People like Rylan, Denise Welch, Chantelle Houghton, Vanessa Feltz and Gemma Collins have gone down in the history books for being brilliant ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ housesmates.
But with over 260 famous types passing through the doors of the Borehamwood bungalow since the series began in 2001, many have been forgotten.
In fact, even at the time some of them were in there, they were not as valued as they perhaps should have been, or indeed given the airtime they deserved.
With a new series of the Channel 5 reality show fast approaching, we’re looking back at some of the underappreciated contestants, who we’d love to see given a second shot in the house (although we’re not sure quite how many of them would agree to that...)
Stephanie Beacham
Stephanie Beacham participated in the last Channel 4 series of ‘CBB’ in 2010, and was undoubtedly our favourite housemate for being so low-key iconic. Whether it was taking a bath in her sunglasses, wrapping herself in faux-fur for the majority of her stay, or her unlikely bond with the equally camp Ivana Trump, Stephanie deserved much more than to come fifth.
Gareth Thomas
Has there ever been a nicer person to grace the ‘CBB’ house than former rugby player Gareth Thomas? He was a rock for the majority of his housemates in 2012, and provided some calmness against a backdrop of the antics of Denise Welch, Michael Madsen and Frankie Cocozza.
Ivana Trump
The kooky former Mrs Donald Trump was a real character when she was incarcerated in the Borehamwood bungalow, and was up for anything, as this picture of her taking part in a life drawing class proves. Her constant mum-dancing around the house had us in stitches, and her friendship with Ms Beacham was ultimate womance-goals.
Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer spent most of his 10 days in the 2007 ‘CBB’ house being utterly miserable and flipping the bird at every camera that dared to film him. Eventually, it all became too much for him after a row with Big Brother over clean underwear and he broke out of the fire exit.
An expletive-filled scuffle with security ensued, and while it was undoubtedly once of the most memorable back-door exits ever, we can only imagine what he would have gotten up to had he been talked into staying.
Maggie Oliver
Maggie Oliver never quite got the edit she deserved when she appeared in the January 2018 series, and given her love of a white wine with Amanda Barrie and Wayne Sleep, we can’t help but feel like producers robbed us of some classic scenes.
Although, we will always be thankful for the moment Maggie got down to fellow housemate Ginuwine’s song ‘Pony’.
Lionel Blair
From his ‘AM I YOUR BOSS?’ rant at Luisa Zissman to his overzealous antics in the Over 18s room, Lionel Blair caused quite a stir during his 15 days in the house, but failed to resonate with viewers becoming second to be evicted.
Natalie Cassidy
Part in thanks to Morgana Robinson, Natalie Cassidy has become a bit of a cult figure, but seemingly ‘CBB’ viewers didn’t tap into her brilliance, as she was evicted mid-series in 2012. An injustice, if you ask us.
Lauren Goodger
Can you name any other ‘CBB’ contestant who has been told off by Big Brother for drunkenly weeing in the pool? No? Thought not, hence why Lauren Goodger will always be among the most ridiculous housemates of all time.
Liz Jones
Given all of the things she’s written in her Daily Mail column over the years, we expected to dislike Liz Jones when she took part in the 2013 series. And while on the whole, she was a bit of a nondescript character in the house, her secret task where she threatened to drown herself in the bath was a moment of bizarre brilliance that only BB can deliver.
Saira Khan
Saira Khan had a lot of BS to deal with during her time in the ‘CBB’ house back in 2016, mainly from Stephen Bear and Marnie Simpson. While we can understand the ‘Loose Women’ star didn’t always express her point in the best way, she actually had a lot of valid things to say.
Carol McGiffin
Ah McGiff. Carol was one of the most memorable characters of the 2013 summer series thanks to her drunken antics. However, she failed to finish as highly as fellow ‘Loose Women’ star Denise Welch, which in our humble opinion was a complete travesty, especially when the person she lost out to was ‘Geordie Shore’ star Charlotte Crosby.
Stacy Francis
Former ‘X Factor USA’ contestant Stacy Francis was a random addition to the 2017 line-up and has since disappeared back into obscurity. While she didn’t exactly win an army of fans on the show, we always admired how she stood up for herself and others in the house, particularly against the acid-tongued Kim Woodburn.
Jasmine Lennard
Every series of ‘CBB’ needs a baddie, and 2013′s came in the form of model and Simon Cowell’s ex Jasmine Lennard. She was not afraid to stir things up in the house, but that didn’t seem to win her many fans in there, and was cut down before reaching her full housemate potential when she found herself nominated and evicted first.
Luckily, producers saw her brilliance and invited her back as a guest for the ‘Timebomb’ series in 2015.
Casey Batchelor’s mum
OK, so Kim Batchelor may not technically have been a housemate, but in the short few minutes she was in the house, Kim delivered one of the moments of the series when she warned her daughter to stay away from troublesome Blue singer Lee Ryan (“He says one thing to your face... then he goes to the Diary Room and says you get on his tits”).
Producers, if you are reading this, sign her up for a full series immediately.
