Singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins, better known as ‘H from Steps’, is to be honoured with an 8ft statue.

The statue of the 47-year-old has been announced by a community group in his hometown, Cultural Cowbridge.

Funded through private donations and designed by a local artist, it will be erected at the heart of the town, outside The Bear Hotel.

The aim is to unveil the statue at Cowbridge Pride in June, an event founded by ‘H’ two years ago.

‘H’ – one fifth of the Brit award-winning group Steps – also hosts a weekly show on Radio Wales and sits on his local town council.

He made history in 2020 as one half of Dancing On Ice‘s first ever same-sex couple.

“When I got the e-mail informing me, I fell off my chair,” Mr Watkins said.

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“This is one of my proudest moments – not bad for a Welsh lad lots of people think is as daft as a toilet brush.

“I love calling Cowbridge my home and I’m very passionate about doing my bit to help make it a better, more inclusive, superb place to live.”

The five-piece pop group is also made up of Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Lee Latchford-Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee.

Together they have secured 14 consecutive top five singles and 25 million record sales to date.

First formed in 1997, the group went their separate ways in 2001 but have since reformed twice.

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‘H’ said he was “so grateful” to Cultural Cowbridge and its donors and looked forward to “walking down the street and waving at myself”.

Bethan Davies from Cultural Cowbridge said the group could think of “nobody more deserving” and that it had been “overwhelmed at the response”.

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