12 October 2023 , 19:15
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Big Brother's season eight will be remembered for a long time, especially because of its youngest winner, Brian Belo. The then 19-year-old from Basildon won the show in 2008 and captured the hearts of the masses. Brian was in the Big Brother house for 94 days and was only up for nomination once. He was the first housemate to win despite not being in the house since day one.
While some of his fellow contestants remained in the public eye, Brian seemed to vanish from the face of the earth. So where is he now? It turns out Brian had a brief stint in the world of stardom. After leaving the show, Brian made his stage debut in The Vegemite Tales and also appeared in Hollyoaks.
Brian won the show in 2008 and captured the hearts of the masses. (PA Wire/PA Photos)
Brian was in the Big Brother house for 94 days and was only up for nomination once. (PA)To make Shakespeare more accessible to the public, Brian also performed in productions of Shakespeare plays as part of Stratford-upon-Avon's Shakespeare Aloud initiative. This was particularly interesting as he had just left the Big Brother villa having learned about the historic writer. In addition to his TV and stage appearances, Brian also tried to break into the music industry. However, his single 'Essex Boy' failed to chart.
In a shocking revelation, the former Big Brother winner claimed that he was the original creator of the hit TV show The Only Way is Essex. The 36-year-old settled a £4 million lawsuit against the producers of the show, Lime Pictures, but the sum has not been revealed. Brian claims that he pitched the idea for the show to Lime Pictures and even created a trailer for his version, Totally Essex. The franchise went on to make over £1 billion, but Brian says he never received any credit or compensation for his idea.
Brian claimed that he was the original creator of the hit TV show The Only Way is Essex (FilmMagic)
Brian settled a £4 million lawsuit against the producers of TOWIE (WireImage)Despite his claims to fame, Brian never forgot his Big Brother roots. He regularly appeared on Harry Hill's TV Burp and even became an internet columnist for Heat Magazine during the tenth series of Big Brother. Brian also made several returns to the Big Brother house, including a surprise appearance on Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack wearing just a towel. He also featured on the spin-off chat show, Big Brother's Big Mouth, and took part in Big Brother's Big Quiz to commemorate the tenth year of the hit Channel 4 reality show.
TOWIE's Chloe Brockett makes cheeky dig at Saffron Lempriere during filming
Brian returned to the Big Brother house in 2015 as part of a 'Time Warp' twist. But things quickly turned sour when he found himself in several heated arguments with fellow housemate Helen Wood. Arguments got so bad that Brian even climbed out of the garden to get away from her. And if that wasn't enough drama, Brian also appeared in Charlie Brooker's Big Brother drama, titled Dead Set, both as a zombie and as himself.
Despite his previous interest in the show, Brian seemed to have turned against it in recent years. He even went so far as to say that the fact that it was ending was "not a great loss" because it was going in an 'awful direction'. It seems now Brian has left the showbiz life and has no Instagram account or uses any other social media platforms.
Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2.