London Underground

JUNIOR Andre has revealed he was forced to get a job on the London Underground after blowing all the money he made from his music career at just 17.

The singer, now 21, made the surprising confession during tonight’s opening episode of Celebrity Race Across the World, admitting he had learned the hard way about managing his finances.

Junior, the son of Peter Andre and Katie Price, opened up about his past while working alongside younger sister Princess, 19, picking coconuts in exchange for free food and accommodation during the first leg of their race.

He said: “Growing up in the public eye, I’m used to people prejudging me and stereotyping how I’m going to be.”

The star continued: “People just assume that I’m just living off Mummy and Daddy’s money, but I’m not going to take money from my parents. That’s just not me.”

Revealing how he ended up taking on a demanding night job, Junior explained: “I released my first single at 17, and I got a big chunk of money come in for my music, and I blew it all, so I had to go get a job.”

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He added: “I worked on the London Underground, on the Piccadilly line, 10pm to 6am, and that was intense. I was doing wiring. I was carrying heavy materials, basically doing just loads of manual labour stuff.”

Despite having no previous experience of the job, he insisted he had thrown himself into it. “I may not have known as many things as everyone else on the Underground, but I worked hard. I like to think that I did the best that I could, and it taught me a lot about money.”

Reflecting on what he learned, Junior added: “You know, it taught me about having a budget that you need for your weekly shop.”

Junior and Princess are among four celebrity pairs taking part in the fourth series of the BBC travel competition, which sees contestants race thousands of miles without the usual luxuries of modern travel.

This year’s line-up also features Eurovision star Sam Ryder and his friend and tour manager Kaz, singer Ella Eyre and childhood friend Nana Pepera, and former Soccer Saturday host Jeff Stelling alongside his son Matt.

The teams are racing from Kuching in Malaysian Borneo to Melbourne, Australia, navigating unfamiliar destinations and completing challenges while sticking to a limited budget.

ANYONE planning to get to London Heathrow this weekend should check travel options before heading to the airport.

Major engineering works will see one tube line partly close and two other services to the terminals will be scaled back.

On both Saturday and Sunday, the Piccadilly Line will have no service between Hammersmith and London Heathrow terminals.

There will also be no Night Tube service on October 16 – normal service is expected to resume on October 19.

Travel to or from Heathrow Airport on the Elizabeth Line will also experience issues.

Services on Saturday will run as usual, but on Sunday, there will be a reduced service between Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 4.

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The disruption means that only two trains will serve the terminal an hour.

Meanwhile, there will be four trains an hour on the Elizabeth Line between Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3.

The Heathrow Express will run as normal on Saturday, but will see disruption on Sunday due to the ongoing engineering works.

Between 9.40am and 10.40pm on Sunday, trains will have a reduced timetable between London Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 5.

These trains will run every 30 minutes.

The bus timetable will run as normal with some accepting pre-paid rail tickets due to the closures.

ANOTHER UK train station could soon be made international in a predicted £1.3billion tourism boost.

There are now plans to put Stratford on the map by making it the second international stop in London, along with St Pancras.

Despite its name, Stratford International currently only operates domestic services.

The move would make Stratford the second international rail stop in London, along with St Pancras.

An application has now been submitted for a Business Rate Retention Zone (BRRZ) in the area.

A Business Rates Retention Zone allows local councils to reinvest money into local economic development, like expanding the train station.

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The London Mayor’s officials are meeting with train operators, authorities in Paris and commercial bodies to get backing for the plan.

Speaking to The Standard, Sadiq Khan said: “The case for creating a Stratford International worthy of the name is clear and compelling.

“The popularity of international rail continues to grow in London, which is why my team and I have been lobbying for cross-channel rail services from Stratford for many years – and I’m hoping that our efforts are close to paying off.”

He explained further: “Over the last few months, we’ve been working closely with this new Government to make Stratford International truly ‘international’ for the first time and we’re now within touching distance of getting our plans over the line.

“The data shows that bringing international services to Stratford would bring in an additional £1.3bn in tourist spending for the UK.

“Stratford has become one of Europe’s largest and most successful regeneration projects, and I believe with the arrival of cross-Channel services, the future of East London will be even brighter still.”

This is not the only proposal that has been made for Stratford – Sir Richard Branson‘s rail company Virgin Trains have confirmed they are interested in the station too.

A Virgin Group spokesperson previously said the company is: “looking forward to exploring additional stops, including Stratford International.”