 |
Kim Woodburn |
|
Kim was born in Eastney, near Portsmouth. She first noticed the joy of cleaning while watching her fastidious grandmother, who cleaned schools for a living, soaking clothes, scrubbing the step and polishing like crazy. ‘She sparkled,’ exclaims Kim. However, Kim’s first job after leaving school at 15 was in a high-class fashion shop, ironing the clothes that would be displayed in the window.
She took up her first live-in cleaning job after moving to Liverpool, cleaning ‘from breakfast time until the end of time’. A variety of jobs followed: at a toy factory, a holiday camp, as a beautician, a social worker, even a model in the Littlewoods catalogue.
Kim also started knitting, and founded a handmade knitwear company. As a tall lady, with a, shall we say, bigger than average bust, she couldn’t get anything other than frumpy cardies to fit, so she started her own range. In 1983 Kim made her television debut modelling her range on Pebble Mill At One, with Jeff Banks. It was 20 years before television would redisover Kim Woodburn.
In 1979 Kim married her husband, Peter. They are so inseparable that they decided to give up their shift working (he was a policeman) and moved to America, where they kept house for the rich and famous. They returned to Britain eight years ago and currently look after a sheik and his holiday home in Kent.
Before the How Clean is Your House? screen test, Kim was told she would be meeting someone called Aggie. ‘I thought she was the presenter and I was the cleaner!’ Kim recalls saying to the girl whose filthy flat it was: ‘You’re 26, but you won’t see 30 living in all this muck and filth.’ Needless to say she got the job on the spot.
When asked if she has ever employed a cleaner herself, Kim isn’t impressed, ‘Don’t insult me!’ When she leaves her home in Pembrokeshire to go and care for the sheik, Kim covers everything in plastic and vacuums herself out of the door. Asked if she isn’t just a tiny bit obsessive about cleaning, she replies, ‘I don’t worry about being called obsessive, as long as I’m clean, I’m happy – and I’m having the time of my life!’
Britain’s number one cleaning ladies have kindly taken time out from their busy cleaning schedules to answer a few questions from our editor. Following hot in the heels of their hit TV series How Clean Is Your House?, here they reveal their own personal views on cleaning and how clean they really are.
Have you always enjoyed cleaning?
Kim: I have always enjoyed cleaning tremendously. From when I was a very small child I always wanted to be spotless.
Aggie: I've always enjoyed a clean environment, and having been brought up by a very house-proud mother known all the theory (and practice) but not necessarily enjoyed cleaning. Since working on the series, have become a bit obsessed.
Which part of cleaning do you enjoy the least?
Kim: I am not keen on cleaning the bath.
Aggie: The feeling that, having got the place spic and span, the good work is quickly being undone by the rest of my family.
What is your one pet hate?
Kim: My one pet hate is people walking into my house in filthy shoes.
Aggie: Hate changing beds (but love clean sheets!).
Should you clean every day?
Kim: No need to clean every day if house is generally kept in good order and is cleaned on a regular basis.
Aggie: Need to do SOMETHING every day, even if it's just putting on a wash or doing some ironing, otherwise things build up v quickly and it gets depressing and insurmountable. Kitchen and bathroom need to be clean at all times.
What is your one top tip?
Kim: My one top tip is clean as you go, never allow cleaning to build up.
Aggie: One top tip. Most days I am out of the house either filming or in the office. I have a 15 mins a day rule, even when I'm rushing off out and know I won't be back till late that evening if I have a do on. I can get one job a day done in that short time. If I do the 15 mins in the morning, I feel as if I've achieved something and that I'm on top of things.
How clean is your house?
Kim: My house is spotless!
Aggie: Cleaner than some people's, not as clean as others. A healthy average, I would say. Mind you, there's the playroom. Well, that's another story...
