Unexpected celebrity GCSE results – reality TV geniuses and millionaires who failed

This Morning presenters, TOWIE stars, award-winning singers and gold medal-winning Olympians - they've all been in exactly the same position as the millions of kids getting their GCSE results today

Kids across the country are getting their GCSE results today - and this bunch of celebrities prove that you can still do anything whatever your grades are. Some famous faces knuckled down in class and achieved outstanding results, while others weren't as academic and left school with no qualifications.

But getting straight As isn't the be all and end all, as there are a number of millionaires on this list that failed all their exams. Here's a look at what a number of celebs got, from award-winning singers to gold medal-winning Olympians.

Emma Watson

Emma and Hermione are peas in a pod

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( Getty Images)

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The Harry Potter star is just as clever in real life as her clever clogs character, Hermione Granger.

While filming the third movie, each of the main cast members were asked to hand in an essay about their character - and Emma did what Hermione would and wrote loads of pages.

The actress studied hard while filming one of the greatest ever movie franchises and managed to get very impressive results.

On-screen witch Emma conjured up a staggering eight A* grades and two As in 2006.

After finishing her A-levels, the popular actress then went to study English Literature at the highly-acclaimed Brown University in America.

Simon Cowell

Simon has got what it takes to make it to the next round

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( Sami Drasin/NBC via Getty Images)

Simon Cowell clearly didn't have The X Factor at school.

The music mogul left early with just three O-Levels - the exams taken before the days of GCSEs - but that didn't hold him back.

After taking a few 'menial' jobs, including as a runner on 1980 horror film The Shining, Simon's dad managed to get him a role in the mail room at EMI Music Publishing.

He left after failing to get a promotion to try out other jobs, then came back and knuckled down.

Since then he has become one of the most recognisable faces on TV and has his own record label.

Simon doesn't have The GCSE Factor but proved he has 'Got Talent' without achieving top marks in exams.

Jodie Marsh

Jodie Marsh did amazingly well

Former model and TV personality Jodie Marsh did exceptionally well in her GCSEs.

The Celebrity Big Brother star was bullied at school and had rhinoplasty on her nose aged 16.

Despite having a horrid time in education, Jodie achieved some incredible GCSE and A-level results.

In August 2012 she revealed: "I got 11 GCSEs all at A & A* and three A levels but I didn't go to Uni.

"I'm now a successful business woman and champion bodybuilder."

Richard Branson

Branson is up in space, man

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( AFP via Getty Images)

Sir Ricard Branson has done quite well for himself considering he dropped out of school at 16 - and is now worth a whopping £4.2billion.

The Virgin boss admitted he "flunked" his exams, but is keen to let students know "the alphabet runs from A to Z, not A to C".

He has previously stated his belief that the key to success isn’t necessarily grades but applying strengths and focusing on goals.

Speaking on results day in 2016, Richard warned students not to get too caught up in grades and pointed out "you can reach success in spite of failed exams".

"If you didn’t get the results you were hoping for, don’t despair," he tweeted.

"There is lots more to be learned from failure than success, and if you have the will to succeed, not having a paper with A,B or C written on it isn’t going to hold you back."

Cheryl

Cheryl is a singing sensation

Image:

( WireImage)

The former Girls Aloud singer went to school in Newcastle and left without a single GCSE to her name.

However, Cheryl decided to throw everything into her singing career and won a place in the hit band via 2002 singing competition Pop Stars: The Rivals.

In a Huffington Post blog in 2012, Cheryl said: "For those who did well with their GCSEs, or even managed to just scrape by, their world is about to change.

"Maybe they're about to take up a place at college to study their chosen subjects, or maybe they have their dream job lined up. Either way it's a time for celebration."

Scarlett Moffatt

Scarlett had words of advice

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( PA)

Scarlett Moffatt is a TV favourite - and was studying Sport at York Unviersity when she first appeared on Gogglebox.

Back in 2016, Scarlett struggled to get the grades she wanted, tweeting: "Good luck everyone! Don’t panic, it took me 3 attempts to finally pass maths to get into university. Just don’t give up!"

Things have been on the up for Scarlett ever since then as she's won I'm A Celebrity, been a host on Saturday Night Takeaway and appeared on many other shows.

Robbie Williams

Robbie is doing it for the kids

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( GC Images)

Robbie wasn't entertaining anyone with his academic pursuits - but now he's loving angels instead of exams.

The pop sensation had some pretty good predictions, including A/B in History and B/C in English and Geography, but he failed all of his GCSE exams.

But it all worked out for Robbie as he was offered a place in new boyband Take That on the same day.

"If I went back to uni, well before that I would go back and get all of my GCSEs – I failed all of them," explained Robbie in 2019.

"The best I got was a D. So it would be good to do that."

Gemma Collins

The GC knew she would be a star

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( Channel 4)

Before she became The GC, Gemma Collins was sat in an exam hall just like the rest of us.

The TOWIE icon wasn't at the peak of her success during her school days and only got a U in her Maths GCSE - and there were other things on her mind.

Gemma told You : "I remember sitting in the exam room for my maths GCSE and thinking, 'I’m going to be famous, I don’t need maths. What I really need is to go down Romford High Street and buy new shoes.'"

One thing Gemma did go on to graduate in is getting her 'divaship' - and she won't let anybody forget it.

Joey Essex

Joey was so proud of his achievement

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( PA)

The former TOWIE star, who obviously went to school in Essex, received a U in Drama, a C in Art and a D in Wood Tech at GCSE.

But 10 years after leaving school, Joey went back to the classroom as part of a TV series Re-Educating Joey Essex and was very successful.

He was thrilled when he added a D in GCSE General Studies, but was forced to confess: "I still don't really know what GCSE stands for."

To be fair to Joey, I don't think many of us actually do.

Holly Willoughby

Holly went to uni

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( Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

This Morning presenter Holly was privately educated at the posh Burgess Hill Girls School.

But just before her GCSEs, she was diagnosed with dyslexia after realising she couldn’t read anything written on a white page.

"I got really distracted by the white runs of spaces in between," she explained.

Her teacher came up with the idea of having everything printed on coloured paper, with Holly explaining: "Which is brilliant in telly because scripts are always printed on coloured paper – never had a white script in my life.

"I was quite concerned when I first started using autocue… But as long as I've read it all once, and I know what's coming, it's fine."

While she’s never divulged her exact grades, she did well enough to study psychology at university.

But she abandoned those plans to pursue a TV career and a gig hosting ITV Saturday morning kids' show Ministry of Mayhem.

Tom Daley

Tom is a man of many talents

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( Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)

The Olympic gold medallist is talented in the classroom as well as off the diving board.

Despite training around the clock for his Olympic diving career, Tom still managed to study and took his GCSEs in small batches to fit around his pool commitments.

He was in was in Singapore taking part in the Youth Olympic Games when he found out his results - and was "very happy" with his five A* and two As.

Tom gained A*s in Spanish, Art and Design and Additional Science and an A in English Literature.

He switched schools to Plymouth College in Devon just before he sat his first GCSE in June last year because he wanted a "normal school life", then gained an A in Science and A*s in Maths and English Language.

Tom went on to get outstanding A-level results but obviously didn't pursue higher education, instead going on to win three bronze and a gold medal at various different Olympics.

Olly Murs

Olly is a troublemaker

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( PA)

Why do exams feel so good but her so bad? Former X Factor singer and The Voice judge Olly Murs wasn't a 'Troublemaker' at school.

His highest achievements were a respectable B and C in English and a C in art.

That was followed up with six Ds in PE, Maths, Geography, Graphic Products, French and English literature, and an E for science.

Olly has previously told his Twitter Olly followers: "Wow it’s GCSE results today! Don’t be scared, Don’t be worried!

"These results will not define you as a person or predict your future! To make you feel better check mine out if you believe you can achieve!"

Joss Stone

Joss is a world famous singer

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( Action Press/REX/Shutterstock)

The soul star from Devon suffers from dyslexia and left school with just three GCSEs, later admitting her exams had been "the most difficult thing".

"I’m terrible at exams. I’m terrible when it’s something I’m just not interested in," she told Soul Train.

"Learning is a wonderful and fun experience, and can be absolutely brilliant.

"But if you’re being forced to gain knowledge on something in which you have no interest whatsoever, it’s not going to work.

"It’s a waste of life. You may as well learn something you’re going to enjoy."

Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly

They just had to go and get the same grades

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( Dave Benett/Getty Images)

We know Ant and Dec have a lot in common but this one is just a bit spooky.

The Geordie duo are so in-sync that they managed to get an identical amount of GCSEs - five in total.

But the really strange part is they also received exactly the same grades - three Bs and two Cs.

Academically they are on the same level, but Dec certainly believes he is in fact the brains behind the operation.

"I think we have different academic strengths. I’d be better at numbers and logic — he hates stuff like sudokus, which I like, to pass the time on journeys," he told the Radio Times.

Jake Humphrey

Jake is a BT Sport host

Image:

( PA)

Poor old Jake didn't have the best time in exams - managing to do well enough in his GCSEs to take A-levels but picked up an E, N and U.

Although he can't quite work out when that was as he keeps changing the date in his yearly tweets, prompting him to add: "My D for GCSE maths rears its ugly head again..."

The BT Sport presenter got fired from his job at McDonald's just six months after getting his A-level results because of "poor communication skills".

The former kids TV presenter also once joked: "Why did you fail your GCSE's Jake? 'Because I over-perfomed in year 10 sir'."

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