Hear’Say star Noel Sullivan unrecognisable 20 years after band split and revealing he put on two stone for stage role
HEAR'SAY star Noel Sullivan is unrecognisable 20 years after the band split.
The Pure and Simple hitmaker, 39, appeared on ITV's This Morning back in 2019 and revealed that he'd put on two stone for a West End stage role.
He shocked viewers as he showcased his different appearance to play Jack Black's character in the musical School of Rock.
At the time, he said that he had piled on the weight with a "pizza and pasta" diet.
TV star Eamonn Holmes said: "You’re going to look at Noel and say he's aged a bit. For that role Noel has had to put on weight. You literally had to feed yourself up by two stone?"
Noel replied: "Yes I did, just because in the script there was a lot of talk about the teacher being fat. It’s a very physical role. I didn’t want to wear a fat suit on stage, it’s live. It would look odd."
The Irish host then said: "What if you can’t lose it?", the popstar responded: "I will worry about that then. In the meantime it’s pizza and pasta for me."
Noel had been "thrown on the scrapheap" in his early 20s when the band split, but he quickly found a new career on the stage.
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He even moved to Las Vegas for 18 months fronting Strictly Ballroom and had a scene-stealing cameo as himself in Gavin & Stacey as Nessa's mate.
After being told to - in his words - "shut up about my sexuality" while embarking on stardom, he married James Bennett.
The pair have been hard at work renovating their 16th century house in the foothills of the Pyrenees in France.
He shot to fame in 2001 on Popstars, where he impressed the judges for a spot in pop band Hear'Say alongside Myleene Klass, Kym Marsh, Suzanne Shaw and Danny Foster.
In 2016, Noel that he would be joining the BBC on the cast of their hit drama Ordinary Lies.
Noel is not the only member of the group who has ventured into a different career path.
Possibly one of the biggest success stories in “songs to soaps” transitions is Kym Marsh.
The feisty ex-Hear’Say member dipped her toe in the acting pool by playing prostitute Kay Price in a late night episode of Hollyoaks before she took on the role of Michelle Connor in 2006.
Michelle was still a regular character on the soap, where her “on again off again” relationship with Steve McDonald has had the nation gripped.
She also starred in BBC's The Syndicate last year and is the host of her own topical show Morning Live alongside Gethin Jones.
Suzanne Shaw is now a fitness fanatic and plant-based diet enthusiast who recently lost a lot of weight saying she'd been "eating and drinking (alcohol) my emotions".
She also kept up appearances in both soapland, as Emmerdale's Eve Birch, and reality telly, in the likes of Dancing On Ice.
Myleene Klass went onto become a radio DJ, she has popped up as everywhere from hosting The One Show to a CNN reporter to - who could forget? - the I'm A Celebrity waterfall.
Danny Foster lives a much more zen life compared to his pop days, running a retro soul act called Danny Foster & The Big Soul Corporation and is heavily into meditation.
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The group, painstakingly assembled by 'Nasty Nigel' and co on the X Factor forerunner, released their mega-hit Pure And Simple in 2002.
However, after just 18 months together the band splintered and the band they beat on Popstars, Liberty X, took on their mantle as manufactured pop royalty.
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