Cheryl Baker insists she is not broke, she just loves working

The Bucks Fizz star revealed she has had a job as a gardener because she doesn't like being out of work.

Cheryl Baker at the start line photocall of the London Landmarks Half Marathon 2019. Credit: Malcolm Park/Alamy Live News.
Cheryl Baker has denied she is broke after putting her home on the market. (Alamy)

Cheryl Baker has denied she is struggling for money after putting her home on the market.

The Bucks Fizz star - who has 29-year-old twin daughters with musician husband Steve Stroud - revealed she is downsizing after putting her Kent mansion up for sale and has taken work at a local gardening company.

But Baker, 69, told The Sun: "I’m not 'poor Cheryl', I’m just ordinary. I’m the same as everybody. I have bills to pay and I need to earn a living to pay the bills.

Read more: EastEnders Cheryl Baker cameo for Eurovision

"Fortunately, I love my work so I want to keep working."

The singer - who appeared in EastEnders earlier this years as part of the soap's special celebration of the Eurovision Song Contest - revealed she has even worked as a gardener.

Cheryl Baker cameoed in an EastEnders Eurovision special in May 2023. (BBC)
Cheryl Baker cameoed in an EastEnders Eurovision special in May 2023. (BBC)

She said: "I’ve worked for a neighbour who runs a gardening company, for £10 an hour, and it was lovely. I was out in the fresh air and we’d have a good old chinwag while we worked.

"I also recorded personal messages for fans which brought in some money.

"I’ve never been out of work in my life. I’ve never been on the dole."

Baker rose to fame as part of 80s pop band Bucks Fizz, who won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK in 1981 with their hit Making Your Mind Up.

Bucks Fizz members Cheryl Baker Bobby G, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston performat the Eurovision Song Contest  in 1981 with Making Your Mind Up. (Getty Images)
Bucks Fizz won the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK in 1981 with Making Your Mind Up. (Getty Images)

She revealed that the band were only given five per cent of the royalties from record sales, which was then split four ways with her bandmates Bobby G, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston.

She said: "We got less than a penny for every record we sold."

In 2021 the singer admitted she did have financial struggles due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying: "It's been ridiculously hard. I owe lots of tax... I physically haven't got the money to pay anybody because I'm broke."

This led to bandmate Nolan and her Dancing On Ice partner Dan Whiston contacting her to offer to help.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 22:  Cheryl Baker during the Dancing on Ice Live Tour - Dress Rehearsal at Wembley Arena on March 22, 2018 in London, England.The tour kicks off March 23, 2018 at the SSE Wembley Arena, travelling around the UK until the end of April.  (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images )
Cheryl Baker during the Dancing on Ice Live Tour 2018. (Getty Images )

Baker still performs live at music venues and festivals with bandmates Mike Nolan and Jay Aston under the name The Fizz.

Over the years she has appeared in various reality TV shows, including Dancing On Ice in 2018, Celebrity MasterChef in 2012, Popstar to Opera Star in 2011 and Celebrity Mastermind in 2013.

Baker revealed in 2016 that she had turned down the chance to appear on Celebrity Big Brother as she did not like the tone of the show.

Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston of The Fizz perform at Indigo at The O2 on March 31, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Lorne Thomson/Redferns)
Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston perform as The Fizz at Indigo at The O2 in March 2023. (Getty Images)

She said: "Celebrity Big Brother brings out the worse in people … The programme makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do. Plus I have a bit of a temper. If someone’s being nasty or unfair, I will say, ‘We’ve got to do something about this.’

Read more: Cheryl Baker offered money by Dancing on Ice partner after sharing financial woes

"I don’t want people to see that horrible side to me."

Watch: Eurovision 2024 host city announced