{"id":332304,"date":"2025-08-10T04:57:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T04:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/332304\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T04:57:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T04:57:19","slug":"big-brother-winner-cameron-cole-unrecognisable-7-years-after-accidental-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/332304\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Brother winner Cameron Cole unrecognisable 7 years after ‘accidental’ win"},"content":{"rendered":"

The then-19-year-old won what was thought to be the last ever series of Big Brother.<\/p>\n

18:00, 09 Aug 2025Updated 22:00, 09 Aug 2025<\/p>\n

\"CameronHe was crowned winner seven years ago(Image: WireImage)<\/p>\n

Big Brother\u2019s Cameron Cole went down in history in 2018<\/a>, when he won what was thought to be the last ever series at the age of 19.<\/p>\n

The beloved reality programme has since returned on ITV<\/a>, with a third season yet to air later this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During his time in the iconic house, Cameron was showered in support from fans and his fellow housemates after coming out as gay<\/a>, in one of TV\u2019s most emotional moments.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on that moment in a recent interview with Metro, Cameron revealed that he\u2019d only told his best friend beforehand and had written letters to his family, which he still has.<\/p>\n

\"CameronCameron was the last winner of Channel 5’s Big Brother back in 2018(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

He feared the news would \u201cgo down badly\u201d with the other contestants and the public – only to have a completely different reaction.<\/p>\n

He told the publication: \u201cOnce you come out on TV, you can\u2019t really do it again. I just don\u2019t even think about it now because there\u2019s no point hiding it. It is out there everywhere, and for that, I\u2019m very grateful. [If I hadn\u2019t done it] I probably wouldn\u2019t have been living my true life which is never obviously a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cameron went on to win the \u00a3100,000 from what he calls an \u201caccidental\u201d win, but told host Emma Willis at the time that he didn\u2019t know what he\u2019d plan to spend it on because he \u201chadn\u2019t really thought that far ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n

Unlike the likes of Alison Hammond<\/a> and Josie Gibson<\/a>, who have also appeared on Big Brother<\/a>, Cameron opted for a quieter life away from fame following his stint on the show.<\/p>\n

Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n

He studied psychology in London and was in a long-term relationship with his boyfriend who he met in the city, though he still keeps his relationship and personal life private.<\/p>\n

In a post back in 2023, Cameron reflected on his fame from Big Brother, celebrating five years since he won the show.<\/p>\n

Alongside snaps from the show, he wrote on Instagram<\/a> : \u201cI cannot believe it\u2019s been 5 years since the best 53 days of my life. I\u2019m still so grateful to have done something as life changing as Big Brother. I lived my dream, and it never disappointed.<\/p>\n

\"CameronCameron went down in history when he came out on national TV aged 19(Image: Channel 5)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so glad big brother is back and that I won\u2019t be the last winner forever. I\u2019ve loved this series so much and can relive it in a way I hadn\u2019t been able to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t explain how much I miss big brother and there isn\u2019t a day that goes by where I don\u2019t miss the house, housemates and absolutely everything it entitled, the BB voices, the task, diary room, chats, laughs the whole f*****g thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on: \u201cIt was the safest and happiest I\u2019ve ever been and will ever be. My safe haven the first place I felt I belonged and was normal. I love what was the best set of housemates and people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe memories made I\u2019ll never forget or get bored of remembering. I\u2019ll always miss it and crave the feeling and experience again, but when it makes me sad, I try to remember just how lucky I was to do it.<\/p>\n

\"CameronCameron has spoken about his love for the reality show(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me at any point. It\u2019s always been so appreciated. I\u2019ll never forget you and I\u2019ll always miss you, big brother, more than anyone will ever know.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou made a sad boy with no hope a happy boy and gave me the most priceless prizes: hope and reason to live and laugh again. You changed my life completely and unfortunately you were so good, my heart now hurts everyday with how much I miss you!<\/p>\n

\u201cThat said I\u2019m so f**king glad I got to spend 53 days of my life with you, if only it was more. So happy more people can now live it too with BB being back. Love you always BB and I\u2019ll forever miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big Brother returns to ITV later this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The then-19-year-old won what was thought to be the last ever series of Big Brother. 18:00, 09 Aug…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3937],"tags":[10316,1456,77,208,2010,382,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-332304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-alison-hammond","9":"tag-big-brother","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-itv","12":"tag-reality-shows","13":"tag-tv","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115002700568378100","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}