This is what Big Brother contestants are up to now as the show returns for a 20th anniversary special

Big Brother was arguably the first reality TV show to make waves in the UK when it launched in the summer of 2000.

Following “housemates” who were isolated from the outside world for a number of weeks, the show saw one person evicted on a weekly basis, with the last-standing housemate becoming the winner.

Contestants were made overnight celebrities as viewers became addicted to watching their every move - from romances, to arguments and emotional meltdowns.

While it ran till 2018, the show was superseded by its spin-off Celebrity Big Brother, and other reality shows like Love Island and I’m a Celebrity.

But now it's back to celebrate its glory days with a 20th anniversary special. So where are the most loved and hated contestants from Big Brother now? Here’s what you need to know.

What is Big Brother: Best Shows Ever Show?

Channel 4 announced that Big Brother icons Davina McCall and Rylan Clark-Neal will be hosting Big Brother: Best Shows Ever Show as a celebration of the programme’s 20th anniversary.

Revisiting the most memorable Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother episodes, it promises to give Big Brother fans a fix of reality TV for the summer as lockdown continues.

McCall said: “I lived and breathed Big Brother for 11 years of my life. I didn’t miss one single episode. Not one week goes by when I don’t quote big brother in some form. “

Davina and Rylan will reflect and discuss their favourite moments and the biggest dramas from each episode.

When can I watch Big Brother: Best Shows Ever Show

The specials will begin airing on Sunday 14 June at 9pm on Channel Four.

There will be ten episodes and each will air at 9pm every night from Sunday to Thursday for two weeks.

Where are the show’s contestants now?

While the winners from the past few years of Big Brother may not be very memorable to viewers, the contestants during the show’s most popular years were celebrities in their own right, with many going on to start in other programmes.

Here are some of the favourites, and what they’ve been up to since Big Brother.

Nikki Grahame

Season seven

After her appearance on season seven of the show, Nikkie Grahame was given her own reality show, Princess Nikki which premiered on E4 and ran for six weeks.

She made appearances in other TV shows such as Celebrities Scissorhands, 8 out of 10 cats, the Weakest Link and became a reporter for the Big Brother spin off show Big Brother’s Little Brother.

She also had a Big Brother column in OK! Magazine. In 2007, she was given a regular column in the magazine.

In August 2017, Nikkie appeared in the Channel Five documentary In Therapy which focused on her struggle with depression and anorexia.

Sam Pepper

Season 11

Sam Pepper appeared in season 11 of Big Brother when he was 21 on day 52 as part of Laura’s replacement as part of the “Ignore the Obvious” task.

He went on to create a YouTube channel which consisted mainly of pranks, but in 2014 became wrapped up in sexual harassment allegations.

In 2015, Sam then uploaded a video called “Killing Best Friend Prank” which showed a masked Sam pretending to kill fellow YouTuber Colby Brock in front of his friend Sam Golbach, which also garnered more backlash from social media.

In 2016, Sam made all of his YouTube videos private and then uploaded an apology video.

Sam’s online presence died down until 2018, when he began live streaming and posting videos to social media platform TikTok.

Dennis Rodman

Celebrity Big Brother, season four

Basketballer Dennis Rodman appeared in the fourth season of Celebrity Big Brother UK.

After that, he also appeared in July the same year in the UK series Love Island as a guest to stay for a week - finally he also appeared on the show Celebrity Mole on ABC, where he won the grand prize of $222,000.

From there, Dennis joined as a spokesperson for sports website OPENSports.com, and he also wrote a blog for OPEN Sports.

In 2009, he appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice.

Ryan Thomas

Celebrity Big Brother, season 22

Ryan Thomas actually won the 22nd season of Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.

Since then, Ryan has appeared on other reality TV, chat shows and game shows, like Lorraine, The Steph Show, This Morning and Celebrity Catchphrase.

Most recently, he has appeared in the TV mini series documentary Absolutely India: Mancs in Mumbai, which sees Ryan, his brothers Adam and Scott and their dad Dougie, who was born in Mumbai, visit the country their family is from.

This is what some of the winners of the show are up to now.

Craig Phillips

Season one

Craig is known for winning the first ever series of Big Brother in 2000 and famously donated the £70,000 prize to his friend Joanne Harris, who had Down’s syndrome, in order to pay for her heart and lung transplant.

As a trained builder, he has since become one of the UK’s best known DIY and home improvement experts, presenting on numerous TV shows such as Housecall, Builders Sweat and Tears, Our House, Trading Up, Renovation Street and Craig’s Trade Tips.

In 2007, he joined the team of 60 Minute Makeover for ITV, where he appeared in 80 episodes.

In 2018, Craig married his girlfriend of two years, Laura Sherriff.

Brian Dowling

Season two

After winning the second season of Big Brother, Brian quickly became a fixture in the reality TV world, winning Come Dine with Me, coming in third in Hell’s Kitchen in 2007, winning Ultimate Big Brother in 2010 and going on to take on a presenting role for Big Brother when it moved over to Channel Five.

He took on various other presenting roles, like the Irish game show Sitting on a Fortune.

In 2020, Brian took part in the fourth series of the Irish edition of Dancing with the Stars.

Kate Lawler

Season three

Kate was the first female winner of Big Brother, winning the third series.

Since her time on the show, she has worked as a television presenter and personality, as well as a radio presenter, model and DJ.

She has appeared in various game shows, such as Celebrity Total Wipeout, the BBC game show Hole in the Wall and has also appeared in various men’s magazines including Loads, Front, Nuts and Zoo.In 2006, she was announced as a new model for Ann Summers and appeared in lingerie advertisements.

In 2019, Kate began presenting Drivetime on Virgin Radio which runs from 4pm to 7pm.

Cameron Stout

Season four

After pulling in 1.9 million votes, more than 500,000 more than runner up Ray Shah, Cameron Stout won season four of Big Brother.

He was known for his strong Christian beliefs in show, proudly admitting his virginity and that he believes that sex should only take place within marriage.

Like other winners of the show, Cameron has gone on to take on media work after leaving the show. He became a spokesperson for the Hall of Clestrain on the BBC series Restoration and also co-presented the BBC Scotland series Teen Commandments.

Cameron writes regular columns for The Sunday Post and the Aberdeen Evening Express, as well as a guest column for The Sunday Post when Big Brother is on the air.

Nadia Almada

Season five

As well as being the second female winner of the show, Nadia was the first transgender winner of Big Brother, propelling the issue of trans rights into the mainstream.

After the show ended, Nadia attempted to launch a music career with a single called A Little Bit of Action, which reached number 27 in the UK singles chart in December 2004. She also made appearances on Hollyoaks.

In 2010, Nadia entered the Big Brother house for Ultimate Big Brother where she finished in third place.

She has also appeared in other reality shows, like the Channel Five series Trust Me… I’m a Holiday Rep and Channel Four series Fool Around With.

Anthony Hutton

Season six

After winning the sixth series of the show, Anthony used the money to open his own barbers and bar, which is called Mr Hutton's Barbers and Bar and acts as a barber shop by day and a cocktail bar by night in Darlington.

He also dabbled for a bit in modelling.

He returned for Ultimate Big Brother when he went on a date with his former fling Makosi.

Pete Bennet

Season seven

Pete Bennet won season seven with 61.2 per cent of the final vote and was commended by the Tourette Syndrome Association for putting “tourettes on the map”.

He wrote an autobiography initially called Pete: My Story in 2006, which was then reissued in 2007 as My Journey with Tourettes.

He was the lead singer of a band called Daddy Fantastic, but left to pursue a career as a solo artist.

During an appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show, Pete revealed that he had spent a lot of his winnings fuelling a ketamine addiction.

He now runs a cleaning business called Celebriclean.

Brian Belo

Season eight

Brian Belo was the youngest winner of the show, winning season eight of Big Brother.

After leaving Big Brother, Brain made various television appearances, such as on Hollyoaks, Harry Hill’s TV Burp.

He also released a single called Essex Boy, which failed to make the charts. Brain appeared in the TV horror series Dead Set.

From 2009, he became a columnist for the Heat Magazine website, documenting the events of the season 10 of Big Brother, as well as featuring regularly on Big Brother’s Big Mouth.

Rachel Rice

Season nine

Rachel Rice, winner of season nine, used her winnings to pay off her student loan debt, as well as giving a portion to charity as well.

Unlike other winners of the show, Rachel did not stay in the reality TV limelight, instead going into teaching and working as a headteacher at a school in Wales.

Sophie Reade

Season 10

After winning season 10, Sophie Reade went down the modelling route, even making an appearance in Playboy.

She gave birth later to her son and in 2017 appeared in an independent film called Barracuda.

She continues to post modelling shots on her Instagram.

Josie Gibson

Season 11

After winning season 11 of Big Brother, Josie Gibson went on to bag a presenting role for OK! TV and has written a regular column for Now magazine.

She was also a weekly animal reporter for Channel Five’s Live With… series.

She has appeared on other TV series, such as Celebrity Wedding Planner, Let’s do Lunch with Gino & Mel, The Wright Stuff, Celebrity Juice, Loose Women and also had her own shows called John James and Josie: What Happened Next and There’s Something About Josie.

In 2018, she gave birth to her son Reggie-James.

Aaron Allard-Morgan

Season 12

After winning season 12, Aaron Allard-Morgan made several television appearances for the likes of OK! TV, The Wright Stuff and Big Brother’s Bit on the Side.

He now runs a bar in Weston-super-Mare and wrote a book about his Big Brother experience.

Luke Anderson

Season 13

After winning season 13, Luke Anderson became the second transgender person to win the show, and the first transgender man to do so.

He went on to become an LGBT rights ambassador and has mostly stayed out of the limelight.

He has worked in a kitchen since leaving the show and in 2010 was crowned chef of the year.