Celebrity Big Brother Brian Dowling: 'There will be breasts everywhere!'

Big Brother 2 winner Brian Dowling steps into Davina's shoes as Celebrity Big Brother moves to Channel 5, kicking off with a three week celebrity special (Thursday, 9pm). We caught up with the former Ryanair steward for a sneak preview...

I’m worried that my first words will be: "Big Brother House, this is Davina, you’re live on Channel 4"... I’m such a fan and I’ve been hearing that for 11 years, so it could happen.

I’ve been to see the house and there’s a big pool...
Give people a pool and a few drinks and there will be breasts everywhere.

The appeal of the show hasn’t changed... People are nosy – I know I am. I’ve put a glass to the wall to hear my neighbours arguing. People are obsessed with finding out what goes on behind closed doors, and Big Brother lets them do that.

I won the show, so I know some people like me, but others can be hateful... On Twitter I discovered people who wanted me dead. That’s not something you want to read about yourself.

I find it odd that people comment on my weight in magazines and websites... How the hell is it anyone’s business what I weigh? Someone compared me to Eamonn Holmes, and he and I had a laugh about that. I love Eamonn – he’s listed on my phone as ‘Uncle Eamonn’.

If I’d never been on Big Brother, I’d still like to think I would no longer be with Ryanair... Charging people to go to the toilet would be horrendous. I used to have to charge £2 for a cup of tea, and one passenger spat at me. Maybe I’d be on British Airways by now.

Big Brother is a bit like a panto... People see you for one hour of every 24 you’re in the house, so they don’t really know what you’re like. I couldn’t be the funny, camp guy that I am on telly 24 hours a day or I’d be demented.

My mum likes the idea of me being on telly... She thinks I know everyone else on TV. She imagines I’m hanging out in some gay club with Graham Norton, Alan Carr and Gok Wan all the time.
Here's the official advertising campaign for the upcoming revived series of Big Brother on Channel 5, featuring some former Big Brother housemates.