Charlotte Church Reflects on Media Harassment and New TV Venture
Singer Charlotte Church has opened up about the intense media scrutiny she faced during her teenage years, describing how the press attempted to portray her as a “figure of sin.” At just 16, she claimed her phone was hacked by the now-defunct News Of The World newspaper. In response, News Group Newspapers, the publisher behind the publication, reportedly paid substantial damages and issued “sincere apologies” for their actions.
Church shared these reflections with The Big Issue, highlighting the overwhelming pressure she felt at the time. She described the media landscape as “insane,” with stories being manipulated and exaggerated to fit a narrative that painted her in a negative light. “There was all sorts of dark stuff going on with the media taking over the narrative,” she said.
For many teenagers, feeling misunderstood or unfairly judged is common, but Church emphasized that the injustice she experienced felt deeply personal. “The sense of injustice I felt was so keen, it felt like a knife to the skin,” she explained. “Reading these terrible things on a daily basis was really tough.”
She also spoke about how the media’s focus on phone hacking was not yet widely known. “Stories were in the paper all the time, and lots of things were blown up, misconstrued, made seedy, when they really weren’t,” she said. This led to a wave of shame being directed at her, with the press trying to create a “fallen angel” image.
“I knew it wasn’t right. The core of me knew that this was a f** travesty,” she added. “That sense of burning, fiery, ‘f* you’ kept me protected. If I had let that shame in or internalised it, my life could have gone in a very different way.”
A New Chapter: Charlotte Church Joins The Celebrity Traitors
Church is currently preparing for a new television venture, appearing on The Celebrity Traitors. The show features a cast of 19 high-profile individuals, including Thursday Murder Club star Celia Imrie, retired Olympic diver Tom Daley, and actor Sir Stephen Fry. The series will debut on October 8 and run weekly on BBC One and iPlayer.
In The Celebrity Traitors, contestants are brought together in the Highlands to compete in challenges aimed at raising funds for a charity of their choice. The prize pool can reach up to £100,000, but the twist lies in identifying the “traitors” among them. If a traitor remains among the finalists, the “faithfuls” lose out, and the traitor walks away with the full prize.
The show is hosted by Claudia Winkleman and will air two episodes per week—on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The first episode will be broadcast on Wednesday, October 8, at 9pm.
A Career Spanning Decades
Since launching her career in 1997, Church has enjoyed a successful music career. She has released two UK top 10 singles, Crazy Chick and Call My Name, along with three UK top 10 albums. Her journey from a young prodigy to a seasoned performer has been marked by both challenges and triumphs.
Church’s recent interview with The Big Issue offers a glimpse into her resilience and perspective on the media's role in shaping public perception. The full interview is available in this week’s edition of the publication, which can be found online and from street vendors.
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