A huge number of Big Brother contestants have gone on to bigger and better things since appearing on the original reality TV show after it was conceived in 2000.
Alison Hammond and Josie Gibson are two prime examples – starring on Channel 4's incarnation of the series in 2002 and 2010 respectively – before landing roles on ITV's This Morning. Many others including Brian Dowling (2001), Kate Lawler (2002) and Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace (2006) have also gone on to have successful careers in the public eye in a variety of industries including radio and modelling.
Some of the programme's ex-housemates – including those that starred in the celebrity edition of the show that commenced a year after its "civilian" counterpart – have chosen to go down a much different path in later life, however.
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So join us as we look back on some of BB's raunchiest stars from the past two decades.
Sophie Reade
Sophie won the hearts of the nation in 2009, winning the series as she pipped Siavash Sabbaghpour to the crown. Her journey began in bizarre circumstances, however, after being forced to change her name by deed poll to "Dogface" in order to become a housemate.
The busty beauty, now 34, made several appearances in lads' mags of the day including Nuts and Zoo immediately after finding fame, before embarking on a career in modelling. The star went on to enhance her figure with a slew of cosmetic treatments to enhance her hourglass figure.
Nowadays, Sophie is an OnlyFans star, where she produces extremely racy content for her thousands of subscribers. Looking back on her career she recently confessed to the Daily Star: "I think I look completely different with everything. God, I sported the bleached blonde hair like all the Playboy bunnies back in the day.
"It’s definitely helped with my modelling because I did Page 3 on my 18th birthday for the Daily Star so I was doing all that before. But obviously going on there [Big Brother] helped me and boosted me up so my modelling [took off]."
Lea Walker
Lea rose to prominence in 2006, almost going the distance in a competition won by Pete Bennett. The model, who was considered a mature housemate at 35 at the time, struck up a loving friendship with Richard Newman but was forced to go head-to-head with the Canadian in a public vote, which ultimately she lost.
Nottingham-born Lea, whose weight reportedly plummeted from 22 stone to just six at one point in her life, has since claimed to have spent £35,000 on cosmetic surgery to achieve her hugely-enhanced figure. As well as penning a book on body-dysmorphia, the 51-year old has starred in a number of porn films and like Sophie, now produces OnlyFans content.
Michelle Bass
Michelle entered the Big Brother house in 2004 aged 23, finishing in sixth place behind winner Nadia Almada, who famously kept her transgender identity hidden from fellow housemates. A member of a group of contestants who referred to themselves as the "Lip Gloss Bitches" with Nadia, Marco Sabba and Emma Greenwood, Michelle made headlines following a steamy on-screen romp with Stuart 'Chicken Stu' Wilson.
Making use of her fame, Michelle posed topless for Nuts magazine after leaving the house and enjoyed a brief glamour modelling stint before settling down with psychoanalyst and hypnotist Steve McKeown, with whom she shares two children.
Benedict Garrett
Benedict Garrett was already a porn star when he took part in Big Brother 13 in 2012. He was also a teacher at the time as he worked as a stripper and adult actor, known as Johnny Anglais.
It appears he has now attempted to forge a different sort of movie career in India. His social media bio says he is a "Bollywood and Kollywood actor".
Nichola Holt
Nichola starred in the very first series of Big Brother, entering the house on day one as a 29-year old art teacher. In a competition won by Craig Phillips – who went on to work in TV on DIY shows – Nicola befriended fellow housemate Sada Walkington and later entered into an (albeit short-lived) relationship with her.
In later years she was outed as an escort by an undercover reporter working for News of the World, offering him sex for £140. In other moves she dabbled briefly in porn and even tried her hand at pop music, releasing The Game, which charted at number 72.
Nichola recently reflected on her fame, which she says changed her for the "better and the worse. "I eventually suffered a mental breakdown as a result of the fallout from the show," she explained to the Sun earlier this year. "My mental health really suffered as a result of the negative press that I got. I am tougher and more focused than ever now and I really hope that I can inspire people to get the help they need if they suffer depression or anxiety."
Darnell Swallow
With a name already perfect for porn, there was no surprise Darnell went into the industry after his time on Big Brother 9 in 2008. He actually appeared in an adult movie alongside future housemate Benedict Garrett.
Funnily enough, the movie was directed by and also starred Billi Bhatti, who tried his hand as an adult movie maker after the show. Billi starred on Big Brother 8 in 2007.
Jemma Lucy
Jemma, 35, first appeared on screens in 2005's Brat Camp – a Channel 4 series that saw troublesome teenagers embark on a wilderness therapy programme in a bid to improve their behaviour. It did little to change Jemma, who had been expelled from three schools, and she went on to appear in MTV's Ex on the Beach in consecutive years a decade later.
In 2017 she signed up for Celebrity Big Brother, finishing in sixth place in a series won by the late Girls Aloud star, Sarah Harding. Since then, the heavily-tattooed model has joined OnlyFans, where she even flogged topless videos of herself just a month after giving birth to a daughter.
Eileen Daly
Conversely, some former housemates have enjoyed time in the adult industry prior to experiencing Big Brother. One such example is Eileen Daly, who in in 2015 was dubbed the "weirdest housemate ever" in an appearance that saw her finish a measly 12th.
In a career that has taken in singing, acting, producing and modelling, the 60-year old worked as a stripper in the 1980s and 1990s, and even appeared on The Big Breakfast and Kilroy to promote a brand of lingerie. She also controversially starred in a number of blue BDSM movies at a time that she was also a well-known face of First Choice Holidays' TV ads.
Big Brother: The Launch will air on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX on Sunday, October 8.
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