I'm a Celeb: Martin Kemp reveals emotional secret to 37-year marriage with wife Shirlie
24 November 2025, 12:09 | Updated: 24 November 2025, 14:04
The Spandau Ballet star shares the heartwarming story of their St Lucia wedding and how George Michael helped spark their romance.
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Martin Kemp has shared the secret behind his nearly four-decade marriage to wife Shirlie Holliman, calling their enduring bond a true friendship built on love and loyalty.
Speaking candidly on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! on Sunday night (November 23), the Spandau Ballet star, 64, reflected on his relationship with the former Pepsi & Shirlie singer, 63, and how the couple have stayed strong since marrying in 1988.
In the show's Bush Telegraph, Martin Kemp said: “Shirlie is everything for me, everything I do in my life, I do it for her.”
The actor and musician told his campmates that friendship was the cornerstone of their long-lasting relationship, before going on to describe their understated wedding ceremony in St Lucia.
“I got married in St Lucia on a clifftop overlooking the Caribbean with just three people,” he said.
Joking about the simplicity of the event, he added, “If you looked into it more you’d find we’re not married!”
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Martin went on to reveal that before they tied the knot, the couple had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive due to Shirlie’s endometriosis — until fate intervened on their big day.
“Then on the night we got married – kaboom!” he laughed, prompting a round of cheers from his fellow campmates, with Lisa Riley exclaiming, “Meant to be!”
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The couple’s daughter Harley Moon was born the following year, in 1989, and their son Roman arrived in 1993. Kemp also had his campmates in hysterics with a story about Shirlie’s mother, recalling an unexpected question she once asked them.
“We were sitting in her parents’ living room when, out of the blue, her mum said, ‘Now have you tried the wheelbarrow?’” he recounted, leaving the group in fits of laughter as Ruby Wax mimed the position to everyone’s amusement.
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Their love story began back in the 1980s, when Martin first spotted Shirlie performing as one half of Wham!’s iconic backing duo, Pepsi & Shirlie.
Recalling the start of their romance in a 2019 interview, Martin told the Daily Mail in 2019: “I’d seen Wham! on Top Of The Pops singing 'Young Guns', and I couldn’t take my eyes off Shirlie. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d seen.
“Two weeks later we were at some VIP screening and there she was. I gave her my number, but she didn’t call me for three weeks.”
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Shirlie defended herself, saying: “It wasn’t because I didn’t want to call. He was this big pop star and I was scared he would be a proper pop star. He was so good-looking.”
She revealed that it was George Michael who finally took the number from her and rang, saying: “I was at his house and he kept saying, ‘Are you going to call him?’ He was a big Spandau fan. He called the number and gave me the phone.
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“Martin’s mum answered and I said, ‘Is Martin there, please?’ She asked who it was and I was so embarrassed, she probably had girls phoning all the time for him.
“Then he came on and said, ‘I’m so pleased you called.’ He sounded really happy I’d phoned. So that was it.”
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And on their first date, Shirlie brought along George to be her chaperone, with Martin explaining: “As I was walking down Camden High Street I saw Shirlie standing on the corner and my heart sank because she had brought her mate, and her mate was George Michael. We spent the evening trying to lose him.”
While Shirlie revealed that even George wasn’t thrilled about being their third wheel, recalling: “He said, ‘I didn’t know you’d be snogging all night.’”
Their story wasn’t the only revelation from Kemp this week. The musician also surprised viewers by revealing he once auditioned for the role of James Bond, meeting with producer Barbara Broccoli before the part ultimately went to Pierce Brosnan.
Kelly Brook later told the Bush Telegraph: “He would have made a great Bond, he has got those beautiful blue eyes, he’s very tall, he’s got the charisma!”
