When Big Brother made its debut in 2000 on Channel 4, the show marked the start of a new genre of TV. It promised contestants the chance to take part in a “social experiment”, and involved hopefuls entering a custom-built house where viewers at home could watch their every move.
Over the course of 18 years and 19 series, the reality show turned competitors such as Alison Hammond, Jade Goody and Adele Roberts into household names, with the series three finale amassing an impressive 9.9 million viewers. But in 2018 the show came to an end.
Now, following a five-year break, Big Brother is set to return to our screens on ITV2 and a whole new host of individuals will get to experience life spent in isolation. To celebrate, OK! speaks to Anthony Hutton, who won Big Brother back in 2005.
“It was the morning after a night out when I received a call from an unknown number. Thinking it would be a stranger I'd given my number to while out on the town, I nearly didn’t pick up. Luckily I did. That call changed my life,” explains Anthony, now 41.
“At the time of Big Brother, I was working as a postman. I wasn’t content with how I was living, so I thought the show would change my life. After months of auditions and meetings, I was taken to France where I spent two weeks in hiding before entering the Big Brother house. The two weeks turned into a lads’ holiday and I went out with my chaperone, getting drunk and meeting girls. We even had a road trip to Paris.
“Soon enough it was time to make my big entrance. I had an evening job in a 70s disco-dancing group, so I decided to dance my way through the crowd but I was met with boos. It was my worst nightmare – I had a big fear of being disliked. That being said, I was confident that I could win them over during my time in the house.
“Being in the house was like a jail sentence. There was a situation with my housemate Craig [Coates] which resulted in us arguing a lot. It was strange because I was at the centre of this drama, so I was constantly wondering whether I'd done something wrong. I had no idea how I was doing on the outside as I'd never been up for nomination. But the longer I was in there, the more scared I was to re-enter the normal world and leave the Big Brother bubble.
“I found coming out of the house very surreal. Davina [McCall] immediately told me that Makosi [Musambasi] had asked for a pregnancy test and I couldn't believe it. That was the first I'd heard about it because we didn’t even have sex. I never found out why she said it.
“Despite my mum and friends coming to London to mark my win, I couldn’t celebrate too much because the next morning I had back-to-back meetings. Within 30 minutes of signing to an agent, I'd secured a £200,000 magazine shoot – the money was insane and I'd do nightclub appearances for £3,000 a night and my disco-dancing gig upped in price too.
“I was 23 at the time, so I did go a bit crazy. I bought a Range Rover and I took my friends to Las Vegas a few times. That being said, I also invested in a couple of properties and I bought my mum a house, so I wasn’t completely wild.
“Big Brother was such an extreme taste of fame and it was a real novelty to have people know my name. I'm an extrovert, so I relished being in the spotlight. But for all the good, there was the bad and I remember one stranger punching me in the face because he didn’t like how I came across on the show. Luckily I have thick skin, so I brushed it off.
“I may have won my series, but for each new season my fame dwindled. Even though I was making less money, that didn’t stop me spending as if I was at the peak of my fortune. I knew I needed to get a job to make ends meet but I thought people would laugh at me if I did something more ‘normal’.
“As a result, I got into a really dark place where I was going out all of the time and drinking a lot. I was lucky to have a good support system which made me realise that getting another job wasn’t something to be ashamed of.
“I’d always been a hairdresser, so after a few years I moved out of Newcastle to start a new life in Darlington. Things built momentum again and I met my wife Sophie. Now, we have a two-year-old son called Cruz.
“Since then, I’ve set up my own barbershop and cocktail bar and I use my past experience to raise awareness of men’s mental health. Every day I speak to clients when I cut their hair and a lot of the time people share their anxieties with me, so having that personal connection to mental health is a great thing to have as a hairdresser. I do a lot of talks now about the topic and I think all barbers should have some sort of training around mental health and wellbeing. It’s a subject I’m really passionate about.
“Looking back, I’ve been on a really awesome journey and Big Brother had a huge part to play in that. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat and would love to have another champagne-fuelled date with Big Brother.”
Source: Read Full Article