Holly Valance has praised activist Tommy Robinson for his ‘redemption’ after up to 150,000 people attended the far-Right activist’s demonstration in London.
The ex-Neighbours star was photographed with her arm around the former English Defence League leader at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally on Saturday.
Valance, who wore a ‘Mega’ (Make England Great Again) cap, has become a prominent supporter of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in the past few years.
The 42-year-old was among those at the event, which saw 24 people arrested for a range of offences such as affray, violent disorder, assault and criminal damage.
The mother-of-two, also known as a singer for her hit songs such as Naughty Girl and Down Boy, has become an unlikely presence in political circles in recent years.
Valance’s estranged property developer husband Nick Candy became Reform’s treasurer last December after leaving the Conservative Party.
Valance told the Daily Telegraph Australia: ‘I’m very proud and pleased for Tommy, this is his redemption. Finally. How the man screaming from the rooftops about the rape of white British girls was framed as ‘the bad guy’ is going to be a case study.
‘How weak and immoral we have become. Our silence is immoral. On Saturday the lions came out.’
She also said she was ‘still reeling from such a historic moment in British history’ and described a rendition of the hymn Jerusalem by the crowd as ‘beautiful’.
Valance added: ‘Three million people who love the nation standing together to sing Jerusalem. I’m not going to forget that in a hurry.’
Valance visited Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in April 2022 with Mr Candy and Mr Farage, and held a fundraiser for the US President in London in June 2024.
After her stint in the Australian soap Neighbours where she played Felicity ‘Flick’ Scully from 1999, Valance had a music career, including the UK number one hit single Kiss Kiss released in 2002.
She also reached the semi-finals of Strictly Come Dancing in 2011.
Valance and Mr Candy, who have two daughters, met in 2009 and became engaged two years later before marrying in California in 2012.
But in June it was reported that they had split and are heading for divorce after 13 years of marriage.
On Saturday, between 110,000 and 150,000 people turned out for the protest, significantly exceeding the estimates of organisers. Around 5,000 ‘anti-racism’ campaigners mounted a counter-protest.
Sir Keir Starmer later rejected the flag being used as a symbol of ‘violence, fear and division’ and said the Government ‘will not stand’ for assaults on police officers after 26 were injured, including four who were seriously hurt.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned the violent scenes and vowed that anyone ‘taking part in criminal activity will face the full force of the law’.
Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the Government is determined to ‘start to bring communities back together again’ in light of the fractious scenes, but he conceded so far it is ‘something that we have not solved’.
The protest featured a guest appearance from Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, who called for an urgent change in government in the UK and told protesters to ‘fight back’ or ‘die’.
A stage was set up to hear a series of speeches from far-right personalities and politicians and included an interview between Robinson and Mr Musk, who accorded with the overriding theme of the day by proclaiming the ‘destruction of Britain’ because of ‘massive uncontrolled migration’.
Police said the Robinson crowd was too big to fit into Whitehall and a confrontation happened when officers tried to stop them from encircling counter-protesters and accessing the area from different routes.
Some people turned off on to Victoria Embankment to get out of the crowds, which the police described as ‘understandable’.
Projectiles were thrown by Robinson protesters towards the counter-demonstrators as thousands from both sides stared each other down on Whitehall.
A line of police horses faced the sea of Union flags, and at one point a glass bottle appeared to smash against a horse, causing the horse and rider to stagger backwards.
Scuffles broke out as police used batons to try and push back thousands of Robinson supporters gathered on the top of Whitehall and Trafalgar Square in order to allow counter-protesters to leave safely.
Later, more than 100 helmeted officers, along with dozens of mounted police, pushed Robinson supporters, by this point largely dispersed, back further from Trafalgar Square and towards Embankment station.
As well as Mr Musk, the protest featured speeches from Robinson and other activists, including former actor Laurence Fox, former Apprentice candidate Katie Hopkins, along with musical performers.
It also featured far-right French politician Eric Zemmour, who came in fourth place in the first round of the 2022 French presidential election; leader of the Danish People’s Party Morten Messerschmidt; Petr Bystron of the far-right Alternative for Germany party; Polish right-wing politician Dominik Tarczynski; Belgian anti-immigration activist Filip Dewinter; and television personality Ant Middleton who is running to be Mayor of London.
