Big Brother's Anthony Hutton was in 'dark place' after wasting massive earnings
Anthony Hutton teased a Big Brother return after saying his spent all his reality TV cash on flash cars and taking pals on trips to Las Vegas – leaving him in a 'dark place'.
Following a five-year break, the legendary social experiment is set to return to our screens on ITV2 with a whole host of new contestants. But fans are desperate to see some of the past stars return and the 2005 winner has opened up on his life after winning the £50,000 prize and splashing his mega money post-show cash.
He told OK! Magazine he so nearly lost the chance to go on the programme after being unsure if he should answer his phone to an unknown number. Thinking it may have been a girl he's chatted to the night before, he's glad he picked up to producers.
“It was the morning after a night out when I received a call from an unknown number," he told the publication. "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.
Anthony Hutton rose to fame after winning Big Brother (Channel 4)
Anthony initially struggled after spending his big earnings but has since turned his life around (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)“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.
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“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.“
The Geordie was a mere 23 years old when he rose to fame, but now, he looks worlds away from that baby-faced champion. These days the ladies' man sports a thick beard and perfectly-styled hair, which is no surprise considering he has a barbershop called Mr Hutton's in Durham. Anthony opened his own salon back in 2016 and is a keen boxer.
Speaking about his business then, he said: “I’ve had the idea for ages and it was one of those things that was put on a pedestal, but I was always hell-bent on doing it. I started doing research about it and couldn’t find anything like it – though Carlsberg had an advert saying, ‘if we did barber shops’, and that’s the kind of concept I’ve gone for.
“I’ve been in Darlington for the last three years with my partner, Sophie, and we have a lot of friends and support in the area. When we saw the spot had become available, we just had to have it.“
Read the full OK! Magazine interview here.
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