Chantelle Houghton | |
|---|---|
 Houghton in 2011 | |
| Born | Chantelle Vivien Houghton (1983-08-21)21 August 1983 (age 42) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
| Television | |
| Spouse | |
| Partner(s) | Rav Wilding (2010–2011) Alex Reid (2011–2012) |
| Children | 1 |
Chantelle Vivien Houghton (born 21 August 1983) is an English television personality and glamour model. In 2006, she won thefourth series of theChannel 4 reality seriesCelebrity Big Brother.
Houghton was sent in as a non-celebrity with the task of persuading her celebrity housemates that she was famous.[1] She emerged as the winner of the series,[2] winning a prize of£25,000.[3] She also became the first female to winCelebrity Big Brother. Following a much-publicised on-screen relationship, Houghton married former fellowBig Brother contestantSamuel Preston ofThe Ordinary Boys in August 2006.[4]
Houghton was born on 21 August 1983 inWickford,Essex, to her parents Allan and Vivien, and has an older brother, Gregg. She attendedBromfords School in Wickford, the same school thatBig Brother 8 winnerBrian Belo attended several years later.[5] She left school at age 15 with sevenGCSEs, then worked in a bank and as an insurance telesales representative.[6]
After various friends suggested she would make a good model, Houghton entered a 2001 competition run byMotor Cycle News magazine, and after winning it became apromotions girl.[6] Wanting to be like her heroineJordan, she undertook someglamour modelling starting out by having her mother take sometopless shots in a local park. In 2003, she entered aDaily Star competition as aPage 3 girl, which she did not win, but appeared once in thetabloid newspaper.[6]
Houghton appeared as a Soccerette model on theSoccer AM show forSky Sports[7] and also worked for a lookalike agency, portrayingParis Hilton.[8] In 2005, she competed in a Miss Greater Londonbeauty pageant, where she lost to Jenny Velasquez.[9]
Houghton had originally applied to be inBig Brother 6 and was a stand-by for that series but was never called up, however producers decided to use her for the upcomingcelebrity version as a "fake celebrity".
Houghton entered the house on day one and became the first non-celebrity to enterCelebrity Big Brother. She was told by Big Brother that her cover story was that she was a member of a fictional band called Kandy Floss.[10] According to Big Brother, Houghton was the lead singer. Their singles were "I Want It Right Now", "Come Back", and "More More More". "I Want It Right Now" was their biggest hit. Had she failed to convince them, she would have been evicted from the house. She successfully fooled her housemates and survived to the end of the show. In herBig Brother profile page Houghton described herself as a "bright, blonde bimbo" (despite not being a natural blonde). She said, "I look likeParis Hilton, not on purpose but it's just the way it turned out".
On 8 January (day four), Big Brother set a task to the group to rate themselves by how famous they thought they were. The celebrity they thought was the most famous stood on the No. 1 podium and the person they considered the least famous stood on the No. 11 podium. Houghton had to avoid being put in the No. 11 podium to prove she had fooled the real celebrities that she was famous and to stay in the house. Houghton survived the task, being chosen to stand on the No. 9 podium, ahead ofSamuel Preston andMaggot, who insisted on placing themselves last (they apparently realised she was not in the music business as they were). She was then called to the diary room to discuss her identity with Big Brother. This was simultaneously shown on a television screen in the lounge, in front of the other housemates.
Houghton was nominated for eviction on Day 21, but was saved from eviction by the public as the other two nominees (George Galloway andDennis Rodman) left the house in a double eviction. While in the house, Houghton established close bonds withJodie Marsh and Preston.
Houghton won the show on 27 January with 56.4%[11] of the public vote, ahead ofMichael Barrymore on 22.7%, earning her £25,000 (the celebrities were reportedly paid fees of up to £150,000 each).
Houghton re-entered theBig Brother house forUltimate Big Brother, following the conclusion ofBig Brother 2010, and to signal the end ofBig Brother onChannel 4. She entered the house with her ex-husband Preston. During the show, Houghton reformed the fake band Kandy Floss with fellowUltimate Big Brother housematesVictor Ebuwa andNadia Almada for a task. Houghton survived eviction on Day 11 and subsequently landed third place on the finale with 20.51% of the final three-way vote on Day 18, finishing behindNikki Grahame and winnerBrian Dowling.
Houghton also had her own post-Big Brother show calledChantelle: Living the Dream.
In May 2006, she signed a £300,000 deal withRandom House to publish her autobiography. It was released in October 2006 calledLiving the Dream which sold 50,000 copies. Extracts from the book were read out bySimon Amstell on 14 February 2007 edition ofNever Mind the Buzzcocks which caused Preston, who was a guest on the show, to angrily walk off the set.[12]
Houghton was nominated in the Most Popular TV Contender category at the 2006National Television Awards, but was beaten byNikki Grahame, herself a formerBig Brother contestant.[13]
Houghton has written several columns in magazines, most notably asOK!'sBig Brother 7 columnist andNew!'sBig Brother 8 columnist. Before becomingNew!'s BB8 columnist, she used to write another column in the magazine titled "I Want It Right Now" in which she shared makeup and fashion tips.[citation needed]
In June 2010, Houghton fronted a campaign forPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, called 'Fight Impotence. Go Vegetarian'.[14]
In September that year, Houghton was named as the new face of theLa Senza underwear range.[15]
Houghton has appeared as a guest on several TV shows since winningCelebrity Big Brother. These include:
Houghton announced her engagement to Preston on 11 April 2006.[21] In an exclusive £300,000 deal each withOK! magazine,[6] they were married on 25 August 2006 atDartmouth House inMayfair, London.[22]
After their honeymoon, the couple moved to Preston's flat in Brighton. In a later 2008 interview withPiers Morgan, Houghton admitted that Preston had told her one month after the wedding that he had not wanted to marry her.[6][23] The couple continued to give interviews to various magazines, with Houghton losing weight and colouring her hair brunette to look more like Preston's former fiancée Camille.[6]
Ten months later, on 27 June 2007, they announced in a joint statement that they were ending their marriage. "After much soul-searching and tearful discussions we have sadly decided to end our marriage," they said in the statement. "We hope we can always remain friends and still love each other but we both think we put so much pressure on one another to make our marriage work that it has ended up destroying our relationship. No one else is involved in our decision."[24] The couple divorced in November 2007.[4]
Houghton was in a relationship with British television presenterRav Wilding. The couple separated in 2011.[25]
Houghton confirmed that she was pregnant by competitive fighterAlex Reid in November 2011. On 17 June 2012, Houghton gave birth to a daughter. The couple separated in October 2012.[26]
| Preceded by | Celebrity Big Brother UK Winner Series 4 (2006) | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
