Rylan’s last laugh after evil bully’s violent attack sparked life-changing move

With hosting gigs on Strictly: It Takes Two, Radio 2 and Ready Steady Cook, Rylan Clark-Neal is one of the biggest names in British TV right now.

But back in his school days, poor Rylan, 32, did everything he could not to bring attention to himself.

Mercilessly picked on because of his naturally ginger hair and homosexuality, the bullying took an even more sinister turn when one tormentor subjected him to a violent attack that left him in hospital.

“I was the fat, ginger kid at school. The first three years of school was hard and then I was like, ‘I’m gay now, get over it.’ It was taunting and very difficult,” he previously explained.

“When I lived in London there was this playground that I used to go to after school and I got pulled off a rope swing and some boy kicked me in the head and fractured my skull.

“I was probably about 13 or 14. I was in hospital, it was a horrible time,” recalled Rylan.

As well as dealing with his tormentors at school, at home Rylan was caring for his single mum Linda as she battled severe Crohn’s disase.

But determined not to be beaten, one day he had an epiphany.

“I just got to a point where I thought ‘f***k off’, if anyone said anything to me I’d give it to them straight back,” he told The Sun.

In a bid to stick it to his bullies, Rylan – who was born Ross – set about achieving his dreams of fame and fortune, first by getting fit. Standing at a statuesque 6ft 4inches, a 16 year old Rylan was snapped up by a modelling agency, who promptly changed his name to Kielan because they thought Ross was ‘boring’.

By the time he reached his twenties, he had completely transformed his image, dying his hair his trademark black and adopting his current moniker after finding it under the ‘R’ section of a baby name book in WH Smith.

After giving up modelling, Rylan flew to Ibiza where he made money performing in Take That and Westlife tributes bands. He eventually gave up the party island in pursuit of reality TV fame back home.

In 2011 he tried out for Sky Living’s Signed by Katie Price in the hope of becoming a protégé of the millionaire glamour model.

While he didn’t win the show, Rylan struck up a firm friendship with Katie and later claimed they bonded over their love of going to extreme lengths to maintain their image.

“I had my teeth done like Katie and people took the p***, but f*** them all. I’m over the moon with my teeth,” Rylan fired at his critics.

And he didn’t stop at veneers with his attention soon turning to other cosmetic procedures including Botox and lip filler.

“I wouldn’t say I have a disorder or anything but if you don’t like something, then change it,” Rylan admitted during his time on The X Factor in 2012.

It was during Rylan’s time competing on The X Factor that his old name and photos of him looking wildly different in his younger years began to surface.

During one Xtra Factor taping, hosts Caroline Flack and Olly Murs even got Rylan to show off his passport to viewers to reveal his past identity.

“It’s true! Who’s Rylan? I don’t know,”admitted the singing hopeful.

After leaving X Factor in a respectable fifth place – and being one of the most memorable and talked about stars of his year – Rylan landed a place on CelebrityBig Brother.

After previously trying out as a regular contestant, Rylan had gone a step further by entering the house as a famous face. He was also delighted to meet his idol ‘Claire from Steps’ in the Elstree compound.

While he had a ‘love-hate’ impact on X Factor viewers, Rylan’s real personality shone in the Big Brother house and he was unanimously voted the series winner.

Later that year, he went on to present Big Brother’s Bit on the Side, The Xtra Factor and This Morning.

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