Rylan Clark fans taken aback with natural red hair and no makeup

Rylan Clark has stunned his fans by revealing his natural hair colour and face without makeup.

Ever since he shot to fame on ITV's X Factor in 2012, Rylan has become well-known for his distinctive jet-black hair. His career in the limelight has seen him become a staple on our TV screens, always sporting his iconic dark locks and beard, which perfectly offset his gleaming white teeth and meticulously applied makeup, reports the Express.

However, the beloved TV host recently took to Instagram to post a selfie flaunting his natural look, complete with red hair and a fresh fringe. Rylan captioned the photo: "Stripped colour from my hair to give it a reset. For anyone wondering this is what I look like with no colour in and no makeuppppp."

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Celebrity friends were quick to praise Rylan's new look, with Ruth Langsford from Loose Women commenting: "I LOVE this colour! Keep it." Rob Rinder complimented him saying: "Natural beauty. Everything else is just detail."

Emma Willis also expressed her approval: "I love this." Katie Piper added: "Youthful," along with a heart-eyed emoji. Vicky Pattison of Geordie Shore fame said: "Still gorgeous."

Denise Welch focused on his eyes: "Your eyes! ! ! " while Kate Garraway also approved: "You look great! ". Rylan's followers joined in the admiration, with one fan writing: "Oh wow. You look fabulous/younger with lighter hair. Really makes your eye colour pop as well. Let the beard colour grow out for the summer too."

Another follower was surprised: "Crikey you look so different! You really suit this." A third admirer commented: "Wow, you look great, and so much younger, definitely keep it." Pop twosome Jedward also had something to say, humorously quipping: "It's giving Troy Bolton from high school musical ya wild cat."

The BBC Radio 2 host had first turned heads with his flowing platinum hair during his time on The X-Factor, and now admits that he identifies as a natural redhead. Last year, Rylan gave fans a sneak peek of his natural appearance, sharing an image of himself sporting a lighter beard, hanging in the balance with the notion: "I MIGHT try natural for a bit."

In a subsequent post, he captured a selfie wearing a green hoodie and cap and showed off his newly trimmed and naturally reddish beard. Staring straight into the camera, he captioned the picture, saying: "Beard shaved... Run out of colour... Ginger for a day."

He later shared another smokin' photo, jesting: "Just call me ginger spice."

He has previously spoken about his hair dye journey, which started when he was just 14, talking to The Sun about his past self-doubt: "I always struggled with how I looked growing up. At school I was the little fat ginger kid and used to get picked on. I was quite camp, so the gay thing played its part. I used to start dying my hair at 14."

The Gogglebox star confessed that he took his use of botox and fillers "too far". He added: "Do I sit here and have any regrets? Yes we all have regrets. I would love nothing more than to grow my hair out, stop colouring it, not have to trim my beard...but I created a look that people recognise."