Viewers who sat down in front of Breakfast this morning got the shock of a lifetime when Daniel Bedingfield suddenly appeared in front of them.
The when his debut single Gotta Get Thru This topped the UK charts in 2001.
His success then continued as he notched two more number ones in 2002 and 2003, with all five singles from his debut album eventually reaching the UK top 10.
Bedingfield then gradually moved away from , scoring a number one single herself in 2004.
In recent days, more than 20 years after his initial breakout, the Never Gonna Leave Your Side singer has announced a brand new UK tour, with fans hoping that new music will come soon.
But those unaware of Bedingfield’s movements got quite the surprise on Friday morning when a much-changed Bedingfield appeared on BBC Breakfast to let everyone know where he’s been for the last decade-and-a-half.
Sporting a brightly coloured hooded jacket and now boasting an impressive beard, the If You’re Not the One singer revealed he’d turned his attention to farming to get away from fame.
He told hosts Rachel Burden and Charlie Stayt: ‘It was wonderful. Nobody recognised me and I could just chill out and write songs and farm. Chicken, bees and fruit trees, I’m a Kiwi!’
Watching at home, viewers were pleasantly surprised to see the James Dean singer, but marvelled at his new appearance 20 years on from his heyday.
Posting on X, one user, Wayne David, said he was ‘obsessed with the 2024 version of Daniel Bedingfield’ and complimented the garish tracksuit Bedingfield had chosen to wear on the morning show.
Another surprised viewer, KG Neilsen, commented: ‘I’ve been wondering about Daniel Bedingfield. Not watched BBC since forever. Today I did and tah dah! New material and tour on the way! Yay!’
The singer then took to X himself to let viewers know he’d had a great time speaking to Burden and Stayt, and fans were quick to let him know that they’d snapped up tickets for his upcoming shows.
Looking back on his success, Bedingfield referred to his former popstar self as ‘little me’ and revealed that he still has ‘a lot of love’ for the person and artist he used to be.
Bedingfield’s UK tour begins and ends in the last week of April, with three dates planned in Manchester, then Birmingham, before finishing up in London.
His debut album, also titled Gotta Get Thru This, went five times Platinum in the UK and even managed to be certified Gold in the US, where the album’s titular single reached the top 10.
After he stopped being a fixture on the chart, Bedingfield moved back home to New Zealand to become a judge on The X Factor, alongside Melanie Blatt of girl group All Saints.
In later years he co-wrote songs with 2014 X Factor winner Ben Haenow, whose debut album reached the top 10 on the UK album charts.
Watch BBC Breakfast every day from 6am on BBC One.
