When Toyah Willcox first stepped foot on the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor, the 80s icon said that she was 'flying the flag for pensioners'. The singer, who at 66, is the oldest contestant on the BBC show, told Grazia, 'I'm the shortest, I'm the oldest. I've just got to accept who and what I am and enjoy it.'
She added, 'I've lost a lot of weight. I'm incredibly fit, but I think I'm just going to drop more weight because it's so exciting and it's such a happy place.' Music legend Toyah also said that she planned to embrace every element of the show. 'I think you come into this show with a completely open attitude - it's not going to last forever. It's incredibly special to people. I just want to take the whole opportunity to work with this award-winning team, including the costumes. They said to me, "What do you want to wear?" and I said, "You tell me, you're the expert!"' she said.
While her time on the show didn't last the longest, Toyah still managed to add 'dancer' to her impressive list of pursuits. Here, Grazia takes a look back over the singer and actress's stellar career.
Who is Toyah Willcox?
Toyah is an actress and singer who hails from Birmingham. She has performed across stage and screen for over five decades, and achieved great success as a solo singer after initially fronting the band Toyah in the late 70s and early 80s. Some notable tracks from her discography include It's A Mystery, I Want to be Free and Brave New World.
She has amassed thirteen top 40 singles, recorded twenty-five albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays, acted in over twenty feature films (The Tempest, Ghosts of Borley Rectory, Quadrophenia) and presented many television programmes.
In 2018, Paul McCartney presented Toyah with a Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts Companionship for Outstanding Achievement in music, drama, performance and media.
Who is Toyah Willcox's Strictly partner?
Toyah is paired up with Neil Jones, 42.
Is Toyah Willcox still on Strictly Come Dancing?
Sadly, Toyah Willcox was the second celebrity to be kicked out of Strictly Come Dancing in week three. She was in the first dance off against Olympian Tom Dean, but the judges voted to save Toyah. However, she didn't survive the next dance off, as the judges voted for Paul Merson to remain in the competition.
As she left Strictly, Toyah said, 'It's been the best two months of my life, it has been fantastic. I have enjoyed every second. And you [Neil] have been phenomenal, thank you so much.'
How old is Toyah Willcox?
Toyah turned 66 in May, celebrating her birthday on the 18th.
How tall is Toyah Willcox?
Toyah told The Guardian that she is 'barely five foot'. Her Strictly shoes, luckily, added a bit of extra elevation!
What is Toyah Willcox's net worth?
Thanks to the longevity and wide-ranging nature of her career, Toyah's net worth is reported to be around the $15 million mark (£11.8 million).
Is Toyah Willcox married?
Since 1986, Toyah has been married to a fellow musician Robert Fripp, a guitarist who founded the now-disbanded progressive rock group King Crimson. The duo took to the stage together at Glastonbury Festival this year.
In a chat with The Mirror earlier this year, the couple offered a rare insight into their long-lasting marriage. When asked what it's like touring together, Robert replied, 'It's exactly the same as being married for 38 years, it's good. We both come from very different genres. But we complement each other well, I have a wonderful time being out working with my wife, may I say, even having greater fun than when we were at home together.'
Does Toyah Willcox have children?
Toyah and Robert don't have any children. The singer said, 'We never even considered having children. Hats off to those people who do because that commitment is extraordinary. I think with us we've managed to remain unique and independent as well as being a couple.'
Was Toyah Willcox a Teletubby?
Toyah wasn't an actual Teletubby, but she narrated the titles and credits of The Teletubbies.
What is Toyah Willcox famous for?
Despite having her finger in multiple pies, Toyah is best known for her music career, which began in 1977 when she formed the band Toyah. Before she went solo, she was the front woman of the group, which also comprised Joel Bogen on guitar, Mark Henry on bass, Steve Bray on drums and Peter Bush on keyboard.
Where does Toyah Willcox live?
Toyah was born in Birmingham, spent a lot of her early career in London, but now resides in Pershore, Worcestershire, which is understood to have a special place in her heart as her family used to keep a boat there. She and Robert reportedly moved to Pershore in 2001.
What is Toyah Willcox's biggest hit?
Toyah's biggest hit is It's a Mystery (1981). It appeared on her second EP, Four from Toyah, which peaked at number four on the UK Chart and stayed in the charts for 14 weeks. It's a Mystery has over two million streams on Spotify.
What has Toyah Willcox said about plastic surgery?
In 2005, Toyah released a deeply personal book called Diary of a Facelift. It was what it said on the tin: 'a blow-by-blow account of [the facelift], from the initial decision and the search for the right surgeon, to the nerve-wracking waiting period, the surgery itself, the recovery, and on to the final transformation'.
Detailing the after-effects of going under the knife, Toyah wrote, 'I woke at about 1am thinking about why I seem to have developed premature Alzheimer's. I have lost my ability to spell even the simplest of words and I cannot even comprehend basic technical things such as entering a password into the computer.'
Not long after, the side effects alleviated, but Robert had grown increasingly worried about his wife. 'Before leaving for the US, Richard had discreetly mentioned that after a full week of being post-operative, he was somewhat concerned about the state of my mental faculties,' Toyah's diary entry read. 'The anaesthetic should have worn off so there shouldn't have been any lingering symptoms other than tiredness.'
Toyah has been frank about what inspired her to get cosmetic surgery. She wrote Diary of a Facelift, 'On returning home [from I'm a Celeb in 2003], I read various derogatory newspaper articles about my jungle experience, and listened to hurtful comments being made about me on a variety of TV and radio programmes.
'Jonathan Ross on his Radio Two show, which has around eight million listeners, said I looked so awful I shouldn't be allowed to be seen on TV, and that I should go away and do something about it. Various male writers in a number of tabloids backed up this view. The worst thing was that even though I found opinions such as these little more than an expression of body fascism, secretly I agreed with them.'
Millie Payne is a News and Entertainment Writer for Grazia. She has specialised in showbiz interviews, features, articles and roundups for over three years and loves combining her love for writing, talking and all things popular culture.