List of Big Brother 2007 housemates (UK)

There were 24 housemates in total in the eighth series of Big Brother in the UK where they were observed by television viewers 24 hours a day and each week, one or more housemates were voted to be evicted by the general public until the winner, Brian Belo, was left.

All of the housemates that entered on the first day were female - a worldwide first for any Big Brother series; then on the third day, a male housemate - Ziggy - entered the house. On June 7, 2007 it was announced on Big Brother's Big Mouth that Day 10 would see the addition of two male housemates, in replacement of the cancelled eviction. These two housemates were Gerry and Seány. On June 15, four new male housemates entered the house. They were Billi, Jonathan, Liam, and Brian. A new housemate called "Pauline" entered the house on 8 July, supposedly from Big Brother Australia, however, her true identity was actress Thaila Zucchi, and worked as a mole for Big Brother, before being removed on Day 42 after she completed her task. On Day 59, five new people entered the Half-Way House, becoming Half-Way Housemates. A sixth housemate was supposed to enter on the same day, yet after a pre-entrance pep talk with producers, he decided against it. Two housemates from the main house swapped with two housemates from the house next door, and needed to battle their way back to the main house.

Amanda and Sam

Amanda Louise Marchant and Samantha Joanne Marchant (born 26 June 1988) are the first set of twins ever to appear on Big Brother in the UK. Both are social-care students from Knutton, Newcastle-under-Lyme. Nicknamed by the press as Samanda, the pair celebrated their birthday on Day 28.

When the two entered the house, they were classified as separate housemates. Following an offer by Big Brother, the twins chose to become a single housemate on Day 69, meaning that the twins nominate together, participate in tasks together and face the public vote together. Amanda shared a kiss with Brian in the early hours of day 70 Amanda and Sam were voted second and left the house on Day 94 with an overall winning voting percentage of 39.7%.

Amy

Amy Alexandra(born 1986) is a 21 year old glamour model from Lincolnshire who entered the House on Day 59 as a 'halfway housemate'. Amy was evicted on Day 73 with 58% of the public vote.. Amy has since recently been unveiled as the new face of adult channel

Billi

Nabeel "Billi" Bhatti (born November 1981) is a 25 year old male from Uxbridge. He is a model who has appeared in several music videos, including the one for Jamelia's Beware of the Dog. His model stage name is Massimo. He was evicted on day 31.

Brian

Olawale Mohammed "Brian" Belo (born 10 July 1987 in Nigeria) is the winner of the eighth series of British reality television show Big Brother from Basildon, Essex. Winning the show meant he became the recipient of the £100,000 first prize. He celebrated his birthday on Day 42. He has recorded all episodes of previous series.

He believes in Cosmic Ordering. He was noted for his apparent ignorance in regards to William Shakespeare, although his mother stated she felt he was "play-acting a little bit".

Belo had been considered by some second favourite to win after he entered the house, to Liam, but overtook him to become favourite until twins Amanda and Sam became a combined housemate. As Belo entered the final week it was speculated that he would come in second (some bookmakers had already paid out on fellow housemates Amanda and Sam Marchant winning), but upset the odds to win with 60.3% of the two-way vote, ahead of Amanda and Sam.

Carole

Carole Ann Vincent (born May 1954) is a former [...] health worker, political activist and demonstrator from East London. She has been arrested on numerous occasions for breaching the peace during demonstrations. She was given the loudest and most positive applause from the audience on entering the house on the launch night. She stood for the Respect Party in the Markhouse Ward of Walthamstow in the 2006 UK Local Election. Carole revealed that she had once taken part in an episode of the debate programme Question Time, but was edited out after being warned for interrupting. Carole took 5th place with 4.9% of the winning votes and left the house on Day 94.

Chanelle

Chanelle Jade Hayes (born 11 November 1987) is a student from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, studying Spanish, music and English at NEW College, Pontefract. She models herself on Victoria Beckham. She was adopted at a young age, after her mother was murdered. Chanelle started a relationship with fellow housemate Ziggy in the house, though they split up and got back together several times during the series. Chanelle was tested by Big Brother and had the highest IQ in the house, scoring 114. On Day 61, (Sunday 29 July 2007), Chanelle left, and re-entered the house after seeing a psychologist. Chanelle left the house on Day 62. She re-entered the House on Day 89 as part of a task, however she had to leave minutes later.

It has been announced that Chanelle is to present a VH1 UK show, called Wannabe starting on the 23 November 2007.

In November 2007 Chanelle launched her own perfume called Mwah...

She has posed for her first calendar for 2008.

Charley

Charley Kazim Uchea (born 30 June 1985) is an unemployed self-styled 'it girl' from Lewisham, South-East London. She is a former lapdancer from Stringfellow's Nightclub (although she was fired twice for her over ostentatious dances) and first cousin to Sunderland footballer Kieran Richardson. Charley's entry was speculated by the British tabloid press. She was negatively received by the live audience on the launch night. Charley celebrated her birthday on Day 32. It was revealed that on Day 40 Charley had used the word "[...]", although in contrast to Emily (see below) this was not broadcast on the highlights show. She was fake evicted on Day 45, and put back after her interview. It was rumoured that she had been signed up by agent John Noel, who takes care of Big Brother's Davina McCall and Dermot O'Leary, and ex-housemate Jade Goody, causing some people to believe that this is why both Davina and Dermot are such big fans of hers. This rumour was refuted in a statement by Big Brother, where a spokesman explained, "No housemate selects an agent until they have been evicted from the house... A number of different agents have represented evicted housemates over the time, and many have represented more housemates than John Noel... No decision has been made on representation for Charley and that will not happen until she is out of the Big Brother house" . Charley was evicted on Day 59. She later appeared on the Weakest Link, but lost out in the final round.

David

David Parnaby(born 1981) is a 25 year old visual manager from Ayr who entered the House on Day 59 as a 'halfway housemate'. David was evicted on Day 66 with 37% of the vote.

Emily

Emily Elizabeth Parr (born 15 April 1988) is a drama student from Bristol. She describes herself as an "indie rock and roll queen" and highly intelligent, saying she could read from the age of two. Emily was put up for eviction in the first round of nominations when only Ziggy could nominate. However she was removed from the house as she was heard using the word "[...]" in reference to fellow housemate Charley. This was due to stricter rules imposed by Big Brother which have been put into place after the previous series of Celebrity Big Brother which caused controversy due to remarks made about Shilpa Shetty. Emily was called to the diary room to discuss this with Big Brother during the early hours, and had to leave without any further contact with the other housemates. Her removal from the house was a source of controversy, with over 1,000 complaints about her removal. Emily later complained to Channel 4 regarding favouritism towards housemate Charley when she was not reprimanded for using the same racial slur.

Gerry

Gerasimos Vallerios "Gerry" Stergiopoulos () (born 1976) is a 31 year old, originally from Patras in Greece. He moved to the UK in 1995. In his entry video, he claimed to be 29 years old. He has a Degree in Art, another in History and an MPhil in Fine Art. In 2002 he contributed a chapter to a book entitled Cult and Death, about archaeology and ancient history. He was the 13th housemate to enter the house. He kissed fellow housemate Seány on 18th June during a game of Truth Or Dare, sharing the first gay kiss of UK Big Brother 8. Gerry was evicted in Week 11, after the winners of the 'guru task' - Ziggy, Tracey and Amanda & Sam, choose to evict him over Carole.

Jonathan

Jonathan Durden (born 1957) entered on Day 17. He is a 49 year old millionaire from Islington. He is widowed with two children, and postponed his wedding to his current fiancée to appear on Big Brother, though he claims to have not seen Big Brother before. Jonathan walked on day 35 after being informed his 104 year old grandmother had died.

Jonty

Jonty Stern (born 1971) is a 36 year old museum visitor assistant from North London who entered the House on Day 59 as a 'halfway housemate'. Jonty was voted 6th with 3% of the vote when the first count of the night was taken and left the house on Day 94. He was also the only original Halfway Housemate to make it to the final week.

Kara-Louise

Kara-Louise Horne(born March 1985) is a 22 year old student from North London who entered the House on Day 59 as a 'halfway housemate'. She was private school educated, and believes private school is better than state school, and does not like 'common people'. Kara-Louise was evicted on Day 87, along with Tracey, in a double eviction.

Laura

Laura Jane Williams (born September 1983) is a nanny from the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales. She was evicted on Day 38. In her 38 days in the house, she spent over 400 hours in bed.

Lesley

Lesley Brain (born 13 February 1947) is a retired head-hunter and former stand-up comedienne from Gloucestershire. She claims to be an acquaintance of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. She is currently living off capital from her previous business. She is the oldest non-celebrity housemate to join the UK Big Brother House so far. Lesley voluntarily left the House on Day 11. It has now been revealed that she is writing a book about her 11 days in the house.

Liam

Liam Andrew McGough (born 20 July 1984) is a tree surgeon from Lanchester, County Durham. In the third week, Seány, Jonathan and Carole (the three people nominated for eviction that week) had to decide who out of the remaining housemates would win £100,000 - they unanimously decided Liam. He celebrated his birthday on Day 52. He was voted to go into the Half-Way House by Shanessa on Day 63. Liam was voted 3rd with 19.1% of the overall winning votes and left the house on Day 94.

Nicky

Nicky Maxwell (born 3 June 1979) is a bank worker, born in Mumbai but now living in Watford. She was adopted at the age of 1 from Mother Teresa's orphanage. Her half brother, Dev Patel appears in the British teen television drama Skins, playing Anwar Kharral. In her audition tape she said that she did not like men because of their "[...]". However, she kissed fellow housemate Liam on 18 June during a game of Truth Or Dare, and has admitted to having feelings for him. On Day 5, she celebrated her birthday in the house. She was evicted on day 52.

Seány

Seán "Seány" O'Kane (born February 14, 1982) is a charity worker. He was born in Northern Ireland, but currently resides in Manchester. He appeared in the 2002 movie Bloody Sunday. He took leave from his job as a race relations worker in order to attend the verdict of the trial of Michael Jackson, while there he was shown on Late Night with Conan O'Brien screaming at Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, during a comedy segment. He has also stated that he converted to Islam in 2003, and practised the religion for a short time, but stopped after believing it to be in conflict with his homosexuality. He kissed fellow housemate Gerry on 18th June. Seány was the second person to be evicted from the Big Brother house, as he left on Day 24. He was visibly shocked as Davina announced live that he had received the most votes from the public and that he would be leaving the Big Brother House.

Shabnam

Shabnam Paryani (born October 1984 to Iranian parents) is a receptionist from North London. She had previously appeared on the Channel 4 programme Embarrassing Illnesses complaining of a "flaky scalp" and made it to the panel auditions on Britain's Got Talent. Shabnam was put up for eviction in the first round of nominations but the eviction was cancelled. She faced the public vote along with Carole and Tracey and was the first housemate to be evicted on Day 17, after receiving a 81.4% of the votes.

Shanessa

Shanessa Reilly (born 1980) is a 27 year old care assistant and stripper from Cardiff who entered the House on Day 59 as a 'halfway housemate'. Shanessa won the task of jumping out of a box close to the time of 8:10pm and became an official housemate on Day 63, selecting Liam to go to the Half-Way House. Shanessa was evicted on Day 66 with 38% of the vote.

Thaila "Pauline"

Thaila Lucia Zucchi (born 1981) is an actress from Swindon. She was one of five members of the now defunct pop group allSTARS*. As an actress, Thaila has starred in numerous television shows, including the Channel 4 series Balls of Steel, The IT Crowd and Star Stories. She entered the House on Day 40 under the fake identity of "Pauline", a 26 year old part-time waitress from Walla Walla who participated in the Australian series of Big Brother. As Big Brother's mole, she was not eligible to win. She was voted the most fake housemate for a task set by Big Brother. She was sent to the diary room and congratulated housemates on uncovering her true identity before then leaving the House. She has since presented the spin-off series, Big Brother's Big Mouth between 17-20 July, a week after her time in the house.

Tracey

Tracey Anne Barnard (born 5 June 1970) is a cleaner from Cambridgeshire. On Day 7, she celebrated her birthday in the house. Tracey was evicted on day 87, after receiving 38.4% of the vote.

Ziggy

Zachary Sami "Ziggy" Lichman (born 5 January 1981) is a male model from North London, and a former member of the boy band Northern Line. He was the first male to enter the house, entering on Day 3. As part of a nomination twist, Ziggy was the only person to nominate in Week 1. Ziggy has had a relationship with Chanelle in the house, starting with a kiss on June 8, and allegedly having [...] on 19 June, though they have split up and got back together several times during the series. He was temporarily reunited with his dog, a Shar Pei named Molly, for a task on Day 55. It has been reported that he has been sent death threats over his treatment of Chanelle. Ziggy was voted 4th with 15.3% of the winning votes and left the house on Day 94.