- Pete Bennett
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Pete Bennett 
Nikki Grahame and Bennett at the Red Bull Air Race, Longleat, Wiltshire, 14 March 2008Born Peter Alexander Bennett
22 March 1982
Camberwell, London, EnglandResidence London and Brighton Nationality British Ethnicity White British Occupation Media personality, singer Years active 2006-present Net worth £1.5 million (estimated) Television Big Brother 2006 Spouse Gemma Costin (2010–present, filed for divorce) Peter "Pete" Alexander Bennett[1] (born 22 March 1982) is an English singer, author and media personality, who won the reality television series Big Brother 7 in 2006.[2] He has Tourette's syndrome.[3][4] He currently splits his time between Brighton and London.
Contents
Media career
After unsuccessfully auditioning for the 5th series of Big Brother in 2004 (as seen in Vanessa Nimmo from Big Brother 5's tape on launch night), Bennett was selected as one of the original housemates for the 7th series in 2006. He was the bookmakers' favourite throughout and eventually won with 61.2% of the final vote.[5] The show has been accused of exploiting Bennett's Tourette's syndrome: The TSA UK claimed "the broadcaster had deliberately cast someone with relatively strong symptoms in order to make him a 'figure of fun'."[6] Some viewers expressed concern that the show had exploited Tourette's, while others felt it was educational and criticised the hypocrisy of TSA UK for wanting the syndrome brought to the public consciousness but complaining when it was.[7] Bennett was nominated for a National Television Award in 2006 for "Most Popular TV Contender", however former Big Brother contestant Nikki Grahame won the award.
Bennett's autobiography Pete: My Story was published in hardback in November 2006.[8] The book was reissued in paperback in 2007, this time under the title of My Journey With Tourettes.
Bennett was lead singer in a band called Daddy Fantastic, but he quit the band after agreeing with a record label that he should become a solo artist.[9] He wrote music with songwriter and record producer Guy Chambers, but failed to gain commercial success with any releases.[10] Bennett went on to form another band, Pete Bennett And The Love Dogs; they have played at Glastonbury 2007 and venues such as IndigO2 (The O2) London and The Cavern Club in Liverpool.[11] The Daily Mirror reported in 2009 that Bennett had earned £1.5 million since appearing on Big Brother.[10]
He currently performs with his band Pete Bennett & The Love Dogs. He frequently uploads videos on his YouTube channel MyArseForHire featuring the band, along with other events. But, according to Pete on Big Brother's Bit On The Side, they're "not Pete Bennett & The Love Dogs anymore, it's just Pete Bennett. And I'm not a singer anymore, I'm a comedian."
Personal life
Bennett's father walked out on his mother when he was young, and he did not see his father from the age of 14 onwards, although they kept in touch.[12] Bennett was bullied at school from an early age. He was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at the age of 14 and as a result he missed much school time. He gained A* in GCSE Art while attending a pupil outreach centre, Briset Centre in Eltham, South East London. It was around this time that Bennett began taking an interest in music, two years later he entered a competition organised by BT called 'Get Out There' in which his entry reached second place.[13]
Bennett dated Big Brother 7 contestant Nikki Grahame. The duo's romance began in the last week of Big Brother.[14] However in September 2006 Grahame announced that Bennett had made the decision to end their relationship, just over a month after it began.[15] He subsequently began dating his friend Cherry - real name Gemma Costin - whom he described as his soulmate. Bennett and Costin married in February 2010, which featured on the Living programme Four Weddings; they are now obtaining a divorce.[16][17] He has indicated that he has experimented with fetishism and drugs, saying he was addicted to ketamine.[18]
References
- ^ Index of Births, Marriages and Deaths in England and Wales, 1837-1983.
- ^ Pete Wins Big Brother 2006 Channel4 Website URL last accessed on October 1 2006.
- ^ Big Brother 7. Pete Bennett. Accessed 21 May 2006.
- ^ U.tv. Tourette's sufferer Pete 'very brave' Accessed 22 May 2006.
- ^ Big Brother - does anyone really still watch it? Yes, one in four of us actually Guardian Unlimited URL last accessed on August 24 2006.
- ^ Born, Matt. Tourette's man 'exploited by Big Brother' Accessed 22 May 2006.
- ^ Allen, Liam. BB Pete: Exploitation or education? BBC News (August 18, 2006).
- ^ "Pete's BB Book" Amazon.co.uk URL last accessed on January 16 2007.
- ^ EXCLUSIVE: PETE TO BAND: S*D OFF SundayMirror.co.uk URL last accessed on September 11 2006.
- ^ a b The Big Brother big money list The Mirror URL last accessed on September 7 2009.
- ^ "Bennett makes most of his 15 minutes" Scotsman URL last accessed on 2006-11-21.
- ^ Big Letdown The Mirror URL last accessed on August 24 2006.
- ^ Profile: Big Brother winner Pete Bennett BBC News URL last accessed on August 24 2006.
- ^ "Profile: Big Brother winner Pete Bennett". BBC. 2006-08-18. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5265412.stm. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
- ^ Ford, Louise (2006-09-17). "Nikki & Pete..It's All Gurn Wrong". Sunday Mirror. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20060917/ai_n16737047. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
- ^ Wightman, Catriona (21 February 2010). "BB7 winner Pete Bennett ties the knot". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/bigbrother/news/a204395/bb7-winner-pete-bennett-ties-the-knot.html. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ Pete and Cherry Divorcing
- ^ 'My book? I haven't read it yet' The Guardian URL last accessed on September 7 2009.
External links
Preceded by
Anthony HuttonBig Brother UK winner
Series 7 (2006)Succeeded by
Brian BeloBig Brother in the United Kingdom Series RegularCelebritySpecialWinners RegularCraig Phillips (2000) · Brian Dowling (2001) · Kate Lawler (2002) · Cameron Stout (2003) · Nadia Almada (2004) · Anthony Hutton (2005) · Pete Bennett (2006) · Brian Belo (2007) · Rachel Rice (2008) · Sophie Reade (2009) · Josie Gibson (2010) · Aaron Allard-Morgan (2011)CelebrityJack Dee (2001) · Mark Owen (2002) · Mark "Bez" Berry (2005) · Chantelle Houghton (2006) · Shilpa Shetty (2007) · Ulrika Jonsson (2009) · Alex Reid (2010) · Paddy Doherty (2011)SpecialMain presenters CurrentFormerDavina McCall (2000–2010) · George Lamb (2008–2010) · Dermot O'Leary (2001–2008) · Russell Brand (2004–2007) · James Corden (2008) · Mathew Horne (2008) · Zezi Ifore (2008) · Jack Whitehall (2009)Related articles Endemol · John de Mol · Channel 4 · E4 · Channel 5 · 5* · Controversy and criticism · Housemates · Celebrity housemates · Jade Goody · Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy · Dead Set · Bad Wolf (Doctor Who episode)
Notable housemates of Big Brother (UK) Big Brother 2000 Big Brother 2001 Big Brother 2002 Big Brother 2003 Big Brother 2004 Big Brother 2005 Big Brother 2006 Big Brother 2007 Big Brother 2008 Big Brother 2009 Big Brother 2010 Josie Gibson · JJ BirdBig Brother 2011 Topics related to Tourette syndrome (F95.2, 307.23) Main Terms Coprolalia · Copropraxia · Echolalia · Echopraxia · Palilalia · PANDAS · Sensory phenomena · Tic · Tic disorder · TourettismHistory Organizations Media Front of the Class · I Have Tourette's but Tourette's Doesn't Have Me · John's Not Mad · "Le Petit Tourette" · Maze · Motherless Brooklyn · Quit It · The Tic Code · Tic Talk: Living with Tourette SyndromeNotable people Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf · Howard Ahmanson, Jr · Basshunter · Pete Bennett · Brad Cohen · James Durbin · Jim Eisenreich · Tim Howard · Samuel Johnson · André Malraux · Tobias Picker · Nick van Bloss · Michael WolffCategories:- 1982 births
- Living people
- Reality show winners
- Beatboxers
- People from Camberwell
- People from Brighton
- Big Brother UK contestants
- People with Tourette syndrome
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