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EXCLUSIVE 'Showbusiness is full of cash-strapped, desperate backstabbers who will do anything for fame - and these are the unbelievable things I've seen wannabes do to try and stay relevant,' says Lizzie Cundy Have YOU got a story? Email [email protected] By GERAINT LLEWELLYN FOR MAILONLINE Published: 12:16, 6 April 2025 | Updated: 12:16, 6 April 2025 e-mail View comments Lizzie Cundy has revealed the true cut-throat nature of showbiz, which she says is far from glamorous and full of 'backstabbers'. The former WAG and TV personality, 56, exclusively told MailOnline how after being announced as host of ITV At The Movies, one former friend whisked her out to celebrate - only to try stealing the job.
'Little did I know, she went to the toilet, got her agent to ring the director and said "I don't think Lizzie should do ITV At The Movies, my client would be much better"'. Lizzie, who hosted the show between 2008 and 2010, went on: 'Thankfully I knew the producer who phoned to tell me, I've learned in this businesses, keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. 'People think this celebrity world is all glamorous, wonderful red carpet events, it all looks like a fairytale but it is hard work, it isn't easy, there is a lot of backstabbing'.
She continued: 'Look at Love Island, friends are competing against each other because they want that brand deal, they want that TV show. We've seen it with like Olivia Attwood and Maura Higgins , they kind of go against each other, because they are in competition'. Lizzie Cundy, 56, has revealed the true cutthroat nature of showbiz, which she says is far from glamorous and full of 'backstabbers' The former WAG and TV personality exclusively told MailOnline how one former friend tried to steal her job hosting ITV at the movies (pictured with Tom Cruise on the show in 2008) Lizzie said: 'Thankfully I knew the producer who phoned to tell me, I've learned in this businesses, keep your friends close and your enemies closer' Speaking about other less successful singleton's from the ITV2 show, Lizzie said it was 'soul destroying' to see them discarded after being placed briefly on a 'pedestal'.
'They're on this top show, the phone doesn't stop ringing, everyone loves you, but once you are out if you haven't made your mark, I have seen so many sadly thrown to the roadside'. Asked how she had managed to stay in the limelight all these years, Lizzie put it down to being able to 'reinvent herself' after moving into TV from life as a WAG. 'Thats the way to keep your head above water, otherwise you will be pulled down.
I've milked the WAG industry for all it's worth, I've done a book, done a musical, done a TV show. 'Like my old friend Paul Danan who is no longer with us, he said to me "Lizzie how do you keep doing it" and I said "You have to keep reinventing yourself, keep moving", some people sadly it's just too much for them and there is a dark side to celebrity. The Hollyoaks actor was found dead at his Bristol home in January aged 46 from a cocktail of drugs including cocaine and heroin.
The stunner confessed that despite showbiz being 'dog eat dog' she was lucky to have true friends in the industry, like Simon Cowell, 65, Bruno Tonioli, 69, and Rylan, 36. 'I'm very fortunate to have good friends, Bruno is one of my best friends, I'm friends with Simon and they've been through it and it makes it very hard to trust'. She said: She continued: 'Look at Love Island, friends are competing against each other We've seen it with like Olivia Attwood (L) and Maura Higgins (R) pictured 2016 'Like my old friend Paul Danan (pictured 2002) who is no longer with us, he said to me "Lizzie how do you keep doing it" and I said "You have to keep reinventing yourself, keep moving" The stunner confessed that despite showbiz being 'dog eat dog' she was lucky to have true friends in the industry, like Simon Cowell, 65 (pictured together 2016) Bruno Tonioli, 69 Revealing the lengths some go to to piggyback off her and her friend's successes, she said: 'What people do is, they'll say "Wow can I have a selfie with you" and Bruno gets this, Simon does, Rylan,' 'Then they'll put it on their Instagram saying "great night out with Bruno" and he's only just met them.
Then they'll try and get into parties saying "I am best friends with this person look" they'll do anything'. The GB News star, who is a red carpet regular, also recalled how one TOWIE star, who she declined to name, broke into a premiere despite not being invited, in a desparte bid to have her photo taken. Lizzie laughed: 'So she literally clambered over the railings, jumped over, posed for pictures.
The security saw her so she ran into where the premiere was and locked herself in the toilets'. 'She said: "As long as my pictures are taken it doesn't matter, I'll stay here all night". she literally stayed in that toilet and refused to come out'.
Lizzie also revealed how little some in the spotlight get paid after she earned a measly £250 for her appearance in 1995 James Bond movie Goldeneye. In the movie, which was Pierce Brosnan 's first outing as 007, Lizzie appeared as Famke Janssen 's body double in the famous sauna scene where the character Xenia Onatopp tried to strangle Bond with her legs. Lizzie revealed how Pierce, now 71, who was wrapped only in a towel, was the 'hairiest man she'd ever seen' and joked she feared getting 'fur balls'.
'He was a lovely bloke, so funny and we got on like a house on fire, but so hairy, like an otter'. 'I'm very fortunate to have good friends, Bruno(pictured together) is one of my best friends, I'm friends with Simon and they've been through it and it makes it very hard to trust' 'I'm very fortunate to have good friends, Bruno is one of my best friends, I'm friends with Simon and they've been through it and it makes it very hard to trust' (pictured with pals Rylan and Ruth Langsford) She recalled landing the role at the very last minute due to her having the same measurements as the Danish actress, but spent much of her time waiting in a tiny trailer which 'smelt of fish'. If that wasn't bad enough, once on set Lizzie said Pierce's stand-in also stank and she was forced to endure the stench during rehearsals before the star arrived.
She laughed: 'I had to do the practicing with this smelly man, who had body odour, it was awful. It wasn't glamorous it wasn't well paid'. 'It sounds glamorous but there was lots of waiting around and films aren't always cracked up to be'.
It comes after Lizzie revealed how her beloved mother Gloria stopped her on the way to the altar after being left so concerned she was tying the knot with a footballer. The former WAG, who was married to Chelsea star Jason Cundy from 1994 to 2012, exclusively told MailOnline how she was taken to a pub in her wedding dress on route to the lavish ceremony and given the option to scarper. Lizzie admitted that despite her parents 'loving' Jason, they knew little about the footballing world, beyond tabloid tales: 'My mum hoped I'd be marrying a doctor or a lawyer, like her friend's daughters and I was marrying a footballer'.
Lizzie also revealed how little some in the spotlight get paid after she earned a measly £250 for her appearance in 1995 James Bond movie Goldeneye (pictured with Pierce Brosnan in 1997) In the movie, which was Pierce Brosnan's first outing as 007, Lizzie appeared as Famke Janssen 's (R)body double in the famous sauna scene She also revealed how Pierce, now 71, who was wrapped only in a towel was the 'hairiest man she'd ever seen' and joked she feared getting 'fur balls' (pictured in the movie) 'Even as my dad was in the car taking me to the wedding, [my mum phoned and said] "pull over and just tell her it doesn't matter, she has to be doing the right thing"'. Laughing at the memory Lizzie recalled how she, in her ivory gown complete with veil and tiara, along with her father, traipsed into the Wimbledon pub for a heart to heart, leaving onlookers stunned. Sitting down with a gin and tonic, her late dad Derek said: 'Lizzie you don't have to do this, you really don't, it's one of the biggest decisions of your life and we love you'.
Looking back, Lizzie said: 'My mum was a force to be reckoned with, and still is, and I wasn't angry, they were just concerned and I just thought they really loved me and wanted me to make the right choice'. The stunner explained how her mum, who is now 90, was worried about the 'troubled life' her daughter was marrying into: 'All she'd seen from the George Best days was heartache and pain,' 'No stability, moving about, which in fact she was totally correct about, but I have no regrets because I have two beautiful sons'. Lizzie Cundy Maura Higgins Olivia Attwood Share or comment on this article: 'Showbusiness is full of cash-strapped, desperate backstabbers who will do anything for fame - and these are the unbelievable things I've seen wannabes do to try and stay relevant,' says Lizzie Cundy e-mail Add comment Comments 0 Share what you think No comments have so far been submitted.
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