Chantelle Houghton, who shot to fame on Celebrity Big Brother back in 2006, has hit out at Richard Madeley after the TV star allegedly made her feel “really small”.
Now 42, Chantelle found fame when she appeared on the fourth series of CBB as a non-celebrity housemate, tasked with convincing her housemates that she was, in fact, famous.
Chantelle Houghton hits out at Richard Madeley
In a new interview with Betway, Chantelle spoke about finding fame on CBB – which was 20 years ago this year – as well as finding love with Preston, and the aftermath of her rise to fame.
She also took the opportunity to hit out at Richard, whom she spoke to shortly after leaving the CBB house.
When asked if there had been any celebrities who “weren’t nice” to her after she found fame, she named and shamed Richard.
“Oh yeah. Richard Madeley, he was so rude. I went on a TV show, I think it was Richard and Judy on Channel 5, and he just made me feel really small,” she said.
‘So rude’
“He was like, ‘Oh, the nation might love you now, but it won’t last. Soon they’ll be tearing you to shreds, and no one will be interested in you anymore.’ It just made me feel tiny. Ruby Wax was similar. She said, ‘Oh, you’ll only be around for 15 minutes, so see you later.”
However, not every celeb was “rude” to Chantelle.
When asked who the nice celebs were, she revealed: “Jamie Oliver has always been one of the nicest celebrities. We both appeared on a show together, and he took the time to talk to me about sudden fame and coping with it. He even invited me out to eat with his wife, Jools.
“Dermot O’Leary is also wonderful. I ran into him recently, and he’s just such a nice man.”
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Chantelle Houghton’s life post Big Brother
After leaving CBB in 2006 as the winner, and following a very public relationship, Chantelle tied the knot with her fellow CBB housemate, singer Preston from The Ordinary Boys.
“It was such a strange situation, too, with me not really being a celebrity and then pretending to be one, and Preston already having a girlfriend. But there was something very innocent about what was developing between us. I think people kind of fell in love with us falling in love. You don’t often get to see that happen. You hear about your friends or family falling in love, but it’s rare to actually watch it unfold on TV, without it being like a soap. Because it was so real and so innocent, people just loved it,” she told Betway.
However, their relationship wasn’t to last, with the couple divorcing in 2007.
In her chat with Betway, Chantelle was asked whether she was still in contact with Preston. She admitted they still “message every now and then”. She added that there is “no bad blood” and they share “good memories”.
Chantelle went back into the Big Brother house in 2010 as part of Ultimate Big Brother, the final version of the show on Channel 5. She finished in 3rd place on that occasion.
ED! has contacted Richard’s representatives for comment.
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