Chantelle Houghton
Encyclopedia
Chantelle Vivien Houghton (born 21 August 1983) is an English
glamour model and television personality
. She was the first 'non-celebrity' to feature in the Channel 4
reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.
She emerged as the winner of series 4, beating 10 celebrities: (Michael Barrymore
, Maggot
, Samuel Preston, Pete Burns
, Traci Bingham
, Dennis Rodman
, George Galloway
, Rula Lenska
, Faria Alam
and Jodie Marsh
), winning a prize of £
25,000.
Following a much-publicised on-screen courtship, Houghton married former fellow Celebrity Big Brother 2006 contestant Samuel Preston of The Ordinary Boys
in August 2006. The couple announced their separation in a joint statement on 27 June 2007, and divorced on 21 November 2007.
In October 2007, Houghton was named "TV's latest reality millionaire" and experts reported that her true wealth easily exceeds £1 million.
She is engaged to actor
and mixed martial artist Alex Reid.
, Essex, to Alan and Vivien, and has an older brother Gregg. She attended Bromfords School
in Wickford, the same school that Big Brother 2007
winner Brian Belo
attended. She left school at 15 with seven GCSEs, then worked in a bank and as an insurance telesales rep. Houghton is a vegetarian.
, Houghton entered a 2001 competition run by a Motorcycle News
magazine
, and after winning it became a promotions
girl. Wanting to be like her heroine Katie Price, she undertook some glamour modelling, started out by having her mother take some topless shots in a local park. In 2003, she entered a Daily Star competition as a page three girl
, which she did not win, but appeared once in the tabloid newspaper
.
She appeared as a Soccerette model on Sky TV's Soccer AM
show, and worked for a lookalike agency, portraying Paris Hilton
. In 2005 she competed in a Miss Greater London beauty pageant, where she lost to Jenny Velasquez who took the crown and went on to compete in Miss England
.
Houghton entered the house on day one and became the first non-celebrity to enter Celebrity Big Brother. She was told by Big Brother her cover story was that she was a member of a fictional band called Kandy Floss. According to Big Brother, Houghton was the lead singer. Their singles were "I Want It Right Now", "Come Back" and "More More More". "I Want It Right Now" was their biggest hit. Had she failed to convince them, she would have been evicted from the house. She successfully fooled her housemates and survived to the end of the show. In her Big Brother profile page Houghton described herself as a "bright, blonde bimbo" (despite not being a natural blonde). She said, "I look like Paris Hilton
, not on purpose but it's just the way it turned out".
On the first evening, Houghton reported a potential problem: she had previously met Marsh's brother while out clubbing. Happily for her, her fears proved unfounded.
On 8 January (day four), Big Brother set a task to the group to rate themselves by how famous they thought they were. The celebrity they thought was the most famous stood on the #1 podium and the person they considered the least famous stood on the #11 podium. Houghton had to avoid being put in the #11 podium to prove she had fooled the real celebrities that she was famous and to stay in the house. Houghton survived the task, being chosen to stand on the #9 podium, ahead of Samuel Preston and Maggot. She was then called to the diary room to discuss her identity with Big Brother. This was simultaneously shown on a television screen in the lounge, in front of the other housemates.
Houghton was nominated for eviction on Day 21, but was saved from eviction by the public as the other two nominees (George Galloway and Dennis Rodman) left the house in a double eviction. While in the house, Houghton established close bonds with Jodie Marsh, and Preston.
Houghton won the show on 27 January with 56.4% of the public vote, ahead of Michael Barrymore on 22.7%, earning her £25,000 (the celebrities were reportedly paid fees of up to £150,000 each).
Houghton re-entered the Big Brother house for Ultimate Big Brother, following the conclusion of Big Brother 2010
, and to signal the end of Big Brother on Channel 4
. She entered the house with ex-husband Preston. During the show, Houghton reformed the fake band Kandy Floss with fellow Ultimate Big Brother housemates Victor Ebuwa and Nadia Almada
for a task. Houghton survived eviction on Day 11 and subsequently landed third place on the finale with 20.51% of the finale three-way vote on Day 18, finishing behind Nikki Grahame
and winner Brian Dowling
.
. However, he replied on TV that she has not signed with him but he did 'help out in an advisory position'. Houghton is said to have £500,000 worth of offers for modelling, TV appearances and interviews. Clifford believes that her fame would be brief but explosive: "I think it will be a very exciting five or 10 minutes. Maybe we can stretch it to 15."
Houghton has also appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show
and is good friends with former Big Brother contestant Chanelle Hayes
. She also had her own post Big Brother show called Chantelle: Living the Dream. Houghton's first magazine cover was weekly celebrity magazine, Sneak magazine
.
Houghton has appeared as a guest on several TV shows since winning Celebrity Big Brother. These include:
Houghton presented her own dating show, Chantelle's Dream Dates, where she gave girls on the street a makeover and got them to date one of three male contestants, similar to Davina McCall
's show Streetmate.
In May 2006, she signed a £300,000 deal with Random House
to publish her autobiography. It was released in October 2006 called Living the Dream which sold 50,000 copies. Extracts from the book were read out by Simon Amstell
on the 14 February 2007 edition of Never Mind the Buzzcocks
which caused Preston, who was a guest on the show, to walk off the set.
Houghton came second in The Independent
s 'Britain's Happiest People' list. Chantelle was narrowly beaten to the top spot by Sunderland 107 Spark FM's Calum Hider. Calum has been grinning ever since. Although he had probably been grinning non-stop beforehand anyway.
Houghton was nominated in the Most Popular TV Contender category at the 2006 National Television Awards
, but was beaten by Nikki Grahame
, herself a former Big Brother contestant.
Houghton has written several columns in magazines, most notably OK!
's BB7 columnist and New!'s BB8 columnist. Before becoming New!'s BB8 columnist she had another column in the magazine entitled "I Want It Right Now" in which she shared make up and fashion tips.
In 2009 she had a brief cameo in the ITV drama Whatever It Takes
.
On 24 August 2010, Houghton was the second housemate to enter the Ultimate Big Brother house behind winner of Big Brother 2010, Josie Gibson
, to compete for "Ultimate Housemate". Her ex-husband Preston was the third person to enter the house. Houghton finished third behind runner-up Nikki Grahame and winner Brian Dowling.
In June 2010, Chantelle Houghton fronted a campaign for PETA 'Fight Impotence. Go Vegetarian'.
On 14 September 2010, Houghton and Preston appeared on the front cover of OK! Magazine with a featured interview on their relationship after leaving the Ultimate Big Brother house.
After leaving the Ultimate Big Brother house, Houghton appeared on the cover of New! and Star magazines with featured interviews.
In September 2010, Houghton was named as the new face of La Senza
underwear range.
Houghton appeared on the cover of OK! magazine a second time since leaving Ultimate Big Brother. It featured an interview and photoshoot titled 'Lonely Chantelle'.
In April 2011, Houghton appeared on an episode of celebrity total wipeout on the BBC.
On the 3rd of July, 2011, Chantelle appeared on the cover of Fabulous Magazine which included an interview and photoshoot.
Houghton appeared on morning breakfast show This Morning
in August 2011 alongside boyfriend Alex Reid.
On 19 August 2011, Houghton appeared on Big Brother
spin off show "Bit On The Side" for Channel 5.
Houghton appeared on the cover of OK! Magazine with Alex Reid speaking about trying for a baby.
Chantelle was a participant in a celebrity week of cooking reality show Come Dine With Me
for Channel 4, broadcast from 10-14 October 2011.
in Mayfair, London
.
After their honeymoon, the couple moved to Preston's flat in Brighton
, East Sussex
. In a later 2008 interview with Piers Morgan
, Houghton admitted that Preston had told her one month after the wedding that he had not wanted to marry her. The couple continued undertaking interviews for various magazines, with Houghton losing weight and colouring her hair brunette to look more like Preston's former fiancee Camille.
Ten months later, on 27 June 2007 they announced in a joint statement that they were ending their marriage. "After much soul-searching and tearful discussions we have sadly decided to end our marriage
," they said in the statement. “We hope we can always remain friends and still love each other but we both think we put so much pressure on one another to make our marriage work that it has ended up destroying our relationship. No one else is involved in our decision." The couple insisted their relationship was genuine and denied they had rushed into marriage. “We know people will think we married too quickly on the back of Big Brother but the truth is that, what anyone thinks, we did have a whirlwind romance but we were genuinely in love with each other at the time and we will never regret our time together. We both believe in marriage and we never treated our vows or our commitment to each other lightly. We've spent hours and hours discussing whether we can salvage our marriage, give it another go, try harder, anything rather than give up. But we now both agree that we should go our separate ways. We are both young and we still have our lives in front of us. The last two weeks or so have been very upsetting and sad for us and our friends and family and we appreciate their support."
The rumours of the final breakdown to their marriage were confirmed on 21 November 2007, when London's Reuters
News Agency announced that Houghton had been granted a decree nisi
at First Avenue House. Preston did not contest the petition, and neither appeared in court for the ninety–second hearing.
Houghton is currently dating actor
and mixed martial artist Alex Reid. Reid proposed to her on RTÉ One
's The Saturday Night Show
in October 2011 and she accepted. On 15th November 2011 Chantelle announced that she was pregnant with her first child.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
glamour model and television personality
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. She was the first 'non-celebrity' to feature in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.
She emerged as the winner of series 4, beating 10 celebrities: (Michael Barrymore
Michael Barrymore
Michael Kieron Parker , better known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is a British comedian who appeared as a presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s and 1990s. These included Strike It Lucky, My Kind of People, My Kind of Music and Kids Say...
, Maggot
Maggot (rapper)
Andrew "Maggot" Junior, born 17 June 1976, from Newport, South Wales is a Welsh rapper and member of the band Goldie Lookin Chain.- Goldie Lookin Chain :Several Goldie Lookin Chain songs have been written about him...
, Samuel Preston, Pete Burns
Pete Burns
Pete Burns is an English singer-songwriter, author and television personality who founded the band Dead or Alive in 1980, for which he acted as the vocalist and songwriter, and which rose to mainstream success with their 1985 single "You Spin Me Round "...
, Traci Bingham
Traci Bingham
Traci Bingham is an American actress, model and television personality who is best known for playing Jordan Tate on the television series Baywatch between 1996 and 1998.-Personal life:...
, Dennis Rodman
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman is a retired American Hall of Fame professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. Born in Trenton, New Jersey, he was nicknamed "Dennis the Menace" and "The...
, George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska is an English actress. Best known for her work in the United Kingdom, she is remembered in the United States for a television advert that presented her as a celebrity, even though she was not widely known in the US at the time the advert was produced.She has appeared extensively on...
, Faria Alam
Faria Alam
Faria Alam is a former Football Association secretary.-Background:Alam was born on 13 February 1966 in Dhaka, Bangladesh to a moderate and educated Muslim family. Her father was a Pakistani bank employee and her Bangladeshi mother, with two brothers and one sister...
and Jodie Marsh
Jodie Marsh
Jodie Marsh is an English media personality, former glamour model and bodybuilder. She has appeared topless in many tabloid newspapers and has appeared in her own reality show, Totally Jodie Marsh.-Early life:...
), winning a prize of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
25,000.
Following a much-publicised on-screen courtship, Houghton married former fellow Celebrity Big Brother 2006 contestant Samuel Preston of The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys
The Ordinary Boys are an English indie rock band from Worthing, in West Sussex, England. Originally named Next in Line, they were influenced by mod revival and Britpop music, as well as the bands Madness, The Specials, The Kinks and The Smiths...
in August 2006. The couple announced their separation in a joint statement on 27 June 2007, and divorced on 21 November 2007.
In October 2007, Houghton was named "TV's latest reality millionaire" and experts reported that her true wealth easily exceeds £1 million.
She is engaged to actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and mixed martial artist Alex Reid.
Biography
Houghton was born in WickfordWickford
Wickford is a town in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of more than 32,500. Located approximately 30 miles east of London, it falls within the District of Basildon along with Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea....
, Essex, to Alan and Vivien, and has an older brother Gregg. She attended Bromfords School
Bromfords School
Bromfords School is a secondary school located in Wickford, Essex, England, where just over half of its students live. A significant minority of students live in nearby Basildon. The sixth form is smaller than average. In 1996 they were awarded Specialist School status as a Technology College...
in Wickford, the same school that Big Brother 2007
Big Brother 2007 (UK)
Big Brother 2007 was the eighth series of the United Kingdom reality television programme Big Brother, airing on Channel 4, with a number of closely associated programmes also airing on E4....
winner Brian Belo
Brian Belo
Olawale Mohammed "Brian" Belo is a Nigerian entertainer, raised in Basildon, Essex. He first came to the public's attention by winning the eighth series of the British version of Big Brother. Since the programme, he has become an internet columnist for Heat magazine, a TV segment entertainer for...
attended. She left school at 15 with seven GCSEs, then worked in a bank and as an insurance telesales rep. Houghton is a vegetarian.
Modelling
After various friends suggested she would make a good modelModel (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, Houghton entered a 2001 competition run by a Motorcycle News
Motorcycle News
MCN or Motor Cycle News is a weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, and based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. The title was founded by Cyril Quantrill in 1955 and bought by EMAP, before Bauer bought Emap's consumer media division in 2008...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, and after winning it became a promotions
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
girl. Wanting to be like her heroine Katie Price, she undertook some glamour modelling, started out by having her mother take some topless shots in a local park. In 2003, she entered a Daily Star competition as a page three girl
Page Three girl
Page Three is a tabloid newspaper feature consisting of a topless photograph of a female glamour model, usually printed on the paper's third page...
, which she did not win, but appeared once in the tabloid newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
.
She appeared as a Soccerette model on Sky TV's Soccer AM
Soccer AM
Soccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
show, and worked for a lookalike agency, portraying Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...
. In 2005 she competed in a Miss Greater London beauty pageant, where she lost to Jenny Velasquez who took the crown and went on to compete in Miss England
Miss England
The Miss England competition is an annual beauty pageant targeted at young females aged 17–24 years living in England. Entrants must hold a British passport to enter....
.
Celebrity Big Brother 2006 / Ultimate Big Brother 2010
Houghton had originally applied to be in Big Brother 6 and was a stand-by for that series but was never called up, however producers decided to use her for the upcoming celebrity version of the show.Houghton entered the house on day one and became the first non-celebrity to enter Celebrity Big Brother. She was told by Big Brother her cover story was that she was a member of a fictional band called Kandy Floss. According to Big Brother, Houghton was the lead singer. Their singles were "I Want It Right Now", "Come Back" and "More More More". "I Want It Right Now" was their biggest hit. Had she failed to convince them, she would have been evicted from the house. She successfully fooled her housemates and survived to the end of the show. In her Big Brother profile page Houghton described herself as a "bright, blonde bimbo" (despite not being a natural blonde). She said, "I look like Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...
, not on purpose but it's just the way it turned out".
On the first evening, Houghton reported a potential problem: she had previously met Marsh's brother while out clubbing. Happily for her, her fears proved unfounded.
On 8 January (day four), Big Brother set a task to the group to rate themselves by how famous they thought they were. The celebrity they thought was the most famous stood on the #1 podium and the person they considered the least famous stood on the #11 podium. Houghton had to avoid being put in the #11 podium to prove she had fooled the real celebrities that she was famous and to stay in the house. Houghton survived the task, being chosen to stand on the #9 podium, ahead of Samuel Preston and Maggot. She was then called to the diary room to discuss her identity with Big Brother. This was simultaneously shown on a television screen in the lounge, in front of the other housemates.
Houghton was nominated for eviction on Day 21, but was saved from eviction by the public as the other two nominees (George Galloway and Dennis Rodman) left the house in a double eviction. While in the house, Houghton established close bonds with Jodie Marsh, and Preston.
Houghton won the show on 27 January with 56.4% of the public vote, ahead of Michael Barrymore on 22.7%, earning her £25,000 (the celebrities were reportedly paid fees of up to £150,000 each).
Houghton re-entered the Big Brother house for Ultimate Big Brother, following the conclusion of Big Brother 2010
Big Brother 2010 (UK)
Big Brother 2010 was the eleventh regular series of the British reality television series, Big Brother and the final series to be broadcast on Channel 4. The series was launched on Wednesday 9 June 2010, and was aired on Channel 4 and E4 for 77 days with the finale on 24 August 2010, where Josie...
, and to signal the end of Big Brother on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
. She entered the house with ex-husband Preston. During the show, Houghton reformed the fake band Kandy Floss with fellow Ultimate Big Brother housemates Victor Ebuwa and Nadia Almada
Nadia Almada
Nadia Conceicao Almada is a Madeiran-born UK reality television star, best known for being the first transsexual winner of Big Brother in series 5 in 2004.-Big Brother:...
for a task. Houghton survived eviction on Day 11 and subsequently landed third place on the finale with 20.51% of the finale three-way vote on Day 18, finishing behind Nikki Grahame
Nikki Grahame
Nicola Rachele-Beth Grahame is an English model, columnist and television personality, who rose to fame in the UK when she was chosen to be a housemate on Big Brother 7 in 2006...
and winner Brian Dowling
Brian Dowling
Brian Patrick Robert Dowling is an Irish television presenter who rose to fame after being crowned the winner of the second series of UK reality television show Big Brother in 2001. He also won Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, making him the ultimate Big Brother housemate...
.
Media career
Houghton's mother stated she was to be represented by publicist Max CliffordMax Clifford
Maxwell Frank Clifford is an English publicist, considered the highest-profile and best-known publicist in the United Kingdom...
. However, he replied on TV that she has not signed with him but he did 'help out in an advisory position'. Houghton is said to have £500,000 worth of offers for modelling, TV appearances and interviews. Clifford believes that her fame would be brief but explosive: "I think it will be a very exciting five or 10 minutes. Maybe we can stretch it to 15."
Houghton has also appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show
The Paul O'Grady Show was a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show hosted by Birkenhead-born comedian Paul O'Grady. The format was originally devised by Granada Television and was broadcast on ITV before moving to Channel 4...
and is good friends with former Big Brother contestant Chanelle Hayes
Chanelle Hayes
Chanelle Jade Hayes is an English television personality, singer and model. She was a student at NEW College, Pontefract, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, studying Spanish, Music & English before becoming well known by appearing on the Channel 4 reality show Big Brother in 2007 when she was 19 years...
. She also had her own post Big Brother show called Chantelle: Living the Dream. Houghton's first magazine cover was weekly celebrity magazine, Sneak magazine
Sneak magazine
Sneak magazine was a British weekly magazine for young women. It focused on celebrity gossip, real life stories and high street fashion and beauty. The magazine was owned by Emap, one of the biggest publishers of magazines in the UK....
.
Houghton has appeared as a guest on several TV shows since winning Celebrity Big Brother. These include:
- The Friday Night ProjectThe Friday Night ProjectThe Sunday Night Project was a British comedy-variety show by Princess Productions that first aired on Channel 4 in February 2005 under the title The Friday Night Project...
on 10 February and 17 February 2006 as a co-presenter to Alan CarrAlan CarrAlan Carr is an English comedian and television personality. Born in Weymouth, he was raised in Northampton before moving to Manchester during his early 20's....
and Justin Lee CollinsJustin Lee CollinsJustin Lee Collins, commonly known as JLC, is an award-winning English comedian and television presenter.A Bristolian, he's well known for his strong West Country accent, shaggy appearance and colourful shirts....
, replacing Debra StephensonDebra StephensonDebra Stephenson is an English actress, comedian, impressionist and singer.-Career:At the age of fourteen Stephenson appeared on BBC TV's Opportunity Knocks, winning her way through to the All-Winners' Final, broadcast live from the London Palladium...
, due to her heavy filming schedule for Coronation StreetCoronation StreetCoronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960... - TV3's The Brendan Courtney ShowThe Brendan Courtney ShowThe Brendan Courtney Show is an Irish weekly chat show hosted by Brendan Courtney. It was first broadcast on TV3 on 9 November 2005 and aired for one series until 15 February 2006....
when she jetted in-and-out of Dublin in a matter of hours. - Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats8 Out of 10 Cats8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organizations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by...
, as a contestant on 10 March 2006 - ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's The Mint, as a guest - BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's The Weakest LinkThe Weakest LinkThe Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
, as a contestant on 5 May 2006, which also featured sometime reality TV stars Michael Barrymore and Russell GrantRussell GrantRussell John Dammerall Grant is a British astrologer and media personality. He has written several books on Astrology, provides syndicated newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2010, he began offering a "Pet Psychic" service...
; and Big Brother's Big Mouth on 17 August 2006, during the final week of the seventh series of Big BrotherBig Brother (UK series 7)Big Brother 7 in 2006 was the seventh series of the United Kingdom reality television series Big Brother. It aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, from 18 May 2006 to 18 August 2006, a total of 93 days; fifteen days longer than the previous series....
. - CBBCCBBCCBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
's Comic Relief does Beat the BossBeat the BossBeat the Boss is a BBC TV programme in the UK, presented by Cameron Johnson and previously Saira Khan.Two teams, one kids team named "The Bright Sparks", and one adult team named "The Big Shots", have to create a product that will appeal to the kid's market...
, alongside Dragons' DenDragons' DenDragons' Den is a series of reality television programmes featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. The show originated in Japan as "Manē no Tora"...
star Duncan BannatyneDuncan BannatyneDuncan Walker Bannatyne, OBE is a Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. His business interests include hotels, health clubs, spas, media, TV, stage schools, property and transport. He is most famous for his appearance as a business angel on the BBC programme Dragons' Den...
and comedian Joe PasqualeJoe PasqualeJoseph Ellis "Joe" Pasquale is an English comedian from Grays, Essex, arguably most famous for his high-pitched voice, use of visual gags and more recently being crowned "King of the Jungle", on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!... - ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's GMTVGMTVGMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
, for an interview in November 2007 - ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's Call Me a CabbieCall Me a CabbieCall Me a Cabbie is a reality show where three celebrities have to learn all the skills needed to be a black cab driver in two months.-Series one:...
as a trainee in 2007 - BBC TV Drama Hotel BabylonHotel BabylonHotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
as the girlfriend of Chris MoylesChris MoylesChristopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
. - BBC ThreeBBC ThreeBBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
's Snog Marry Avoid?Snog Marry Avoid?Snog Marry Avoid? is a British reality TV show on BBC Three hosted by Jenny Frost and produced by Endemol. It focuses mainly on transforming 'fakery obsessed' or 'slap addicts' in Britain into natural beauties by stripping them of their skimpy clothes and layers of make-up and giving them a...
on 16 February 2009 in which she was stripped of all her heavy make-up and shown her natural beauty.
Houghton presented her own dating show, Chantelle's Dream Dates, where she gave girls on the street a makeover and got them to date one of three male contestants, similar to Davina McCall
Davina McCall
Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
's show Streetmate.
In May 2006, she signed a £300,000 deal with Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
to publish her autobiography. It was released in October 2006 called Living the Dream which sold 50,000 copies. Extracts from the book were read out by Simon Amstell
Simon Amstell
Simon Marc Amstell is a BAFTA nominated, award-winning English comedian, television presenter, screenwriter and actor, best known for his roles as former co-host of Popworld, former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and co-writer and star of the sitcom Grandma's House.-Early life:Amstell was born...
on the 14 February 2007 edition of Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
which caused Preston, who was a guest on the show, to walk off the set.
Houghton came second in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
s 'Britain's Happiest People' list. Chantelle was narrowly beaten to the top spot by Sunderland 107 Spark FM's Calum Hider. Calum has been grinning ever since. Although he had probably been grinning non-stop beforehand anyway.
Houghton was nominated in the Most Popular TV Contender category at the 2006 National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
, but was beaten by Nikki Grahame
Nikki Grahame
Nicola Rachele-Beth Grahame is an English model, columnist and television personality, who rose to fame in the UK when she was chosen to be a housemate on Big Brother 7 in 2006...
, herself a former Big Brother contestant.
Houghton has written several columns in magazines, most notably OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...
's BB7 columnist and New!'s BB8 columnist. Before becoming New!'s BB8 columnist she had another column in the magazine entitled "I Want It Right Now" in which she shared make up and fashion tips.
In 2009 she had a brief cameo in the ITV drama Whatever It Takes
Whatever It Takes (2009 film)
Whatever it Takes is a 2009 British television drama film directed by Andy Hay and starring Shane Ritchie, Amy Beth Hayes, Eva Alexander, Gary Lucy and Ron Cook...
.
On 24 August 2010, Houghton was the second housemate to enter the Ultimate Big Brother house behind winner of Big Brother 2010, Josie Gibson
Josie Gibson
Josie Diane Shirley Gibson is a British media personality, and former financial sales rep from Bristol. She rose to prominence after winning Big Brother 2010, and entered Ultimate Big Brother...
, to compete for "Ultimate Housemate". Her ex-husband Preston was the third person to enter the house. Houghton finished third behind runner-up Nikki Grahame and winner Brian Dowling.
In June 2010, Chantelle Houghton fronted a campaign for PETA 'Fight Impotence. Go Vegetarian'.
On 14 September 2010, Houghton and Preston appeared on the front cover of OK! Magazine with a featured interview on their relationship after leaving the Ultimate Big Brother house.
After leaving the Ultimate Big Brother house, Houghton appeared on the cover of New! and Star magazines with featured interviews.
In September 2010, Houghton was named as the new face of La Senza
La Senza
La Senza Corporation is a Canadian fashion retailer based in Dorval, Quebec, Canada, which sells lingerie and intimate apparel. The La Senza brand is currently owned by Limited Brands.- History :...
underwear range.
Houghton appeared on the cover of OK! magazine a second time since leaving Ultimate Big Brother. It featured an interview and photoshoot titled 'Lonely Chantelle'.
In April 2011, Houghton appeared on an episode of celebrity total wipeout on the BBC.
On the 3rd of July, 2011, Chantelle appeared on the cover of Fabulous Magazine which included an interview and photoshoot.
Houghton appeared on morning breakfast show This Morning
This Morning (TV series)
This Morning is a British daytime television programme broadcast on ITV. As of September 2011, its main presenters are Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, and Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, with various other presenters standing in for illness or contributing to sections of the programme.The...
in August 2011 alongside boyfriend Alex Reid.
On 19 August 2011, Houghton appeared on Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
spin off show "Bit On The Side" for Channel 5.
Houghton appeared on the cover of OK! Magazine with Alex Reid speaking about trying for a baby.
Chantelle was a participant in a celebrity week of cooking reality show Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me
Come Dine With Me is a popular Channel 4 television programme shown in the United Kingdom, produced by Granada Television and first broadcast in January 2005. The show has either four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants...
for Channel 4, broadcast from 10-14 October 2011.
After divorce
Since splitting from Preston, Houghton reinvented herself and has been described as "the new Katie Price." Houghton appeared on the scene with dyed blonde hair with extensions, fuller looking lips, and had a breast enlargement. In April 2009, she revealed that she thought her new breasts (which had gone up from a B cup to an E) were too large and that she needs physiotherapy owing to their weight. She did not have her implants removed, however, and went on to model for Ultimo. In 2008, she opened (as a celebrity, not an owner or manager) a clothing store in Great Yarmouth called Store Twenty One.Personal life
Houghton announced her engagement to Preston on 11 April 2006. In an exclusive £300,000 deal each with OK! magazine, they were married on 25 August 2006 at the Dartmouth HouseDartmouth House
Dartmouth House is a large and luxurious Georgian house in Mayfair, central London, England. It now acts at the headquarters for the English-Speaking Union , an educational charity...
in Mayfair, London
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
.
After their honeymoon, the couple moved to Preston's flat in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. In a later 2008 interview with Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan , known professionally as Piers Morgan, is a British journalist and television presenter. He is editorial director of First News, a national newspaper for children....
, Houghton admitted that Preston had told her one month after the wedding that he had not wanted to marry her. The couple continued undertaking interviews for various magazines, with Houghton losing weight and colouring her hair brunette to look more like Preston's former fiancee Camille.
Ten months later, on 27 June 2007 they announced in a joint statement that they were ending their marriage. "After much soul-searching and tearful discussions we have sadly decided to end our marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
," they said in the statement. “We hope we can always remain friends and still love each other but we both think we put so much pressure on one another to make our marriage work that it has ended up destroying our relationship. No one else is involved in our decision." The couple insisted their relationship was genuine and denied they had rushed into marriage. “We know people will think we married too quickly on the back of Big Brother but the truth is that, what anyone thinks, we did have a whirlwind romance but we were genuinely in love with each other at the time and we will never regret our time together. We both believe in marriage and we never treated our vows or our commitment to each other lightly. We've spent hours and hours discussing whether we can salvage our marriage, give it another go, try harder, anything rather than give up. But we now both agree that we should go our separate ways. We are both young and we still have our lives in front of us. The last two weeks or so have been very upsetting and sad for us and our friends and family and we appreciate their support."
The rumours of the final breakdown to their marriage were confirmed on 21 November 2007, when London's Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
News Agency announced that Houghton had been granted a decree nisi
Decree nisi
A decree nisi is a court order that does not have any force until such time that a particular condition is met, such as a subsequent petition to the court or the passage of a specified period of time....
at First Avenue House. Preston did not contest the petition, and neither appeared in court for the ninety–second hearing.
Houghton is currently dating actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and mixed martial artist Alex Reid. Reid proposed to her on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
's The Saturday Night Show
The Saturday Night Show
The Saturday Night Show is an Irish chat show hosted by Brendan O'Connor that has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 2010. The show features guest interviews, audience participation and live music...
in October 2011 and she accepted. On 15th November 2011 Chantelle announced that she was pregnant with her first child.