elton John on stage tomorrow night at her Studio 2054 livestream gig.
He joins an impressive line-up of guests including Kylie Minogue and Miley Cyrus for the show at 8pm.
- Get tickets at dualipa.com.
GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk