"Big Brother Champion Opens Up About Spending £250k and Hitting Rock Bottom After Fame's Steamiest Moments"

TWENTY-one years ago, he was the disco-dancing poster boy of a generation, exiting the most iconic house in Britain to fireworks and £50,000.

But when the cameras stopped rolling and the mortgage payments started bouncing, Anthony Hutton found himself facing a reality more daunting than any TV eviction.

Anthony Hutton won Big Brother 6 back in 2005 Credit: Rex He bagged the £50,000 prize as well as a huge £200,000 magazine deal Credit: NNP

That “bathtub situation” – that 2005 snippet of the ‘did-they-didn’t they’ jacuzzi ‘romp’ with fellow housemate Makosi Musambasi.

“I just wish I had a pound for every time it was mentioned,” Anthony laughs.

“I’ll get that mentioned on my deathbed.”

At 23, Anthony was the quintessential winner.

In an era before the curated gloss of and the tactical gameplay of , he was authentically, unapologetically himself.

Anthony was known for his disco dancing Credit: Getty Anthony was caught up in a storm after a boozy night led to a raunchy jacuzzi scene Credit: Channel 4

“We were totally in a different place,” he says.

“There were no distractions of social media… My experience was literally what the viewers saw. I didn’t speak to one producer. What happened in the house happened authentically.”

Anthony’s path to the Big Brother house wasn’t paved with a desire for fame, but rather a void left by a broken dream.

“As a young boy, I was extremely dedicated and on a mission to try and be a professional footballer,” he explains.

“I had a very one-track mind and didn’t have a plan B. At 18, that dream didn’t come off, so it basically left me with no plan B, no education, and nothing really. I signed on the dole.”

He describes himself as “the worst postman you’ll ever meet” before finding his feet as a 70s disco dancer.

Anthony and Craig formed a close friendship inside the house Credit: Channel 4 The cheeky chappy was just 23 when he entered in 2005 Credit: PA:Press Association

When Big Brother came along, he became “obsessive,” driving from Manchester to York at 3:30 AM for auditions.

Then after winning over producers, Anthony spent two weeks prior to the show in a “wild” pre-show lockdown in France.

“I got hidden away in France two weeks before the show started,” he says.

“My chaperone was a guy called Ollie who was 25 and me and him got on like a house on fire.

“We had a road trip to Paris, we had continuous random French people at our house. It was absolutely wild.

“I was single as well… unbelievable. The stories I’ve got from the France trip are unbelievable.I ended up being told that the producers thought I was an absolute legend.’

“It felt like something that had been in my thoughts and visions, and for it to come off…I just couldn’t believe I was on Big Brother.”

Anthony’s tenure in the house was defined by three major storylines: the “Kinga and the bottle” incident, the “pregnancy test” scandal with Makosi Musambasi, and his relationship with fellow housemate Craig Coates.

Now 41, Anthony has ditched fame and is happily married to his wife Sophie Credit: instagram/@theanthonyhutton He also works as a barber in Darlington, where he also lives Credit: Supplied

Regarding the infamous pregnancy test request, Anthony remains stunned.

“People specifically remember the jacuzzi incident,” he explains.

“But what happened was, I woke up really early, hungover and thirsty. I went into the kitchen and Makosi was there.

“It was that element of awkwardness, like ‘last night got out of hand.’ She said, ‘People think we had sex,’ and I was like, ‘Really?’ She said, ‘But we didn’t,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I know we didn’t.’

“This is when Makosi was game-playing.

“She’d obviously seen that the gossip was flying around and that’s when she went to the diary room and requested a pregnancy test. I had no idea.

“I only found out when I sat down with .”

Then there was Craig.

Anthony shares three children with his wife Credit: instagram/theanthonyhutton Anthony now openly speaks about mental health Credit: Instagram

“The gay guy fell in love with a straight guy – me,” Anthony says.

“This young lad who was 19 hadn’t come out to his parents yet.

“He formed really strong feelings for me. It was hard to watch at times because he was coming on to me and getting jealous when I was with the girls. It made very good TV.”

Winning the show was “mind-blowing,” leading to a whirlwind of paid personal appearances (PAs.)

“I signed an agent and they asked me if I wanted to do PAs – I didn’t actually know what one of them was. They said, ‘Well, you’re going to get paid to go to the nightclub,’ and I was like, ‘Are you being serious?’ I was getting paid to party.”

By 11:00 AM the morning after his win, he had signed with a management company and was whisked away to a mansion with a swimming pool for his first magazine shoot in which he got paid £200k for.

He recalls a legendary night out with his school friends in London:

“I’ve got an absolutely unbelievable story from that… but I just can’t repeat it. I’m sorry. Great night,” he says.

When Anthony applied to go on Big Brother he was touring the north east as a 70s disco dancer Credit: Alamy Anthony is now the founder of Never Throw in the Towel project Credit: instagram/theanthonyhutton

Anthony cashed in on his overnight success by dropping a disco-themed fitness DVD and joining the panto circuit. For a moment, he felt like he was on top of the world.

“That first year was ridiculous,” he recalls. “I took to it like a duck to water – I was absolutely loving it.

“That kind of attention felt really good. I was a young, single man, so in terms of responsibilities or anything like that, it was totally fantastic. And then obviously, when you’re making a lot of money, that will cushion anything.”

But the “overnight fame with zero skillset” eventually hit a wall.

“Over the next few years, it really started to dwindle,” he says. “I probably should have gotten into normal work a lot sooner than I did.

“But it was the fear. It was the pride, it was the ego, it was the paranoia. That was difficult – that realisation of, ‘Woah, am I going to have to get a normal job now?’”

Anthony also turned to booze and drugs as a form of escapism, as the money ran out and the offers dried up.

Speaking previously, he says: “I was struggling, going out, partying too much. It was tough.

“But, you know what? All those negatives have actually still had massive positives in my life. Hitting rock bottom shaped me, the life I now have and the work that I do.”

Recently taking to Instagram, he wrote: “I got £200,000 for this OK Magazine photoshoot

“5 years later, I’d missed 5 mortgage payments on my house and ended up back at my Grandma’s in my old bedroom

“At this point I was in my late 20’s, no job, no direction.

“Feeling like a complete loser, how did I manage to mess up so bad from having so much fame and money?

“Ego, pride, paranoid of what people would think of me as my identity was I’ve won big brother

“Reality, a has been with no job, no money, no direction and my self worth completely gone in my late 20’s

“All of the above, left me feeling thoughts of I just wish I wasn’t here because my life felt so shit.

“When things get that bad in your life or in your head

“I think it boils down to 2 choices. Sink or swim?”

Anthony found himself unable to transition back into “normal” work because his ego was inextricably linked to his TV persona.

“My identity was so tied in on Big Brother. I told myself I can’t get a normal job because the ego, the pride, and the paranoia was so tied to that. I thought I would get laughed at if I went.”

This psychological trap led to a dark period.

“It took me down a path of some real big challenges,” he says.

“It resulted in missing five mortgage payments on the house I’d bought with the winnings.

“I’d approached 28 and I had to move back in with my grandma in my old bedroom. I was not in a good place. I thought, ‘Bloody hell, how have I managed to mess up so much?'”

In his Instagram post, he continues: “I choose to swim, but I think I was very lucky, I had a solid loving family who got me out the s***, I had life long school friends, I’ve always had a fighting spirit and something had to change and I chose swim.

“My change was I had to cut people out of my life so I moved to a town where I new nobody

“I had to house share as that’s all I could afford, I just needed a fresh start, I needed some direction and needed a job.”

But today, Anthony isn’t just a former reality star; he is a full-time keynote speaker and the founder of the Never Throw in the Towel Project .

“I’m the richest I’ve ever been because I’ve got a beautiful wife with three beautiful, healthy kids,” he says.

“I speak predominantly at male-dominated organisations…construction is the worst profession in the UK for suicide. I go and do a talk, and straight after, I do haircuts.

“But the haircuts are actually providing a safe space. Sometimes the haircut turns into help.”

Anthony views the current state of reality TV with a wary eye.

“We didn’t have a care [team] back in 2005. The word ‘mental health‘ wasn’t really spoken about. Love Island has had three suicides. I think that’s when they went heavy on aftercare.”

Now 44, Anthony is using his past to open doors for a more serious future.

“I’ve moved on from my identity as ‘Anthony from Big Brother,’ but why shy away from one of the best stories?

“I’m using it positively because it still opens doors, but I’m doing something really positive with it.”