I won Big Brother after infamous romp but it left me in a dark place – now I’m back doing a normal job | The Sun

For the two weeks prior to him marching into the house in those tiny gold lame pants, he was hidden away in France with a chaperone called Ollie, who was his age.

Anthony says: “We ended up basically having a two-week jolly on Big Brother.

“We would go to nightclubs most nights – we stayed in a place called Dieppe. We did a road trip to Paris, we were throwing parties back at the house, we were getting random French people back, it was such a cool experience. 

“I’ve actually never seen Ollie since, so if you’re out there, let me know, as it’d be cool to see what he’s doing now!”

Unrequited love

Anthony formed a close friendship with his gay housemate Craig Coates – who viewers suspected had fallen in love him.

Describing their relationship as "very unique", Anthony recalls: “It hadn't really been seen where there was a gay guy that actually fell in love with a straight guy… watching that unfold was extremely good TV.

“I was a young 23-year-old lad from the north east, I hadn't really come into contact with a guy that was gay, so my first dealings with a gay guy was actually having to deal with someone who maybe had feelings for me.”

While the pair remained close after the show, doing multiple photoshoots together, Anthony says they’re no longer in contact.

He says: “The friendship actually ended up taking a bad turn. It didn't end on good terms. 

“Looking back at it, with a lot of years of maturity now, I think he was betrayed badly. 

“The public gave him a very hard time about the relationship, or the friendship, that we had in there, and I think he was a little bit bitter towards me after the show ended.

“There were basically a couple of things that happened after the show which resulted in him sending me a really nasty text message… which shocked me. 

“From that I cut off ties and there was no further contact on my end.

“I don't know what Craig's views are on it now, I'd be interested to hear… There's no bad feeling on my end now.”

Overnight fame

Anthony remembers the night he won as if it was yesterday.

He recalls: “It was absolutely epic to be sat on the couch and then Davina said I was the winner.

“I remember when she announced my name, it was just so surreal, because I was a fan, so to win it was mind blowing.

"Then to come out to fireworks, a huge crowd, everybody with billboards saying 'Taxi for Hutton'. It was so crazy people shouting my name.”

Speaking of the overnight fame, he continues: “The Big Brother experience is a very extreme taste of fame.

“I was just this run-of-the-mill, normal young lad, living in County Durham with my grandparents and my mum. 

“Next thing I'm in a house for three months, I come out and people know my name. It was really crazy.”

Anthony was signed to the same management agency as Davina McCall, Dermot O'Leary, Jade Goody and Keith Lemon by the morning after the show – and, in the space of half an hour, they’d got him a photoshoot paying £200,000 in a London mansion.

He adds: “It felt like this wasn't really happening and it wasn't real. It was crazy. 

“And all my schoolmates were staying in London, so I remember leaving that shoot, ringing them up and going, 'Lads. We are out tonight. I've just got £200K here!' 

“I'll never forget that night. We went to this nightclub called Penthouse and it was crazy. Girls were coming to me, and I was like, ‘Wow, I think I'm gonna like this.’

“It was a real, massive high.”

But his extreme fame was short-lived, as within a few years the work began to dry up.

Unable to afford to live in London anymore, Anthony moved back up north to Newcastle, with no source of income as he didn't have a job.

“I was still spending money, but no money was coming in," he admits.

“I needed to get back into normal work, but I was so paranoid about what people would think of me.

"My ego at the time was like, ‘Well, I won Big Brother, people are gonna laugh at me if I have to go back to work.’ 

“So it got to a really bad place where I was going out all the time, and that was taking me away from what I was really feeling and my real reality.

“I got to a really dark place in my life, a horrendous dark place.”

Eventually, supported by family and friends, Anthony got back into hairdressing and opened his own business in 2015.

He says: “When I first set up my business, Mr Hutton's Barbers and Bar, I was immediately able to get in the local newspapers thanks to Big Brother.

“It's been a real journey for me, and once I started doing the right things, my life started building momentum again.”

Proud dad

With a new positive outlook on life, Anthony met his wife Sophie Crosby. They married in 2019, and share two-year-old son Cruz.

“My life now is absolutely amazing,” he gushes. “It's the best it's ever been because I brought a little baby into the world.

“I'm a proper grown up. I've got an amazing wife, a kid, a dog, I've got an island in me kitchen, which I've been bragging about today, and I'm a business owner.”

Anthony is now also a guest speaker for men’s mental health, drawing on his own experiences.

Despite everything, Anthony says he'd go back into the Big Brother house in a heartbeat.

"Would I do it again if they asked me? Absolutely," he says. "I live my life just ticking boxes and wanting to do experiences.

"When I'm old, and I look back at my journey of life, I want it to be fun, and the Big Brother experience was amazing. 

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“I wouldn't want the fame, but purely on the basis of the potential of money you could make if I went back on, I would probably want to go on it.

“And why not go back for the championship again, and be the double champ?”

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