The Geordie Shore cast were left stunned while filming in Portugal as former X Factor star greeted them as the owner of a spiritual retreat, 17 years on from finding fame on the ITV talent show.
It was back in the autumn of 2005 that Chico impressed mentor Sharon Osbourne enough to send him through to The X Factor live show, after risking electrocution by singing in the swimming pool of her American home. While he was happy to admit he wasn't the best singer in the competition, Chico lasted way longer than anyone predicted and, four months later landed a number 1 in the UK charts with It's Chico Time.
Since then, Chico has appeared on other TV programmes, as well as on stage and this Christmas, he will star in pantomime in Whitley Bay. But it's his unexpected appearance on Geordie Shore : The Reunion that is causing a stir right now. The minute the cast, including Holly Hagan and Chloe Ferry, heard the name 'Chico' and caught a glimpse of him, they were left in disbelief.
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Chico runs a retreat in Portugal and led a number of healing workshops with the cast, encouraging them to 'let go' of things that were burdening them, leading to some rather emotional scenes as Holly became tearful over her body hang-ups over the years and the pressure to be a certain size, while Chloe broke down as she said she hoped her dad was 'at peace,' following his death from cancer at the end of last year.
Co-star Charlotte Crosby stayed in the cast's villa as they headed to the retreat and thought they were all having her own, when they told her they'd been 'healed' by Chico. And Geordie Shore viewers were in a similar state of shock watching Tuesday's episode.
Taking to Twitter, one reacted: "I used to be a huge Geordie Shore fan but haven’t seen it for years - CHICO!!! is running a spiritual workshop for the reunion series???? I’m hooked," with a second posting: "Chico and Geordie shore... The crossover we didn't know we needed," and a third tweeting: "Didn’t have Chico showing up on my #GeordieShore bingo card."
Geordie Shore The Reunion continues on MTV every Tuesday night at 10pm.
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