G4’s Jonathan Ansell has admitted he blew through £250,000 on wild nights out with threesomes, drinking and gambling at the height of the band’s X Factor fame.
The opera group – originally formed of Jonathan, Mike Christie, Matthew Stiff and Ben Thapa – finished second in the first series of the reality competition back in 2004 and went on to sell over 1.5 million albums in the UK.
The original line-up disbanded in 2007 due to disagreements and now almost 20 years later, the front man has revealed there was dark side to their overnight fame.
Speaking in a new interview along with his current G4 bandmates Mike, Duncan Sandilands and Jai McDowall, Jonathan revealed that although they were known for their classical-based music and tuxedos, there was debauchery behind-the-scenes.
He told The Sun: ‘I had a threesome once at the OK! Christmas party. I got caught in the back kitchen with two dolly birds and security had to drag me out.’
G4’s Jonathan Ansell, 42, has admitted he blew through £250,000 on wild nights out with threesomes, drinking and gambling at the height of the band’s X Factor fame (pictured in 2017)
The opera group – originally formed of Jonathan, Matthew Stiff, Ben Thapa and Mike Christie (L-R) – finished second in the first series of the reality competition back in 2004
Admitting The X Factor was ‘a ticket to pulling’ women on nights out, Johnathan added that he had ‘lost count’ of how many women he had slept with.
‘I properly went wild and it’s horrendous what I must have lost through that year in drinking and gambling, it was probably a quarter of a million that I spent indulging that compulsion that developed,’ he explained.
Mike added: ‘We had these two women on the front row on one tour. They wore these trench coats with nothing underneath and they would flash us at the end of every show. It was hysterical.’
Recalling how he ‘couldn’t do normal things’ at the height of the band’s fame, Johnathan also admitted that he later turned to gambling for a rush of ‘endorphins’ – something he wish hadn’t have happened.
Now married to TV presenter Debbie King, he lives a much quieter life with his children.
G4 are gearing up to release their sixth album, titled 20, next month, and will head off on a 70-date tour to celebrate.
Jonathan’s comments come after he stepped in to defend Louis Walsh as he continued his tirade of scathing remarks during Wednesday’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother.
The former X Factor judge took aim at Take That in the latest episode, after previously branding Jedward ‘vile’, Andrew Lloyd Webber a ‘freak’ and Ronan Keating a ‘p**k’.
Speaking with his current G4 bandmates, Jonathan revealed that although they were known for their classical-based music and tuxedos, there was debauchery behind-the-scenes (pictured in 2004)
Admitting The X Factor was ‘a ticket to pulling’ women on nights out, Johnathan added that he had ‘lost count’ of how many women he had slept with (pictured in 2004)
‘I properly went wild and it’s horrendous what I must have lost through that year in drinking and gambling, it was probably a quarter of a million that I spent indulging,’ he explained (pictured in 2014)
Now married to TV presenter Debbie King, he lives a much quieter life with his children (pictured in 2017)
However Jonathan has now spoken out and defended Louis, after viewers called for him to be removed from the house following his harsh comments.
Speaking on Lorraine, the singer praised the controversial star as he explained: ‘Louis has been, and is the most amazing person for us and I just think he is being honest.
‘What’s wrong with being honest and sharing a bit of opinion and behind the scenes of the industry. I don’t think he’s doing anything as bad as everyone’s making out.’
‘He’s saying what people think at home and I think it’s blowing up a lot of controversy and he will not be aware of how big this is blowing up outside of the house.’
Speaking about the boyband’s success he added: ‘We only got as far as we did because Louis pushed the boundaries and enabled us to stand out from the crowd and develop the audience that’s been with us all these years on.’
Jonathan also said he thinks the music manager, 71, is looking well as he remarked that he looks the same as he did on the ITV show.
On Wednesday, Louis left viewers in shock as he made more comments about his showbiz cohorts on the outside world, leaving them questioning if he will have any friends left when he leaves the house.
Louis’ remarks were aimed at Take That’s Mark Owen and Jason Orange, as he revealed his opinion on the singers to pal Sharon Osbourne.
On Thursday, Jonathan stepped in to defend Louis Walsh as he continued his tirade of scathing remarks during Wednesday’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother
The former X Factor judge took aim at Take That in the latest episode, after previously branding Jedward ‘vile’, Andrew Lloyd Webber a ‘freak’ and Ronan Keating a ‘p**k’ (G4 pictured with Louis in 2004)
Speaking on Lorraine on Thursday, the singer praised the controversial star as he explained: ‘Louis has been and is the most amazing person for us and I just think he is being honest’
Some viewers have even called for Louis to be ‘removed’ from the house following his latest comments about the boyband.
Sharon had said she the thought ‘all of the members of Take That’ were ‘good people’, before Louis weighed in on what he thought of the band.
The music manager said he thought Mark, 52, was ‘looking old’, while he also queried why Jason, 53, left the band because he ‘didn’t have to do much’.
Louis said: ‘What happened to Jason? He was a nice guy. He was just gone. Poof! I don’t know why he left, he only had to do a bit of dancing.’
Clearly amused by Louis’ view, Sharon scoffed and repeated: ‘A bit of dancing!’
Louis clarified: ‘That’s all he had to do. He wasn’t a singer. Gary and Mark covered the vocals. Mark has gotten very old.’
Viewers took to X to share their thoughts on Louis’ ongoing comments about celebrities he knows outside.
Calling for Louis to be evicted, one person said: ‘Please remove bitter Louis pay him nothing, use the extra cash to keep Sharon another week.’
While another, said: ‘Louis is miserable. The sooner he is out, the better.’
One person said: ‘Louis making remarks against Take That hurts my inner child.’
While others commented on his increasing tally of rants, saying: ‘Louis is managing to build the biggest army against him #CBBUK #CBB.’
‘Louis is giving me more and more of a migraine as the days go on. He just loves talking about other people and X Factor. Give it a break!’
‘After coming home from all this, finding himself ostracised from his usual circles, Louis Walsh wakes up in a sweat at 3am and suddenly understands how the show Big Brother works.’
‘Are we keeping score with the amount of people Louis has b*****d about?’
Louis was up to his old tricks during Wednesday night’s episode as he fired shots at yet more celebrities following a string of scathing rants
Viewers took to X to share their thoughts on Louis’ ongoing comments about celebrities he knows outside
Louis’ remarks were aimed at Take That’s Mark Owen and Jason Orange , as he revealed his opinion on the singers to pal Sharon Osbourne
Sharon had said she the thought ‘all of the members of Take That’ were ‘good people’, before Louis weighed in on what he thought of the band
‘Louis Walsh leaves the house and suddenly realises his number has been blocked by most of Celebrity London. Tries to get into The Groucho and gets stopped at the door, “not tonight, mate.’
One person saw the funny side, and said: ‘Louis Walsh is actually that outrageous it’s funny.’
It comes following reports that Louis is poised to quit Celebrity Big Brother after his close friend Sharon’s exit from the house.
It has been claimed that the X Factor judge had made it clear he would not sign up for the show without Sharon – meaning he is now at risk of walking.
Sharon was in the house for a week as a ‘Celebrity Lodger’ and headed home on Tuesday night’s live show. It is thought she has been paid £500,000 for the stint.
If Louis does leave, he will still reportedly receive his full fee which is believed to be a whopping six figures.
A source told The Sun of his potential exit: ‘Louis would only go into the show with Sharon booked in there with him. CBB pulled out all the stops to make it happen.
‘They know Louis is a flight risk now Sharon is gone and no one would be surprised if he left. Louis will still receive his full fee, so he has nothing to lose.
‘Without Sharon he will be lost as they have such a close friendship in the house. Everyone is on high alert for Louis to throw in the towel, but he’s making such good television, the producers are praying that he will stay.’
ITV has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
It comes following reports that Louis is poised to quit Celebrity Big Brother after his close friend Sharon’s exit from the house
Sharon was in the house for a week as a ‘Celebrity Lodger’ and headed home on Tuesday night’s live show. It is thought she has been paid £500,000 for the stint
Louis made some controversial remarks about Jedward during Tuesday’s episode of Celebrity Big Brother.
Louis has caused outrage after labelling the twin brothers, John and Edward Grimes ‘vile’, when he was quizzed on what he thought of them by his co-star Colson Smith.
The remarks were one of the latest in a string of bizarre rants about fellow celebs, which have also been aimed at Adele, James Corden and Ronan Keating.
During the exchange, Louis revealed that he had ‘made £5million’ from the double act during his time as their manager between 2009 and 2013.
Soon after the comments aired on ITV, John and Edward took X to dispute Louis’ claims and branded him a ‘cold-hearted b****d’.
Colson had asked Louis, who managed the pair four four years: ‘What were Jedward like?’
The Irishman replied: ‘They were vile.’
Colson said: ‘They’ve done well’, and Louis said: ‘I got £5million from them. I swear on my mother’s life.’
Clearly impressed, Colson quipped back: ‘B****y hell, I wish I had a Jedward.’
Doubling down on his opinion, Louis added: ‘And they were vile. But they were novelty. It was great for the show. It was all about the show.’
That saw the brothers – now 32 – launch into a series of scathing online accusations in response.
It has been claimed that the X Factor judge had made it clear he would not sign up for the show without Sharon – meaning he is now at risk of walking
A source told The Sun of his potential exit: ‘Louis would only go into the show with Sharon booked in there with him. CBB pulled out all the stops to make it happen’
Louis has caused outrage after labelling the twin brothers, John and Edward Grimes ‘vile’, when he was quizzed on what he thought of them by his co-star Colson Smith during Tuesday’s episode
They kicked off by calling him a ‘cold-hearted b****d who didn’t even send us flowers when our mom died’ – the twins lost their mum Susanna to cancer in 2019.
Following the music manager’s remarks, Jedward insisted that ‘justice would be served’, as they continued the tirade on their X account.
One of the tweets shared by the brothers claimed: ‘Louis Walsh is an evil manipulator who forced us into an office to pay £70k from our bank account to one of his own PR workers.’
Another said: ‘Louis Walsh b****d and talked about us to our best friend Tara Reid and then we fired him!’
A final tweet read: ‘Louis reopened these wounds all by himself being spiteful and disrespectful we aren’t going to have our character taken. Justice will be served.’
