Love Island’s Brad McClelland was left homeless at the age of 11 after his younger brother accidentally started a fire at their family home, it has been revealed.
Brad was living with his mum Kimberley and siblings Reece, then eight, and then two-year-old Mackenzie at their Northumberland home in 2006 when tragedy struck as the toddler started a blaze that gutted the property.
The family were saved when a postman spotted the flames and alerted them by banging on the door. Brad and Reece were at school at the time of the incident, and although his mum and brother managed to escape relatively unscathed, they lost everything and were forced to move in with his nan Joyce who the labourer turned reality star still lives with.
Explaining how the fire started, Kimberley said, “I was upstairs in the bathroom and the little one was downstairs. He climbed on the sofa and got my lighter from a shelf where I had hidden it.
“He set fire to the settee and it went whoosh. The postman was putting letters through the door and saw the flames.
“I ran down the stairs and the bairn was shooting up the stairs. I couldn't see anything for all the smoke but I ran back and grabbed him. We went straight out of the house by the front door. We have lost everything, the telly, music centre, video, all the bairns' toys and our home."
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1 of 22Sharon Gaffka Instagram name
Instagram: @sharongaffkaTwitter: SharonNJGaffkaTikTok: She's doesn't do Tik Tok, sorry babes YouTube: No YouTube either
2 of 22Aaron Francis Instagram name
Instagram: aaronfranciisTwitter: He doesn't tweet TikTok: WE'RE OBSESSED aaronfranciisYouTube: Aaron Francis Essentials
3 of 22Liberty Poole Instagram name
Instagram: libertypoolexTwitter: Liberty__PooleTikTok: libertyamorYouTube: No YouTube, sorry honey
4 of 22Hugo Hammond Instagram name
Instagram: hugo_hammond_Twitter: He's not on Twitter TikTok: No TikTok either :( YouTube: Hugo LOVES mystery, no YouTube either
5 of 22Shannon Singh Instagram name
Instagram: shannonsinghhhTwitter: No Twitter account TikTok: No TikTok either, sorry YouTube: Alexa Singh
6 of 22Jake Cornish Instagram name
Instagram: jakecornish7Twitter: Not on Twitter TikTok: No account :(YouTube: He's a water engineer, do you think he has time?
7 of 22Kaz Kamwi instagram name
8 of 22Brad McClelland Instagram name
Instagram: brad_mcclellTwitter: brad_mcclellTikTok: brad_mcclelland_YouTube: No Youtube account
9 of 22Chloe Burrows
Instagram: chloe__burrowsTwitter: @Chloe___BurrowsTikTok: Chloe doesn't have Tik Tok YouTube: No Youtube account
10 of 22Faye Winter
Instagram: faye__winterTwitter: @MissFayeWinterTikTok: No Tik Tok YouTube: Faye doesn't do YouTube, soz
11 of 22Toby Aromolaran
Instagram: tobyaromolaranTwitter: No Twitter (that we can find)TikTok: tobyaromolaranYouTube: No YouTube
12 of 22Chuggs Wallis
Instagram: chuggswallisTwitter: chuggswallisTikTok: Chuggs doesn't do Tik TokYouTube: No YouTube either
13 of 22Liam Reardon
Instagram: liamreardon1Twitter: _LiamReardonTikTok: Liam doesn't do Tik TokYouTube: No YouTube either, sorry babes
14 of 22Rachel Finni
Instagram: rayfinnTwitter: Rachel is very mysterious and only has Instagram TikTok: You won't find her hereYouTube: Or here
15 of 22Millie Court
Instagram: milliegracecourtTwitter: No Twitter TikTok: milliegracecourtYouTube: You won't find Millie on YouTube
16 of 22Lucinda Strafford
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17 of 22Teddy Soares
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18 of 22Andrea-Jane Bunker
Instagram: andreajanebunkerTwitter: @_andreajbunkerTikTok: No Tik Tok, yet YouTube: No YouTube account
19 of 22Danny Bibby
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20 of 22Georgia Townend
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21 of 22Abigail Rawlings
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22 of 22Tyler Cruickshank
Instagram: tylercruickshank_Twitter: No Twitter TikTok: No Tik TokYouTube: You guessed it, he doesn't have an account
At the time, she told ChronicleLive, “The firemen said that if it hadn't been for the postman we would have been dead. We can't thank him enough. They said if I had inhaled any more fumes from the settee I would have been dead. There was only seconds in it.
“The postman spotted the fire from outside and started banging on the front door. The bairn started screaming at the same time."
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After his nan came to the rescue of her family, it’s claimed Brad is keen to take care of her to repay her for her support when he was “young and vulnerable”.
The pair have a close relationship and Joyce recently revealed how Brad was left “heartbroken” when he split from his ex-girlfriend of eight years.
She told The Mirror, “When he and Amy split up he was heartbroken. There’s no other word for it.
"He was asking me ‘Nana, what will I do?’ and I just had to say there was nothing he could do. He should try to move on and maybe she’d realise she’d made a mistake.
"They made a nice couple but sometimes these things just aren’t to be and you have to try to get over it."