Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981)[1] is an American singer, dancer, and media personality. She is a former member of the pop group The Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021), who sold over 55 million records worldwide, becoming one of the world's best-selling female groups of all time.[2][3][4] Roberts also had a brief career as a solo singer when she released the album Butterfly Effect (2014).

Ashley Roberts
Roberts in 2018
Born (1981-09-14) September 14, 1981 (age 43)
Citizenship
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
Occupations
  • Singer
  • dancer
  • media personality
Years active2001–present
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Formerly ofThe Pussycat Dolls

Roberts has presented various television shows, including Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (2013–2016), the Emmy-nominated 1st Look (2016–2018), The Real Dirty Dancing UK (2022), and Dance Monsters (2022–present).[5] She has also appeared on British reality television shows, including I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (2012), Dancing on Ice (2013–2014) which she served as a judge, The Jump (2015), and Strictly Come Dancing (2018).

In 2019, Roberts became the showbiz correspondent for the national Heart Breakfast radio show. Since 2022, she has been a presenter for Heart 00s, a spin-off from the Heart radio network.[6][7]

Early life

edit

Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended Shadow Mountain High School. She is the daughter of Pat Roberts, the former drummer of the Mamas & the Papas, and Peggy Lorraine, a Pilates instructor. She began dancing at the age of three and singing at eight. Roberts' hair was brunette during her teenage years.[8]

Career

edit

2001–2010: The Pussycat Dolls

edit
 
Roberts in December 2006

In 2001 Roberts moved to Los Angeles to study modern dance and appeared in various television commercials and music videos such as Counting Crows "Accidentally in Love", Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up", Jane's Addiction's "True Nature", Aaron Carter's "Oh Aaron" and "Not Too Young, Not Too Old" and Pink's "Trouble".[9] In 2003, Robin Antin saw her work in music videos and asked Roberts to join the Pussycat Dolls, along with Nicole Scherzinger, Melody Thornton, Carmit Bachar, Kimberly Wyatt and Jessica Sutta.[10] The group achieved worldwide success with the singles "Don't Cha", "Stickwitu", "Buttons", and their multi-platinum debut album PCD (2005). During that time, Roberts also starred the dance film Make It Happen.[11] The group's second and final studio album Doll Domination (2008) contains hit singles "When I Grow Up", "I Hate This Part" and "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)".[12]

Despite their commercial success, the group was plagued by internal conflict due to the emphasis on Scherzinger and the subordinate treatment of the other members.[13] In February 2010, for these reasons, Roberts, Wyatt, Sutta, and Thornton had announced their departures from The Pussycat Dolls and the group disbanded.[14]

2010–2019: Television and Butterfly Effect

edit

On September 28, 2010, Roberts released a solo promotional single, a cover of Percy Faith's 1959 hit single "A Summer Place".[15] Afterwards, Roberts took a two-year hiatus from her artistic career to follow guru Mata Amritanandamayi on spiritual retreats.[16] In 2012 she signed a record deal with independent label Cherry Red Records and released "Yesterday" as her debut solo single.[17] In November she competed in the British reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, airing on ITV, finishing as runner-up.[18] From 2013 to 2014 Roberts was judge of dance figure skating series Dancing on Ice.[19] In 2013 Roberts stabilized as television presenter, debuting in the variety show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway from 2013 to 2016. In 2014 Roberts also presented WWE Legends' House.[18]

That year, Roberts signed with Metropolis London and released her debut solo album, Butterfly Effect, on September 1, 2014, only in UK.[20] The album served two singles: "Woman Up" and "Clockwork", which reached number 175 in UK and 18 in UK Indie Charts.[21][22] In 2016 she left Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and signed with NBC to present the travel and lifestyle program 1st Look, from 2016 to 2018.[18] The work was nominated for Emmy Awards as Best Travel and Adventure Program.[23] In 2018 Roberts competed in BBC dance show Strictly Come Dancing, in the United Kingdom, and finished as a finalist.[24] In 2019, Roberts became the showbiz correspondent of the Heart Breakfast, Heart Radio show hosted by Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden.[25] That following month, she made her West End debut, portraying Dawn, in the musical, Waitress.[26]

2019–present: The Pussycat Dolls reunion and more television

edit

On November 29, 2019, The Pussycat Dolls confirmed their comeback and, on February 7, 2020, they released a new single, "React", with a live performance on the finale of The X Factor: Celebrity.[27][28][29] They announced a 36-date world tour, but plans were canceled due the worsening situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the group ended the reunion in 2021.[30]

In 2020 she appeared in Celebrity Gogglebox, a British docu-series about a groups of people watching and reacting to television programming during the week.[26] In 2022 she presented the British reality show The Real Dirty Dancing UK.[31] Since 2022 she presents the Netflix dance show Dance Monsters and Heart Radio show Heart 00's.[32][33]

Strictly Come Dancing scores

edit

Purple score awarded by guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro.

Products and endorsements

edit

Roberts has launched her first line of lingerie designed for the beach in Sydney, Australia.[34][35] In 2016, Roberts designed a women's shoe collection for spring/summer 2017 called ALLYN, after her middle name.[36]

Filmography

edit

Film

edit
Title Year Role Notes Ref.
Be Cool
2005
Herself Cameo
Make It Happen
2008
Brooke

Television

edit
Title Year Role Notes Ref.
DanceLife
2007
Herself Episode: "Waiting on Love"
Dance Your Ass Off
2010
Herself / Guest judge Episode: "Temptation city"
90210
2012
Penny Episode: "Into the Wild"
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
2012
Herself / Contestant Series 12 [41]
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
2013–2016
Herself / Presenter Series: 10–13; "Ant vs. Dec" segment [42]
The Jump
2015
Herself / Contestant Series 2 [43]
1st Look
2016–2017
Herself / Host also producer [44]
Let It Shine
2017
Herself / Guest Judge 1 episode [45]
Strictly Come Dancing
2018
Herself / Contestant Series 16 [46]
Celebrity Gogglebox
2020
Herself Series 2 [47]
The Real Dirty Dancing
2021
Herself / Host
Dance Monsters
2022
Herself / Host

Radio

edit
Year Title Roles Radio
2019–2021, 2023–present Heart Breakfast Correspondent Heart
2022–
present
Heart 00s Presenter

Discography

edit

Studio albums

edit
List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[50]
UK
Indie

[51]
Butterfly Effect 159 36

Singles

edit
List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[21]
UK
Indie

[22]
SCO
[52]
"Yesterday"[53] 2012 Non-album single
"Clockwork" 2014 175 18 88 Butterfly Effect
"Woman Up"
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Promotional singles

edit
Title Year Album
"A Summer Place"[54] 2010 Non-album single

Album appearances

edit
List of album appearances, showing album name and year released
Title Year Other artists Album(s) Ref.
"Played" 2008 The Pussycat Dolls Doll Domination[a] [56]

Music videos

edit
Title Year Other artist(s) Director(s) Ref.
As a lead artist
"Yesterday" 2012 Don Tyler
"Clockwork" 2014 Ramy Dance
"Woman Up"
Guest appearances
"Trouble" 2003 Pink Sophie Muller
"Stars in Your Eyes" 2010 Her Majesty & the Wolves Justin Harder
"Goodbye" 2015 Bobby Newberry
Melody Thornton
Noel Maitland

Stage credits

edit
Title Year Role Notes Ref.
Ant & Dec's Takeaway on Tour
2014
Host "Ant vs. Dec" segment
Waitress
2019
Dawn West End debut, Adelphi Theatre

Awards and nominations

edit
Year Award Work Category Result Ref.
Grammy Awards "Stickwitu" Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals Nominated
Daytime Emmy Awards 1st Look Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program[b] Nominated

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Each member was credited to a solo track on the European double-disc deluxe version of the album.[55]
  2. ^ as a producer.

References

edit
  1. ^ "pcdworld.co.uk | PCDWorld > Pussycat Dolls Biography > Ashley Roberts". PCDWorld. Archived from the original on April 15, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  2. ^ "Pussycat Dolls set to star at Newmarket Nights". Suffolk News. February 3, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Listen to Nicole Scherzinger's new album Big Fat Lie". Official Charts. October 16, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  4. ^ The Pussycat Dolls on BBC The One Show Interview 02/26/20, February 26, 2020, retrieved January 19, 2024
  5. ^ "Ashley Roberts Speaks Up On Scarlett Moffatt Replacing Her On Saturday Night Takeaway". Heart FM. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Where is The Pussycat Dolls' Ashley Roberts now and what has she been doing since the band split?". amp.heart.co.uk. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Ashley Roberts". Saatchi. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  8. ^ Aaron Carter – I'm not too old, Not too Young. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  9. ^ Carrucan, Catrin (May 11, 2013). "Celebrity secrets: Ashley Roberts". express.co.uk. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  10. ^ ""Inside every woman is a Pussycat Doll," says Robin Antin" (PDF). William Morris Endeavor. Interscope Records. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  11. ^ "Make It Happen". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
  12. ^ "Loose Women - Kimberly Wyatt". ITV. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  13. ^ Roberts, Carly (February 3, 2020). "Pussycat Dolls announced as first Northampton headliners this summer". Archived from the original on February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  14. ^ "Paula Abdul's 'Live to Dance' Show Gets Host and Judges". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  15. ^ "Theme From A Summer Place". iTunes. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  16. ^ Bobby Newberry Ft. Jessie & The Toy Boys – Dirrty Up – Official Music Video. Youtube.com. Retrieved June 16, 2012.[dead YouTube link]
  17. ^ "Ashley Roberts Live Q&A". muzu.tv. Archived from the original on March 4, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c "Ashley Roberts – I'm A Celebrity 2012: Celebrities". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  19. ^ "Ashley Roberts confirms new single 'Woman Up', details debut album – Music News". Digital Spy. June 30, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  20. ^ "Ashley Roberts for new single in May". Digital Spy. March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  21. ^ a b "CHART: CLUK Update 7.06.2014 (wk22)". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  22. ^ a b "Official Independent Singles Breakers Chart Top 20 - 28 April 2023 - 04 May 2023". OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  23. ^ a b "The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Announces Nominations for the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "Strictly Purrfect! Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts joins our 2018 line-up!". bbc.co.uk. August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  25. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (June 9, 2019). "The week in radio and podcasts: All New Heart Breakfast". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  26. ^ a b c Wood, Alex (June 21, 2019). "Lucie Jones, Ashley Roberts and Blake Harrison join Waitress in the West End: first look". WhatsOnStage.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  27. ^ Mccreesh, Louise (November 28, 2019). "Pussycat Dolls officially announce reunion tour 9 years after split". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  28. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (November 28, 2019). "The Pussycat Dolls Reunite for First Time in a Decade on U.K.'s 'X Factor': Watch". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  29. ^ McIntyre, Hugh (February 19, 2020). "Justin Bieber, 5 Seconds Of Summer And The Pussycat Dolls: 5 Major Moves On This Week's U.K. Singles Chart". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  30. ^ Griffin, Louise (November 3, 2021). "Kimberly Wyatt pleads with Nicole Scherzinger and Pussycat Dolls founder to 'end the drama' amid lawsuit". Metro. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  31. ^ "Luis Fonsi & Nicole Scherzinger Release New Single/Video". Forbes. February 19, 2020. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  32. ^ McGrath, Nick (August 15, 2021). "Kimberly Wyatt: The taxman made life hard. I had to work day and night to stay afloat". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  33. ^ "Meet our new Heart 00s presenter Ashley Roberts". heart.co.uk. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  34. ^ "Tumblr.com". Ashleyroberts.tumblr.com. February 27, 2010. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  35. ^ Sexy Beach Lingerie. Youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  36. ^ "Ashley Roberts: Musical Influences and KickAss Shoes For Every Occasion". Neon Music. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  37. ^ "Be Cool credits". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  38. ^ "Make It Happen". The Guardian. August 5, 2008. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  39. ^ Houghton, Rianne (August 17, 2018). "Strictly Come Dancing star Ashley Roberts responds to criticism over 'professional' dance training". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  40. ^ "Into the Wild - 90210 (Season 5, Episode 4)". Apple TV. November 5, 2012. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  41. ^ Bell, Amy (December 1, 2012). "Charlie Brooks wins 'I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  42. ^ Lee, Ben (February 19, 2016). "Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway welcomes back Ashley Roberts in a new role". Evening Standard. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  43. ^ Hegarty, Tasha (February 2, 2015). "Heather Mills and Ashley Roberts eliminated from The Jump". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  44. ^ Kuperberg, Jonathan (October 6, 2015). "Ashley Roberts to Host NBC Owned TV Stations' '1st Look'". NextTV. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  45. ^ "Let It Shine, Episode 7". BBC One. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  46. ^ Frodsham, Isabel (August 26, 2019). "Strictly Come Dancing: Ashley Roberts 'underestimated' the 'physical and emotional ride' of being on the show". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  47. ^ "The Cast Of Celebrity Gogglebox 2020: The Famous Faces Joining The New Series". Capital FM. June 4, 2020. Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  48. ^ Lang, Jamie (August 25, 2021). "Studiocanal Unveils 'The Outsiders: The Complete Novel' U.K. Release Details – Global Bulletin". Variety. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  49. ^ Jeffrey, Joyann (December 2, 2022). "The Trailer For Netflix's Dance Monsters Uses CGI Avatars For Dance". Today.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  50. ^ "CHART: CLUK Update 13.09.2014 (wk36)". OfficialCharts.com.
  51. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
  52. ^ "01 June 2014 - 07 June 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  53. ^ "Yesterday". iTunes. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  54. ^ "Theme from "a Summer Place"". iTunes. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  55. ^ Concepcion, Mariel (September 20, 2008). "Pussycat Dolls' solo work on hold for "Domination"". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  56. ^ "Doll Domination (Deluxe) von The Pussycat Dolls". Amazon.de. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  57. ^ "Ashley Roberts - Yesterday". Youtube. November 15, 2012. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  58. ^ "Ashley Roberts - Clockwork". Youtube. April 15, 2014. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  59. ^ Tierney, Luke (November 4, 2023). "Ashley Roberts 'Woman Up' by Ramy Dance". Promonews.tv. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  60. ^ "Ashley Roberts to join Strictly Come Dancing Lineup". RTE.ie. May 12, 2015. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  61. ^ Stern, Bradley (December 22, 2010). "Stars In Your Eyes: Interview with Her Majesty & The Wolves". MuuMuse.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  62. ^ ""Good Bye" Bobby Newberry and Melody Thornton". NaludaMagazine.com. May 12, 2015. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  63. ^ Eames, Tom (May 23, 2014). "Ashley Roberts, Riverdance join Ant and Dec's Takeaway tour". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 3, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  64. ^ "Ashley Roberts - Artist". The Recording Academy. November 23, 2020. Archived from the original on June 6, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
edit
Preceded by 1st Look host
2016–2018
Succeeded by