Cheshire stylist who works on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway has 'northern charm' to thank

Ryan Kay has worked with stars such as Lady Gaga and now styles Fleur East on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway

A celebrity stylist who has worked with icons such as Lady Gaga says he is proud to live and work in Cheshire.

Ryan Kay, 30, was born and raised in Burtonwood, Warrington, and believes his northern charm has helped with his success.

He has styled strong women on television, on red carpets, and for British award shows.

Read more of the top stories from across Warrington here.

Ryan is proud of his normal upbringing, describing his young self as a “stereotypical northern lad”.

He told CheshireLive: “I was that boy that tried to fit in, tried to blend in. I used to play rugby, used to go to boxing, but it wasn’t for me.

“I’m like, ‘Something’s missing here. This is not what I want to do’.”

Ryan then began his career in acting, working as an extra on northern shows such as Waterloo Road. But, he found himself drawn to the costumes rather than the script.

While working in a theatre show, he went on a shopping trip with Corrie star Nikki Sanderson (Candice Stowe).

Nikki told Ryan he was “a natural” at pulling pieces together, and this was the moment he realised he wanted to go into fashion.

Ryan believed that the best place to go for fashion was the capital, so he enrolled in the London College of Fashion.

He interned with fashion designers such as Julien Macdonald and Ryan Lowe, eventually joining a fashion PR company. This gave him the big push her needed to get into the fashion industry.

Ryan said: “I loved the job and got offered to work full time in the office with them. From that, I was able to be in big events, where I was able to mingle with celebrities and editors, and just really learn the realm of fashion.

“Then I made friends with Fleur East, which is weird because it’s come back full circle now where I work with Fleur on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.

“I was styling her, and got to work with Gabby Allen, Ashley James, some of the Made in Chelsea lot.”

However, he soon realised he wanted to pursue styling full-time, and that London could be quite a lonely place. So he decided to move back up North and set up a styling business in Manchester.

He said: “I wanted to move away from the north, I wanted to live in Chelsea, I wanted to change everything about me.

“But the one thing that really helped me when I was in the industry was my northern charm.

“There are so many people, who I don’t want to say are stuck up or anything like that, but there’s so many people, especially in high fashion, who conform to that realm.

“I personally feel like me being northern gives me an advantage and helps me a lot.”

He continued: “I’m so proud to be a northern stylist and still reside here in Cheshire.

“I feel like there’s many of me in London, but there’s no one really targeting the celebrities and magazines, no-one really repping the north.”

The list of celebrities Ryan has worked with is extensive; from an ad campaign with Lady Gaga, to dressing soap stars such as Coronation Street’s Faye Brookes.

He has collaborated with reality stars and influencers online such as Love Island’s Rosie Williams and Olivia Atwood.

Ryan is best friends with Charlotte Dawson, daughter of comedy legend Les Dawson. She offered him the opportunity to style her for an OK Magazine shoot, and Ryan is incredibly grateful for her role in his success.

He said: “It’s always fun to work with your friends. They say don’t mix business and pleasure, but for me I think that’s so key.

“She’s such a character, and it’s so light working for her. It’s just joyful, you feel like you’re not working.

“I think key people in the industry, such as Charlotte Dawson and Liv Atwood, who I’ve always been friends with, I’ve been so blessed that they have given me these opportunities to grow and make connections.

“I’d say in the last four years, my career has gone from zero to 100.”

He is currently working with Fleur East for her appearances on Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway show, which airs every Saturday.

“I’m very blessed with my clients, they are so diverse,” he said, “They’re all such beautiful women.”

Ryan does not dream of styling young celebrities such as Kim Kardashian or Kylie Jenner, instead he would prefer to dress the family’s matriarch, Kris Jenner.

He explained: “I love them mature women, the Kris Jenners, the Joan Collins, the Joan Rivers.

“I love mature women with attitude. They age disgracefully but they want to be so playful with fashion.

“Like Iris Apfel, she’s like 100 years old but the woman is still creating bespoke key looks which are still pushing the realms of style in fashion.

“Out of all the Kardashians and the Jenners, my one is Kris. I just think the woman is stylish.

“To the other stylists, you can have Kim, you can have Kylie, you can have Kendall, but I want Kris.”

Ryan believes the ultimate addition to any woman’s wardrobe is a tailored suit. He suggests investing in this “timeless” piece of clothing, which you can dress up or dress down with a hoodie and sneakers.

He said: “I think women in power suits and tailoring are so empowering. I’m such a feminist. I want to give power and confidence to women.

“I want my girls to walk out on that red carpet, I want them to feel incredible in that shoot.

“I think there’s nothing more classy and sexy than a woman taking ownership.”

Going into Spring, his piece of advice is to find the perfect colour scheme for your skin tone.

“Once a woman knows colours that work for them, they can look timeless and effortless in anything,” he said.

“Don’t be afraid to mix colour.

“We know it’s spring when we get daffodils popping up, it’s colourful. So I think it’s time to start pushing the wardrobe and injecting colour into a woman’s outfit.”