Meeting the Atomic Kitten with nine lives

With a top five single, a TV show, a starring role in the musical War of the Worlds, a Master Chef triumph and a new cook book under her belt, Liz McClarnon has certainly proven that there is life after Atomic Kitten. JMU Journalism talks to the bubbly Scouse beauty to ask "Is there anything Liz McClarnon can't do?"

JMU Journalism: You are the new presenter of BBC3's 'Hotter than my Daughter', where you are on a mission to end all mother and daughter catfights when it comes to their look and style. Tell me a bit about the show and did you experience any such problems with your mum when you were younger?

LM: Oh no, thank God! She was always quite classy. She is high fashion but appropriate. However, she is very attractive and when we go to certain places she gets a lot of attention. So I know how it feels to play second fiddle to mammy dearest.

JMU: Now you have got your own TV series do you still consider singing to be your day job?

LM: Oh yeah. My single is out in May after signing my new deal at the end of last year. I love music. I wrote a lot of songs for Atomic Kitten and find it therapeutic to go in the studio and put down how I feel. It's all I knew for nearly ten years, I'm just branching out these days.

JMU: You had massive success with your first single 'Woman in Love' reaching number five in the charts, when will we hear the next Liz McClarnon single?

LM: May - I'm so excited, it's pop. I just love pop! The album has been so much fun to make.
 
JMU: Are you excited to take to the road with Ronan Keating on his UK tour? I know you and your mum are massive Ronan fans, is this secretly the reason you decided to go on tour with him?

LM: I'm not going on tour now, sadly... I had to pull out for personal reasons. I'm gutted about it, because the answer to this question would've been "yes!" He's just such a lovely guy. And Yvonne, his wife, is so much fun too.

JMU: As the very proud and deserving winner of
Celebrity Master Chef, is it true you are working on your
own cookbook? 

LM: I certainly am. And there's a TV show to come too. It's
so funny! It's about people who CANNOT cook. That's what
all my stuff is about. The cookbook will explain everything a
person needs to know. To give everyone a taste and get
them started, I've just started filming me cooking the
simple stuff to teach people. It'll go on my website and it'll
start from how to boil an egg and teach you along the way.

JMU: What is your favourite dish to cook?

LM: Honestly, everything. The kitchen is MY room. We've
just had ours re-done before Christmas and my boyfriend
joked that it was my Christmas present.

JMU: You are set to star alongside Jason Donovan in the 'War Of The Worlds' tour that comes to the Echo Arena in December. How did that happen?

LM: I got a phone call from Jeff Wayne. He said I had a lovely voice and Woman In Love was one of his favourite songs so would I be interested in doing the show with Jason, provided my voice was suitable for the role. So I jumped at the chance and thank goodness they loved my voice! Actually they've just confirmed that my husband in the show will be a big name, but we can't say who it is yet.

JMU: You have also teamed up with Age Concern and Help the Aged to raise awareness to the serious issues some people face in later life and are encouraging all supporters to take part in the Liverpool Half Marathon. Will you be taking part yourself?

LM: Nope! Haha! Actually, that's only because I have a show that night but don't worry I'll be there to cheer everyone on.

JMU: As a massive Everton fan, do you ever get the time to go and watch games at Goodison?

LM: Definitely! When I'm home, I'm there. I watch all the games on television if I'm in London though.

JMU: Is there really anything Liz McClarnon can't do? Have you got anything else in the pipeline?

LM: Loads actually. A fiction novel, a radio show, another TV show, writing songs for other artists, and I'm getting my hygiene certificates. If I can get a couple of degrees I could match my brother and that'd be me done. We'll see... that may take a while!

YouTube: Liz on winning Celebrity Master Chef