Ben Ofoedu

Ben Ofoedu (born 29 June 1972) is a Nigerian/British singer-songwriter, most famous for being the former lead singer of the duo Phats & Small.[1]

Music career

In 1993, Ofoedu joined the band Benz, and in 1999 he became the singer of Phats & Small, originally as a guest vocalist. He released a solo single called "Your Love" in 2000 and in 2001 joined a new band called REDhill, which included Shane Lynch.[2] The following year he joined another music collaboration, The Intenso Project, and then over the next three years he teamed up with three more bands for one-off singles and concerts.[3] In 2005, he joined Four Story who went on to appear on Making Your Mind Up in the hope of representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest with their song "Hand on My Heart". [4]They came fifth. Recently, Ben hosted 90's dance night 'Big Ben's Big Tunes' produced by The 3 Wise Monkeys (events management). Ben hosted and performed with other acts such as Damage, Dane Bowers, 5ive and Heather Small, all of whom he regards as 'close friends'. Vanessa Feltz also had a guest spot on the show, which was held at West Midlands Safari Venues nr Kidderminster.

Television

In 2006, Ofoedu appeared in The All Star Talent Show.[4]

Ofoedu and fiancé Vanessa Feltz have taken part in a number of television programmes as a couple. In April 2007, they participated in an episode of Channel 4's Celebrity Wife Swap, in which she moved in with magician Paul Daniels for one week, while his wife Debbie McGee moved in with Ofoedu.

On 22 September 2007, Feltz and Ofoedu won £150,000 for a cancer charity on the celebrity version of ITV's Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.

In 2010, they took part in the Virgin 1 show A Restaurant in our Living Room, catering for 25 people in their home.

Since January 2011, Ofoedu and Feltz have co-hosted The Vanessa Show on Channel 5.[5]

Ofoedu and Feltz made an appearance on the BBC One daytime quiz show Pointless Celebrities in July 2011. They reached the final, beating the other three pairs, but were unable to win the jackpot for their charity. They also appeared on All Star Mr & Mrs in 2014.

Ofoedu and Feltz appeared together on Celebrity Big Brother's "Bit On the Side" as panel members in 2014.

On 29 March 2015, Ofoedu appeared live on the BBC programme The Big Questions in a debate entitled, "Do you need to be born again to be a Christian?".[6]

Personal life

Ofoedu was born in Hong Kong and moved to the United Kingdom with his family when he was two years old. He has 2 sisters and 3 brothers and grew up in Newbury Park, London.

He has been engaged to television and radio presenter Vanessa Feltz since 2006[7] and they live together in St John's Wood, London.

References

1. Dayani, Alison (19 July 2002). "M2 Music: Ben has hottest hits this summer". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
2. "Boyz On Block: Who exactly are the band that have been asked to perform at Preston's Christmas lights?". www.lep.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
3. "Ben Ofoedu | Solo Artist For Hire | Booking Agent". champions-speakers.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
4. "Ben Ofoedu | Solo Artist For Hire | Booking Agent". champions-speakers.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
5. Interview – Vanessa Feltz & Ben Ofoedu ('The Vanessa Show') Digital Spy, 8 January 2011
6. "Episode 12, Series 8, The Big Questions". BBC. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
7. "Vanessa Feltz returns to Big Brother as Nadia and Makosi get booted out". Daily Record. 4 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.

Further reading

• "Phats and Small's Ben Ofoedu to star in Sevenoaks' Peter Pan". Sevenoaks Chronicle. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2016.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dayani, Alison (19 July 2002). "M2 Music: Ben Has Hottest Hits This summer". Birmingham Evening Mail. Retrieved 19 June 2016. (subscription required)