Pretty much everyone has a favourite celebrity - someone they've long admired and would love to meet. Maybe they even have a memento of the star - a poster on their wall, perhaps. Well, one man loves Cheryl so much he splashed out over £7,000 to dedicate his home to her.
Shaun Smith, from Basildon, has completely overhauled his flat and decorated it like a shrine to the former Girls Aloud singer.
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Floor to ceiling, the whole place is absolutely covered in pictures of Cheryl Tweedy (or is that Cheryl Cole? Or Cheryl Fernandez-Versini? Turns out she just prefers 'Cheryl' these days) and he even has a life-size cardboard cut-out of the 35-year-old.
He said: "I have a big cardboard cut-out of her and it's on my cupboard door as I don't have enough space because I have so much stuff in my front room.
"I have Cheryl Cole carpet which I had made, I have got three rugs and I even have a dog bed. I spend so much - I love her."
The 51-year-old superfan started kitting his home out with Cheryl memorabilia in summer 2018 after belatedly discovering his love for the singer, who first appeared in the public eye as a contestant on 2002 series Popstars: The Rivals - from which Girls Aloud first emerged.
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"I watched a video on YouTube from Girls Aloud and I was told one of the members was Cheryl Cole and I didn't believe them," he said. "But I got the video of 'Fight For This Love' up and I realised it was her.
"She is a lovely person, she's caring, she's good and has a good voice and personality. She is not rude and appreciates what people do. Also, it doesn't bother her what people say and that is what I like about her."
Now, he's worked out over the last seven months he's spent around £7,000 ($5,350) to feed his collection.
Now Shaun has everything from clothing and ceiling decorations to mugs and much more - even a bed for his pooch. All these things, he explained, have made him incredibly happy.
He said: "I feel happy that she is here and I feel content in my life. I feel I have got someone. She is someone I could look up to as a role model."
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Shaun's love for Cheryl after he started to lose interest in his past obsession, the EastEnders character Ben Mitchell, who was played by Harry Reid from 2014 until 2018.
Until he started collecting his Cheryl memorabilia, he had hundreds of pictures of Harry Reid in his home - on which he claims to have spent around £5,000 ($6,500). Now he's sold it all, except the bits he's given away to charity shops.
He said: "I have more stuff of Cheryl than I ever had of Harry and I'm really happy with having Cheryl. I have picture frames, photos and I'm made up and really happy."
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Shaun has received some unwanted and hurtful comments in the past about his love for the celebs, but he says neither fascination has been related to an attraction to either star.
That's some collection.
Featured Image Credit: BPM Media
Topics: UK News, Interesting, Community