Big Brother's first-ever winner has a warning for today's housemates

Craig Phillips won the first series of Big Brother in 2000 (Image: PA)

After his historic win on the inaugural series of Big Brother, Craig Phillips found himself inundated with celebrity friendship offers and even private jet invitations from Richard Branson.

The then-28-year-old reality star famously donated his £70,000 prize money from Big Brother to his friend Joanne, enabling her to undergo a crucial heart and lung transplant and further cementing his status as a worthy winner of the first-ever season.

Fast forward 24 years and the landscape for reality stars has evolved significantly. Phillips acknowledges that contestants today face a tougher challenge, admitting they have it 'harder' than he ever did.

"The first show had such an impact because it was so new and no one knew what to expect," he told MyLondon on behalf of BoyleSports Games. "We were all very innocent and naïve, so it had that element of innocence... and it put the foundations in for reality TV."

"For housemates, it's harder nowadays for them to go in knowing how closely scrutinised it is. It's more pressurising for them, so I would say it's not as an enjoyable experience."

Craig carved out a successful TV career following his win (Image: Channel 4)

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Big Brother has made a comeback with a fresh batch of hopefuls entering the iconic house on October 6 for the show's second season on ITV, now hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best. The pair have stepped into the shoes of Davina McCall, the original host who presided over the show's first ten seasons on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2010.

Before his rise to fame on the reality circuit, Phillips was at the helm of a thriving building business. After winning Big Brother he leveraged his expertise to carve out a niche as a DIY pundit on television. He even snagged regular gigs on the comedy series Bo Selecta, the brainchild of Leigh Francis.

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A new season of Big Brother is currently underway hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best (Image: ITV)

Issuing a warning to the fresh crop of would-be reality stars, he urged them to be cautious about their expectations after exiting the Big Brother house.

"Many of them want to become famous, maybe they want to come out rich and to have a big social media presence and things like that, which wasn't about when we went in there," he said.

"99 per cent of them are coming out and they're forgotten about in a few weeks unless they have other skills to offer, like I did with my building work, to give you longevity in this media world. However, that can dry up quickly and it can be very disappointing when it does."

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"As long as they're comfortable about accepting that and going straight back to their normal job if they've still got it here when they come out, you should be okay, and then anything else that comes after that is a bonus isn't it."

Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX

Big Brother's first-ever winner has a warning for today's housemates

Big Brother's first-ever winner has a warning for today's housemates

Big Brother's first-ever winner has a warning for today's housemates

Big Brother's first-ever winner has a warning for today's housemates

Big Brother's first-ever winner has a warning for today's housemates