'I spoke to Kim Woodburn months before her death - one off-camera moment surprised me'

Kim Woodburn has died aged 83 after a short illness. During her career, she was never shy about confronting anyone she felt had wronged her.

When I had the chance to interview her late last year, I confessed to a colleague that I was a little nervous. With some challenging questions lined up, including allegations of bullying, I braced myself to be in Kim's bad books.

However, nothing was off-limits and, as anticipated, she had plenty to say about numerous celebrities who, she claimed, had upset her over the years.

During our chat, the 83-year-old confessed that she still harboured ill feelings towards Coleen Nolan, following their fallout on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017.

At the time, Kim accused Coleen and several other housemates of bullying, an accusation her co-stars refuted.

The pair later had a fiery confrontation on Loose Women after the series concluded, which resulted in Kim storming off the set live on-air.

Phillip Schofield was another one in Kim's firing line, following their memorable clash on This Morning, while discussing her reality show experience.

Reflecting on this interaction with me, she revealed that she also wasn't fond of his former co-host Holly Willoughby.

She shared: "When I was interviewed by him he was rude, he was opinionated, he was on the edge of the sofa looking at me. [He said] 'Well, why did you go in?' I mean, that's not what a presenter does."

Kim added of Holly: "What did she ever do on the show? She was 14 years of Phillip Schofield, money for old rope, she didn't do anything.

"She sat there when he was arguing with people, or questioning people on something serious and when it turned out, what did Holly do?

"And when Phillip was rude to someone, did Holly ever once during those 14 years stand up and say, 'Phillip, I think you're wrong?' No, not once."

After being invited back for another conversation with Kim, she ranted more about other famous faces, including Rebekah Vardy, following her court case against Coleen Rooney.

Yet, as our chat concluded, I wasn't expecting Kim to give her verdict on my colleague and I.

Not knowing I was still connected to the call, she told the PR that we were "really nice" - a surprising piece of praise from Kim.

This unexpected compliment proved that Kim had a softer side to the no-nonsense television personality, hidden away from the public eye.

Following the news of her death on Tuesday, many fans and famous faces have posted tributes on social media.

Announcing her death, her manager released a statement, which read: "It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness. Kim was an incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person.

"Her husband, Peter, is heartbroken at the loss of his soulmate. We are so proud of the amazing things Kim achieved in her life and career. We kindly ask that Kim's husband and close friends are given the time and privacy they need to grieve. We will not be releasing any further details."