Celebrity Big Brother 2013: Lauren Harries
Met the transsexual former child prodigy and Big Brother pundit - and see video of her on Wogan, aged 14
Name: Lauren Harries
Age: 35 (or possibly 34)
Famous, why?: Transsexual former child prodigy
Bio: Viewers of a certain age may remember Lauren’s first TV appearance, aged ten, on BBC1 chat show Wogan. Back then she was a he – a bow-tie-wearing, cherub-faced little boy named James, labeled a “child prodigy” due to his antiques expertise.
Lauren says a casual remark in a supermarket – that “he should be a woman” – helped her realise that was exactly what she wanted. In 2001, James underwent a full sex-change operation and became Lauren Charlotte Harries, a transformation which prompted her to say "My life is just beginning. It's like I've been reborn."
Devoted Big Brother fans will already know Lauren as a glam, outspoken regular guest on Big Brother’s Bit on the Side. But do they know she has a talent for reading people’s auras?
Then and now:
Then... as 14-year-old James on Wogan
Now... 20 years later on This Morning