Joel Harley
Published November 29, 2025 3:39pm
Updated November 29, 2025 3:40pm
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Michelle Heaton has opened up about a violent experience with a male fan (Picture: PA Wire)
Liberty X star Michelle Heaton has described how she once fell victim to a brutal attack from a male fan.
The singer and Celebrity MasterChef star, 46, was a member of the pop group from 2001 to 2008, along with bandmates Jessica Taylor, Kelli Young, Tony Lundon and Kevin Simm.
The group was initially formed in the wake of the ITV talent show Popstars, after the five finalists failed to make it into winning group Hear’Say.
Calling themselves Liberty X, the band released their debut album in 2002, which featured their hit single Just A Little Bit.
After releasing two follow-up albums, Liberty X disbanded in 2007, before briefly reuniting for the ITV2 series The Big Competition – alongside fellow noughties pop groups B*Witched, Honeyz, 911, Five and Atomic Kitten.
In a new interview, Michelle has reflected on her time with Liberty X – which also reformed with just its female members in 2017 – recalling one terrifying incident which took place at the height of their fame.
Michelle has shared details of a particularly harrowing fan encounter (Picture: Getty Images)
Michelle was a member of Liberty X, alongside Tony Lundon, Jessica Taylor, Michelle Heaton, Kelli Young and Kevin Simm (Picture: Getty Images)
Speaking to The Mirror, Michelle shared details of an incident where she was punched by a male fan at a gig in Germany.
Describing what had happened, Michelle said: ‘This man punched me to the ground. Kevin [Simm] looked back and I wasn’t there, I was on the ground.
‘He called security, they got me up on my feet and the gig was immediately cancelled, we were rushed out and into a holding room. The police came, and the man was eventually caught and it was all on CCTV. That was terrifying.’
Liberty X briefly reformed in full in 2013 (Picture: Rex Features)
Michelle went on to share how their tour manager upped security from then on, with the band turning down a number of nightclub gigs due to the attack.
‘We were always watching our backs,’ she said, describing it as ‘the scariest moment’ of her time with Liberty X.
Michelle added: ‘You still get that culture today, look at Ariana being accosted on the Wicked red carpet, and how easy that was.’
This latest incident, which Michelle called ‘mind-boggling,’ saw a fan tackle star Ariana Grande on the Wicked: For Good yellow carpet in Singapore last week.
Australian Johnson Wen was later identified and deported, after pleading guilty to one charge of being a public nuisance.
Michelle described the attack as ‘terrifying’ (Picture: Getty Images)
Michelle’s comments come after she was eliminated from Celebrity MasterChef during the show’s quarter final last week.
Michelle described herself as ‘absolutely gutted’ after leaving her sweet potatoes in the oven for too long, burning them to a crisp.
‘Oh, no!’ she stressed, taking her head in her hands. ‘I actually can’t believe it. Burned my sweet potato fries.’
‘You had a bit of a disaster,’ remarked judge John Torode as she served up what remained of her meal.
Michelle joined the Celebrity MasterChef line-up (Picture: BBC)
John, who was scoring meals with new addition Grace Dent, added: ‘[But] you picked yourself up and you went and sorted it out. That’s what MasterChef is all about, Michelle. Good on you.’
Speaking afterwards, Michelle said: ‘I am feeling OK considering I had a massive disaster.
‘I was about to cry, but I didn’t, because I usually do. And I just ploughed on. And I’m really, really happy that I did, because I learned something about myself.’
Michelle recently celebrated four years sober after a debilitating alcohol addiction (Picture: Getty Images)
Celebrity MasterChef is far from Michelle’s first reality TV rodeo.
After her time in Liberty X, she went on to appear in Celebrity Big Brother, Dancing On Ice, and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Earlier this month, she credited fellow reality TV icon Katie Price with ‘saving her life’ during a ‘spiralling’ period of alcoholism.
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During this time, Katie and other friends staged an intervention, which led to Michelle checking into The Priory rehab clinic in 2021.
Michelle credited showbiz pal Katie Price with saving her life (Picture: Getty Images)
Michelle, who recently celebrated four years ofsobriety, told The Sun: ‘I texted Katie [Price] while I was in The Priory, “You saved my life.” Because The Priory did save my life.
‘What I was doing was a suicide mission. I never actually thought, “I want to kill myself”, but ultimately I was killing myself.
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‘I was crying out for help when I couldn’t actually ask for help. But when you’re an addict, it feels like there’s no way out.’
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