Big Brother's first ever winner Craig Phillips looks almost unrecognisable decades on from his £70,000 success. The then-builder from Liverpool made history in 2000 when he became the first contestant to win the UK series, taking home a staggering £70,000 cash prize after 64 days in the iconic house.
History-making win and charity donation
At just 28 years old at the time, Craig became a firm favourite in the Big Brother house, where he stayed alongside Nick Bateman (then known as 'nasty Nick') as well as Melanie Hill. His success continued when he won a National Television Award for Best Live Television Moment of the Year.
After winning the £70,000 cash prize, Craig decided to put his winnings to a good cause, donating it to his friend Joanna Harris who had Down's Syndrome, to pay for her heart and lung transplant. According to the official Craig Phillips website: "He had begun raising money with friends for Harris sometime before entering Big Brother, raising only small amounts of money towards the £250,000 needed for her operation in the USA, but within 6 days of winning he achieved the target required for her life saving operation thanks to public support and generous donations from celebrities."
Craig has worked closely with a variety of charities, often taking part in fundraising events such as abseiling one of London's tallest buildings as well as sky diving.
Career and life after Big Brother
Since his Big Brother success, Craig Phillips has far from faded from the spotlight. He has gone on to build a successful career as a property developer, DIY expert and television presenter, famed for popular shows such as 60 Minute Makeover and Trading Up. He has also not been a stranger to reality TV, having raised £40,000 for charity from Back to Reality as well as appearing on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
Fans may not have realised he turned his attention to music, releasing a charity single for Christmas 2000, which reached the charts, raising tens of thousands for the Down's Syndrome Association. Right now though, the former Big Brother winner lives in Spain with his family, having also launched the Mr & Mrs DIY TV channel alongside wife Laura.
Iconic Big Brother moments
Arguably his most iconic moment was his confrontation with Nick Bateman, then nicknamed Nasty Nick. After Nick was seen breaking the rules, Craig gathered the housemates calling for an intervention before going face to face with his co-star. Another iconic moment was causing mass panic on Ultimate Big Brother when he gate crashed and staged an eviction.
With millions of people tuning in to the live final, Craig made history winning the first ever Big Brother series as he stepped out to a huge crown, later earning him the National Television Award. Speaking to Channel 4 back in 2020, Craig was asked what it was like winning Big Brother as he replied: "This is a question I've been asked thousands of times and if I am being honest it’s so hard to answer! Because it was and still is the most surreal moment and experience, I’ve ever had!"
"It was the ultimate combination of emotional highs as well as a scary situation to be in - once I'd stepped out the door I started to live a life that most people dreamed of having, almost the entire country knew my name and appeared to love me!" "Every A-List celeb I chatted to became my friend, people and companies were paying me obscene amounts of money to be associated with them, I had bodyguards that chauffeured me around day by day and we changed hotel every night for month and months!"
Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
