We're all well aware of the many Big Brother stars whose appearance on the notorious show have led to a glittering career in showbiz. Jade Goody became the nation's sweetheart, Alison Hammond got a job on This Morning and former trolley dolly Brian Dowling presented SM:TV and Big Brother.
But some housemates didn't follow that well trodden path and skip merrily through the exciting doors opened by the show. Some actually did it the hard way and launched successful careers by grafting hard and doing it for themselves.
1. Craig Phillips goes from winner to DIY business mogul
Craig Phillips was the Scouse nice guy from series one who made his mark by being the only housemate brave enough to confront Nasty Nick about his snakey ways.
Not only that, the big-hearted cheeky chappy also kindly donated his £70,000 winnings to his friend with Down Syndrome, Joanne Harris, who was in desperate need of a heart and lung transplant.
Although Craig enjoyed a minor media career post-BB – including the release of a cloyingly sickly sweet Christmas single ('At This Time of Year') – he went on to be more successful as a home improvement expert.
What to Read Next
In 2005, Craig developed the largest independent construction training academy in the North West, opening its doors in September 2005 to its first 152 students before transferring the ownership of it to one of the country's largest independent training provider.
He and his wife Helen recently launched Mr & Mrs DIY, offering everyday folks tips and hacks for household and garden jobs, which is still going strong. Craig is now said to be worth over £15m. Lend us a fiver, Cray!
2. Glyn Wise turns to politics
Glyn was the lanky Welsh fella who during his stint in the 2006 series of BB learnt to make an egg. Wow! #LifeGoals! After his time in the house, he became a local radio presenter, but later shocked us all when it was revealed that that he was trying his hand at politics.
Glyn ran for a position in the Welsh Assembly as a representative for the Plaid Cymru party in Cardiff Central. However, in 2016 he quit the party, tweeting: "Decided to leave Plaid Cymru today as we don't share the same vision / direction for our country any more."
It's understood that he wasn't a fan of their pro-EU stance.
3. Brian Belo goes from camera star to behind-the-scenes honcho
He was the lovable Big Brother fan who won series eight of the show and fell for the charms of dipsy twin Amanda Marchant in the process.
After the show, the lanky larrikin did the usual rounds of the panel telly shows but eventually decided to step behind the cameras to focus on making TV shows instead of appearing on them.
In 2009, he and a couple of mates dreamt up an idea for a show called Totally Essex which featured orange-faced newcomers Mark Wright, Amy Childs, Sam Faiers and Kirk Norcross. Sound familiar?
"I worked on the idea for two years, I got the cast together and pitched to the production companies," he said in an interview. "I'm very proud of its success. I want people to know where it came from."
Brian went on to sue Lime and ITV, claiming they'd cheekily nicked his idea, which, of course, they strenuously denied. Both parties eventually settled out of court.
Bri now works in TV development for Yoghurt productions.
4. Dan Neal swaps the beat for TV
When the incredibly hirsute hun appeared on the 2013 series of Big Brother, he had been making a comfortable if stressful living as a policeman on the notorious operation YewTree investigation.
However, before entering the house he quit his job so that the case wasn't compromised by his appearance.
After Big Brother, Dan fell for Bit on the Side presenter Rylan Clark and married him in November 2015.
Since then he, like Brian Belo, has moved behind the scenes and is working on developing TV formats for ITV.
5. Anthony Hutton gets the snip
Geordie Anthony was the immaculately groomed winner of series eight - how can you forget those eyebrows of his - they were on point!
This was the notorious series that saw him become the object of housemate Craig's affections, have a steamy tryst with Makosi in the hot tub and look appalled as thirsty Kinga tried to drink a bottle of vino with the wrong set of lips.
After he left the house, he did what all the others did and enjoyed what Big Brother fame had to offer – paid for PAs, big bucks OK! shoots and a party lifestyle. He even landed himself a celebrity girlfriend in the form of Pop Idol's Zoe Birkett.
These days, all that malarkey is behind him and he is now the proud owner of his very own swish men's barbers in sunny Darlington. Called Mr Hutton's, it's a super stylish establishment with a team of talented tress-trimmers and a fully stocked bar which we hope the stylists keep away from while they snip-snip away.
6. Caroline O'Shea becomes a dating expert
Aaah, who can forget the camp-as-tits Brummy Madonna-a-like Caroline O'Shea – or Caggie as we all got to know her? She appeared in the groundbreaking first series of Big Brother and was known best, probably, for the heavy lip liner she wore at all times.
After she was evicted from the house, she spent years in the wilderness as she struggled with the pressures of minor fame.
But a few years ago, she launched a matchmaking business which has since gone on to become a success for her and led to her landing her a brief appearance on TOWIE where she tried to sort out the screwed up love lives of the constantly mugged-off perma-tanned singletons of Brentwood.
7. Nick Bateman starts life afresh in Oz!
Nick Bateman was the fella who became a national hate figure after – can you believe it? – he was caught with a pen and paper and bitching about his housemates.
When you compare that shocking crime to all the nasty shenanigans that take place in the BB house these days, it's hard to get your head around.
After being unceremoniously escorted out of the house midway through the series, 'Nasty' Nick became as popular as Hitler in the UK (people thought he was like the devil!)
For a time he milked his notoriety, but soon discovered that his dodgy rep was starting to close doors on him.
In the end in 2013, he upped and left and swapped our grey skies for the warmth of Australia with his wife and started life anew. "My marketing work involves social media for businesses – writing content and posting advertising," he has revealed.
8. Josh Rafter goes from living in a house to selling them
There were so many big characters in the second series of Big Brother – Brian Dowling and Narinder Kaur, Paul Clarke and Helen Adams, Bubble – that it's quite easy to forget about dashing and impressively physiqued Josh Rafter.
He was invited into the house two weeks after the series launched and was constantly compared to bubbly Brian because they were both gay (yes, it was more of a deal at the time than it had to be).
After the series, he snubbed fame and returned to his office manager's role at property company Outlet and started raising its profile off the back of his BB appearance.
As time went on, he swiftly climbed the ladder, took the lead on many of the company's projects and then in 2006 ended up buying the company and turning it into a massively successful business.
9. Grace and Mikey stick together and start their own businesses
Big Brother series seven was another classic trashfest, unleashing as it did the likes of Glyn Wise, Nikki 'Who is she?' Grahame and Pete Bennett. It was also the series that saw Grace Adams Short fall for the charms of long lean Scouse machine Mikey Dalton.
When they left the house, many believed their intense relationship wouldn't last the course once the cameras had stopped rolling.
But 11 years on, they are still married and parents to three beaut children.
They've also turned their backs on the world of celebrity and founded their own very successful businesses. He launched an advertising company and Grace has opened a performing arts school.
10. Jason Burrill goes from movie body double to canny investor
When Jason won the 2016 series he'd already been enjoying a lucrative career as a body double in films.
But with his winnings, the housewives' favourite invested in property and is now expected to make a whopping £20m in 10 years.
"I was offered lots from my time in Big Brother, but I decided to quit while I was ahead and to focus my efforts on what I know best – business," he recently told The Sun.
"I used my winnings from the show to invest into property and got back my property development bug which has thankfully paid off."
Clever boy! Fancy a date?
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
