How soap star Holly Valance became an unlikely darling of the Right
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When Liz Truss launched her new Popular Conservatism fringe group on Monday, the infamously short-lived prime minister surely expected to be the star of the show. Instead, she was roundly upstaged – and this time not by a lettuce, but by a formerly Left-wing Neighbours actress.
Enter Holly Valance, who attended the event with her husband, the billionaire property tycoon Nick Candy. In an interview with GB News, she said: “Everyone starts off as a leftie and then wakes up at some point after you start either making money, working, trying to run a business, trying to buy a home, and then realises what crap ideas they all are and then you go to the Right.” She added of fellow attendee Jacob Rees-Mogg: “Jacob for PM.”
Within minutes, Valance, 40, was trending on social media as former fans shared their dismay with quips like “I hereby retract my Holly Valance crush from 2003”, while others called this self-serving cynicism – claiming that Valance was thinking more about her husband’s bank account than any ideological conviction. The Daily Mash labelled her “the gammon Vorderman”, referring to Carol Vorderman’s recent renaissance as a liberal firebrand.
But the Valance journey from pouting pop princess to political commentator is a particularly unlikely one, even by the standards of opinionated modern celebrity.
The Australian star, originally named Holly Rachel Vukadinović, was born to Serbian and British parents in Fitzroy, Victoria, in 1983. Performing was in her blood: both her parents used to model, and she’s distantly related to Benny Hill. Valance has said of the legendary comedian: “He was very cheeky and I can appreciate that, because I’ve got a foul mouth and a sick sense of humour.”
Her father Rajko Vukadinović ran a store in Melbourne selling trendy European clothes, so fashion was a natural beginning for the photogenic Valance. She began modelling children’s clothes, then graduated to teen-friendly lingerie.
Like most Aussies, Valance was a fan of the soap juggernaut Neighbours and, in 1999, aged 16, she was cast on the long-running drama as Felicity Scully aka Flick. She had no acting experience other than commercials, but a former cast member, Scott Michaelson, had seen her picture in a magazine and encouraged her to audition.
It was a dream come true for Valance: “You know the show that I’ve been watching since I was two years old… Not in a million years would I thought I would be a part of [it].”
Her character was introduced along with the rest of the Scully family. Flick was theoretically a socially conscious feminist, but most storylines focussed on her messy love life. Valance said of Flick: “Every guy she meets she’s in love with fully and completely and will marry him after the first hour of knowing him. Whereas I really think about things and I’m more practical.”
She had to wear a figure-hugging school uniform costume, which she’s since described as “tiny” and “tarty”, adding: “It was quite a naughty uniform really.” Valance stayed with the soap for three years and demonstrated her lasting affection by returning for what was meant to be the final ever episode in 2022.
After leaving Neighbours, Valance moved to the UK to pursue a music career. Her debut album, Footprints, charted decently, and she had a number-one hit with single Kiss Kiss, a cover of Turkish singer Tarkan’s Simarik. Once again, though, the focus was mainly on her clothing – or lack of it – thanks to the raunchy Kiss Kiss video, in which Valance appeared to dance naked.
She’s since laughed that off, joking, “I don’t think England gets an opinion when they have Page 3 every day. I don’t think anyone’s worried about tits and arse.” She continued: “When you’re launching a career in music, any publicity is good publicity, and I guess it was a good conversation point for people.” She subsequently stripped off for the covers of lads’ mags like FHM.
However, Valance got into a spot of legal trouble. She had fired her manager (and Neighbours co-star) Michaelson with 15 months still remaining on his contract – and Michaelson claimed that her transition to sexpot singer was his idea in the first place. The court sided with Michaelson, ordering Valance to pay him £180,000 in lost earnings.
The bad luck continued. Her second album failed to make a splash, so Valance headed to Los Angeles and switched back to acting. She made guest appearances in American series like Entourage, CSI: Miami and Prison Break, and she played a pop star (quite the stretch) in the Liam Neeson-led thriller Taken.
In 2011, Valance competed in the ninth season of Strictly Come Dancing with Artem Chigvintsev. She reached the semi-final with strong performances like a Mask of Zorro paso doble but didn’t always connect with the British public: she plummeted into the bottom two on several occasions.
Valance began dating Nick Candy in 2009 after they met at a friend’s dinner party. Candy shares a net worth of £1.5 billion with his property developer partner and brother, Christian Candy, thanks to projects like One Hyde Park, NoHo Square and Chelsea Barracks.
It didn’t hurt that Candy had toys like a superyacht. Valance remembered seeing it for the first time: “I was stunned and said ‘Oh dear God, it’s a mansion on the water! It’s incredible.’”
She and Candy married in Beverly Hills in 2012 in a glamorous £3 million ceremony, where celebrity guests included Simon Cowell, the Duchess of York and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, while Katy Perry was paid £1.2 million to perform.
The couple went on to have two daughters: Luka, born in 2013, and Nova, in 2017. Valance admitted to the Made By Mammas podcast that she went through a hard time. “I had a feeling of grief, which is weird when somebody has just been born, because I was grieving my old self.”
She also revealed that she was in terrible pain for weeks after having an episiotomy during her natural birth, and that she suffered from symphysis pubis dysfunction with Luka, “a pelvic disorder where the relaxant in your body is so high that you can just pop a hip out. It’s excruciating. I could barely walk toward the end”.
Her husband isn’t around much to help either: Valance said he works seven days a week. “He worked on Christmas Day, and even the day we practised our [marriage] vows with the priest he took a call in the middle of it.”
Though Valance admitted that she does have staff, like a housekeeper and a nanny, she said she regretted not being back with her “tribe” of sisters, aunties and cousins in Australia.
That probably explains why she essentially retired from performing, and from public life. She’s an ambassador for charity The Children’s Trust, but that’s basically it – which makes this week’s foray into politics a real surprise.
What inspired Valance (who added a touch of showbiz to her appearance with a leopard-print top) to speak out now? Well, she’s certainly got a massive financial empire to protect for herself, her husband and her children.
Or might this be a real career move – trading pop for PopCon? Valance would certainly be a glamorous addition to the right-wing cause, and this fledgling fringe group can’t afford to be too choosy. Like Valance, they understand the value of publicity – however you get it.
