CELEBRITY Big Brother has been keeping viewers glued to their screens once again, with its explosive drama and headline-grabbing cast.
From “playing with fire”; by recruiting hellraiser to big-haired former , this season has been nothing short of eventful.
Last week, both controversial figures left the house, with Michael, 74, being voted off and Mickey, 72, , including making
Ian ‘H’ Watkins, who appeared on Celebrity in 2007, knows all too well what goes on behind closed doors in the house, having been part of
H was part of British dance-pop group Steps, along side Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards, Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer.
They were formed in May 1997 and achieved two number-one albums in the UK, 14 consecutive UK top-5 singles including two number ones, but they split up on Boxing Day in 2001 when Claire and H left to form a recording duo.
Theirsingle ‘DJ' went on to reach reached No. 3 on theUK Singles Chart, and their next two singles after that charted in thetop 10.
Five years later, H became a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother.
“I was on quite controversial series, and it ,”; he says.
“Back then it was different, they supplied endless amounts of . I was never a big drinker anyway, but the others did drink – which ultimately fuels bad things.
“Some moments were honestly not nice.”;
The was a housemate during and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty’s infamous fallout, which was rife with tension after remarks made by reality TV star
S Club 7's Jo O'Meara and former WAG Danielle Lloyd were also embroiled in the racism controversy surrounding Shilpa, who went on to win the show and later forgave contestants.
Over the course of the series, the racism towards Shilpa attracted one of the highest total of Ofcom complaints in TV history.
In went onto ruin the careers for all three contestants, with Jo later speaking to Flying Eze Newspaper about the incident.
“I think a lot of people wanted me to be punished for what happened, and I was,” O'Meara told .
She added: “I lost my career. I lost my home. I lost everything and I’m still trying to rebuild today. That’s why I feel so blessed to be back doing what I love.”
It’s hard to believe when I say it out loud
Ian 'H' Watkins
In 2007, H famously came out as gay on the day he entered the house, before leaving on day 26.
“The thing with Big Brother is you understand what the show is all about before you enter it, and my message is to always just be yourself, but be kind,”; he says.
“The producers know what they are doing, because we love watching drama unfold.”;
Although H admits to not watching this year’s series, he has a good idea of the types of characters the producers would have cast.
He says: “Everyone knows what they’re signing up for when it comes to .
“We love someone who can be educated, there’s usually a bigot in there, or someone that’s misogynistic, that needs to be educated, or if they’re not, they’ll get booted out.
“It usually goes along those lines, right?”;
But overall, his experience was certainly unforgettable as he came fourth.
He says: “The game has changed now, Big Brother now isn’t the same as when I was on it.
“There was also no back then, and people were just watching us. We even had a live channel dedicated to us, which would watch us sleeping.
“But overall, I had a great experience, and I'm still great friends with Shilpa as well, so there were lots of positives from it for me.”;
But his Celebrity Big Brother days are far behind him, as he is now learning the ropes of being a single dad to his , who were born via surrogacy.
It’s a life worlds away from his days – including touring with on her “Baby One More time Tour”; back in 1999 – as his main focus now is the school run and PTA meetings.
“We had an amazing time supporting Britney on tour,”; he says.
“That happened because we were on the same record label. One year we did this big concert in Singapore.
“We were headlining and Britney was actually our support on that show – because she hadn't released yet.
“Then shortly afterwards, Baby One More Time took over the world and she asked us to support her on tour.”
And despite being an award winning pop-group, with worldwide sales of over 20 million records, the group were always careful with their money.
“We were managed very well, and we valued everything we had,” he says.
“We saw our peers having music videos that cost millions of pounds, they had cars, they had makeup artists, and styling.
“So we always questioned every penny that went in and out. We managed Steps as a business very well – and that's why we did even better.”
Looking back at his life, he can't believe the life journey he has been on with Steps.
As a busy parent, juggling bills alongside everything else life throws at you can feel overwhelming
Ian 'H' Watkins
“It’s hard to believe when I say it out loud. It’s like, those sentences (touring with Steps) just came out of my mouth? And now I’m about to do the school run!”;
He continues: “I am very much involved with my boys.
“I do the PTA, I put on every year in our town, all the have floats, the local knitting group, the karate club, everybody...
“And we celebrate diversity through inclusion and celebration.
“I feel like I'm a really active member of the community.
“I want my kids to have the things I didn't have, which was acceptance and kindness.
“And you have to… It's cliche, but you have to be the change that you want to see. If you want to change, then you do something about it.”;
H, is now teaming up with Tesco Mobile – the only network to offer Frozen Prices for Clubcard Price deals – to launch 5, 6, 7 Freeze, a fun, TikTok-style routine designed to make bill management as easy as learning your ABCs.
He says: “As a busy parent, juggling alongside everything else life throws at you can feel overwhelming.
“The constant worry about rising costs only adds to the stress. That’s why it’s such a relief to know that families like mine can stay connected without the fear of unexpected price hikes, thanks to Mobile’s Frozen Prices on Clubcard Price deals.
“It means one less thing to think about giving us more time to enjoy the moments that matter, whether that’s learning the 5,6,7, Freeze dance with the kids so you won’t forget to get that contract sorted, or just having fun together.”;
have been approached for comment.
