Love Island star Brad McClelland has been vocal about living with his nan - but it has been revealed that there is actually a devastating reason that the reality show contestant moved in with her.
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In 2006, the then-11-year-old and his family were left homeless after his little brother Mackenzie accidentally started a fire after playing with their mum Kimberley’s cigarette lighter. Fortunately, the family weren’t injured in the fire after a postman alerted them to the fire, getting them out safely. However, the house was ruined - leading the family to move in with Brad’s grandma, Joyce.
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At the time, Kimberley told Chronicle Live: “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.”
Brad moved in with his nan when he was 11
She continued: “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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Brad’s nan Joyce added: “[Kimberley] was crying that she had lost everything and I was telling her she could have died. Now we will just have to rally around and give her whatever we can to get started again.
The star is currently appearing in Love Island
Chatting to reporters about his relationship with his nan ahead of entering the villa, Brad said: “At first, she thought I was going to be on my own on the island for eight weeks… I can’t explain something to her that she has no understanding of… She’s very down to earth, she is not blind to that side of things and if she does see anything, she will stand by me.”
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