BOWING out of a reality show early is seen as a devastating blow by most contestants, but sometimes being a runner-up has proved a blessing in disguise.
The likes of Jennifer Hudson, One Direction, Alison Hammond and Abbey Clancy have gone on to become far more successful than the winners of their respective shows.
And they’ve earned themselves a lot more money to boot.
Here we take a look at the stars who failed to bag the top prize on The X Factor, Big Brother, Love Island and American Idol – but went on to have winning careers.
Alison Hammond
Alison Hammond, 47, is now a much-loved presenter famed for her turns on This Morning with Dermot O’Leary, and her bubbly celebrity interviews.
From her addictive laugh to her hilariously inappropriate one-liners, Alison is on her way to becoming a national treasure and laughing all the way to the bank, with an estimated worth of nearly £3million.
She first appeared on our screens on Big Brother in 2002 – and was the second person to be voted off.
Kate Lawler – who Alison is still best pals with – went on to win the show, and is also pretty successful, with a Virgin Radio gig presenting Drivetime, though she’s worth just shy of Alison at around £1.2million.
Stacey Solomon
Stacey Solomon, 32, first charmed British audiences on the 2009 series of The X Factor.
Then just 19, the quirky lass from Dagenham captured the nation’s hearts with her soulful rendition of What a Wonderful World.
After finishing in a commendable third place, losing to Joe McElderry, Stacey went on to win the title of Queen of the Jungle in the 2010 series of I’m A Celebrity.
Stacey now boasts an impressive net worth of approximately £5million, thanks to her full-time role on ITV daytime show Loose Women, and her candid Instagram account where she shares a warts and all insight into her life with husband Joe Swash and their kids with her 5million followers.
Olly Murs
Olly Murs, 37, found fame on the same series of The X Factor as Stacey.
With his cheeky smile and charming dance moves, he still makes our hearts skip a beat, despite coming second.
Now worth an estimated £6million, Olly has gone on to become one of the most successful X Factor contestants of all time.
He hosted The Xtra Factor and even briefly co-hosted The X Factor, alongside Caroline Flack in 2012.
Olly has also forged a successful music career, with six studio albums and 18 singles, and has now gone full circle as a judge on The Voice UK. He’s also hosting new talent show Starstruck.
Meanwhile X Factor winner Joe went on to star in musicals. Despite not being as well-known as Stacey or Olly any more, he’s still worth a reported £3.7 million.
One Direction
Before Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan all went in different directions, 1D took the world by storm and became the biggest boyband in the world – despite coming second to Matt Cardle on The X Factor in 2010.
The boys had an extremely successful career as a band, releasing five albums and winning nearly 200 awards – including seven Brit Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards and six Billboard Music Awards.
They are now all embarking on solo careers – and are estimated to be worth £243million in total.
Harry is believed to be worth the most, at £63m, followed by Niall at £53m, Liam at £46m, Louis at £44m, and Zayn – who quit the band before the others did – at £36m.
Meanwhile, Matt, who’s had a successful career in stage shows, is worth just £2.2 million – measly, in comparison!
Jennifer Hudson
Unbelievably Jennifer Hudson came in seventh place on Season 3 of American Idol in 2004 – and Simon Cowell even told her she was “out of her depth”.
But she’s had much greater success than the eventual winner Fantasia Barrino.
Just two years later she starred as Effy in Dreamgirls, opposite Beyonce and Jamie Foxx, and took home an Oscar for her performance.
Since then, she’s been a judge on The Voice UK and The Voice in the States, and has starred in everything from Sex and the City 2 to Cats, and even played Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect.
Jennifer is now worth an estimated £22 million, while Fantasia is reportedly worth less than a million.
Alex and Olivia Bowen
Essex girl Olivia Bowen and Brummy babe Alex Bowen found love on series two of Love Island, where they lost out to Cara Delahoyde and Nathan Massey.
After over five years together – three of them married – the tattooed pair are now expecting their first baby, sharing a series of adorable polaroids to announce their pregnancy.
Since leaving the villa, Olivia has released clothing ranges with the likes of Miss Pap and In The Style, and dabbled in TV presenting on ITV’s This Morning.
Alex founded clothing brand Exempt Society, as well as his online workout platform, ABX Performance.
Between them, they have 4.4 million followers on Instagram, and are worth an estimated £4.5 million.
In comparison, Cara and Nathan – who are also now married and have two children – are believed to be worth around £1.3 million.
Rylan Clark
Rylan Clark was the definition of “it’s the taking part that counts” after finishing in fifth place on the 2012 series of The X Factor.
After his now-infamous reaction to getting through to judges houses, viewers knew this wouldn’t be the last they’d see of the flamboyant Essex boy.
Fast-forward to 2011, Rylan redeemed himself by winning Celebrity Big Brother.
Since the, he has become a well-known TV personality, and has presented everything from Big Brother’s Bit on the Side to This Morning and The Xtra Factor.
He is the host of the revived Supermarket Sweep and Ready Steady Cook, as well as the BBC’s You Are What You Wear – and has his own show on BBC Radio 2.
While he’s worth an estimated £4.4 million, James Arthur – who won the X Factor in 2012 series – is believed to be worth £3.7 million.
Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury
There’s no doubt that Molly-Mae Hague is the most successful Love Islander to ever come out of the show.
Shortly after she and Tommy Fury came second in 2019, Molly was offered a lucrative collaboration with PrettyLittleThing worth £500,000 and has since signed a seven-figure deal to be creative director for the brand.
She has also launched her own fake tanning label, Filter by Molly-Mae, and partnered with big brands such as Starbucks and Beauty Works.
Meanwhile Tommy has progressed in his professional boxing career, and secured several brand collaborations, making their joint worth an estimated £2.75million.
Reports also show that a joint appearance from Molly-Mae and Tommy Fury can earn them up to £10,000.
Meanwhile, the series winners Amber Gill and Greg O’Shea split up very soon after the show ended, and while Amber is worth an approximate £2million, her rugby player ex has a net worth of £500,000.
Abbey Clancy
Many may not remember, but Abbey Clancy shot to fame on the 2006 series of Britain’s Next Top Model, coming second to Lianna Fowler.
She was dating her now-husband Peter Crouch at the time, but was an unknown otherwise.
Since then, Abbey’s been far more successful than Lianna – who’s worth an estimated £367,000.
In 2013 she won Strictly Come Dancing, and then even presented the revival of BNTM in 2015.
The stunning model is now worth an approximate £2.5million.
Adam Lambert
Adam Lambert is, hands down, the most successful male to lose American Idol, having come second to Kris Allen in 2009.
While Kris is worth an estimated £2.6 million, Adam is believed to be worth £26m, and has toured the world with Queen.
