Craig Phillips
| Craig Phillips | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
16 October 1971 Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK |
| Residence | London, England, UK |
| Television | Big Brother 1 (UK) |
Craig Phillips (born 16 October 1971 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England) is an English builder, DIY expert, television personality and presenter. He is best known for winning the first series of the reality television show Big Brother in 2000. He is trained as a bricklayer and in DIY, appearing in numerous series related to this since 2001.
The younger of two children, his family moved to Newport, Shropshire in the late 1980s. At 18, Phillips secured a day release bricklayers apprenticeship whilst employed with Wrekin Council's construction department. Determined to ensure he excelled in his chosen profession, he attended further night school classes in advanced brickwork and civil engineering. Having qualified with a City & Guilds, Phillips went on to set up his own building company. The business quickly grew and employed more than 30 tradesmen.
After leaving the Big Brother house as its first winner, Phillips announced he was giving his £70,000 prize fund to his friend Joanne Harris, who had Down syndrome, to pay for her heart and lung transplant. He had begun raising money with friends for Harris sometime before entering Big Brother, raising only small amounts of money towards the £250,000 needed for her operation in the USA, but within 6 days of winning he achieved the target required for her life saving operation thanks to public support and donations from celebrities. Harris died in April 2008.
He has featured in comedy series Bo' Selecta! and appeared in the reality TV series, Back To Reality raising £40,000 for Macmillan Cancer Trust.
At Christmas 2000, Phillips released the charity single, "At This Time of Year" with Warner Music. The single went to Number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, achieving silver disc status and raising over £40,000 for the Down's Syndrome Association. It stayed in the top 40 for three weeks. Since then he has appeared in videos for two other Xmas singles - "Bo Selectas! Proper Crimbo" which reached No. 4 in 2003 and Ricky Tomlinson's "Xmas My A*se" which reached 25 in 2006. He was allegedly signed for a five-album deal with NEA records, who produced "At This Time of Year", but never released any other material.
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