Kate Thornton has revealed she has broken her shoulder after suffering a nasty accident in an unexpected shopping spot. The former X Factor host, 53, shared that she sustained the injury while browsing the bread aisle at her local Tesco Express.
Thornton disclosed that the injury left her with a broken shoulder and required stitches on her lip, making the recording of the latest episode of her podcast White Wine Question Time more challenging. She also presents a show on Greatest Hits Radio.
On the newest episode of her podcast, she said: "Well, here's the thing, I've broken my shoulder. Yeah, I fell over my own feet. There's no kind of sexy showbiz story to this. I was going to get bread from Tesco Express, landed on my face, smashed my shoulder up, and I've also had to have my lips stitched. Which has made recording a brand new episode for you a bit of a challenge, I'm going to be honest."
Thornton first launched White Wine Question Time in 2019, and it has featured stars including Will Best, Helen Skelton, Angela Rippon, and Penny Lancaster.
In January, she spoke of feeling "terrified" after her "relentless, obsessive" stalker walked free from court, despite bombarding her with 6,000 text messages. James McCamley, 53, from Glasgow, targeted the Greatest Hits radio presenter and her colleague Mary Mandefield over five months.
In a police statement, Thornton said: "I am scared to go on public transport at night... I just want it to stop. It increases your sense of vulnerability and panic. I feel I have to second-guess how I go through my day. Obviously he's unwell, but it does impact my life." Highbury Corner Magistrates heard that both women were seeking restraining orders after being on "tenterhooks" due to the influx of messages to the radio station, many of which were sexual in nature.
The father of four was handed a 12-month community order at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in North London. He could have faced prison but had spent six weeks on remand at HMP Pentonville, meaning any jail time would have already been served.
Thornton was the first host of The X Factor when the ITV show launched in 2004, but after two years, Simon Cowell replaced her with Dermot O'Leary. She has previously described being sacked from the show as "humiliating", saying she felt "hurt" after Simon failed to be "upfront" with her.
In 2020, she said: "They didn't renew my contract having said that they would and by they, I mean Simon. It was on the News at Ten. It was embarrassing, it was humiliating and it kind of burnt for a bit. It hurt more that someone I considered to be a friend hadn't been upfront with me." In 2016, she vowed she would "never talk to Simon again" after she felt he fired her to create headlines.
Thornton began her career as a showbiz journalist, writing for the Sunday Times and Marie Claire, before reporting on news events such as the death of Princess Diana. She established herself as a TV presenter, anchoring ITV's Loose Women between 2009 and 2011, and has occasionally hosted This Morning. She joined Greatest Hits Radio in 2022, where she broadcasts every Sunday and has taken over the weekday afternoon show from 11 November 2024.
