What Big Brother 5’s cast are doing now – from Michelle Bass and ‘Chicken Stu’ to Nadia and Fight Night villain Victor
BIG Brother’s fifth series was truly wild.
Airing during the summer of 2004, bosses upped the ante after the previous year had been branded ‘the most boring ever’.
BB5 brought us our first transgender housemate – and even our first major scuffle.
But although the infamous ‘fight night’ has gone down in BB history forever, it seems a lot of the housemates are trying to disappear with it…
Nadia Almada – Winner
Nadia Almada made history when she was cast as the first transgender housemate to ever take part in Big Brother.
And the Portuguese star didn’t disappoint, going on to win the fifth series.
Since her time in Big Brother, Nadia has released her own single, which reached number 27 in the UK charts, and she has enjoyed a TV career.
Nadia has appeared in shows including Hollyoaks, Come Dine With Me, Big Fat Quiz of the Year and she even popped up in Big Brother Australia.
In 2010, Nadia made her British BB comeback for Ultimate Big Brother (although she missed out on winning to Brian Dowling).
These days, the reality star has transformed her look and swapped her dark hair for bleached blonde tresses. She now lives a quiet life in London and has retrained as a hairdresser.
Jason Cowan – Second Place
Air steward Jason Cowan got Big Brother 5 off to a spicy start after turning up on launch night in a leopard print thong and bow tie.
During his time in the house, he became embroiled in the infamous ‘Fight Night’ when Emma Greenwood and Michelle Bass were brought back into the main house after spying on everyone from the bedsit.
Together with pal Victor Ebuwa, he was not happy to see them and all hell broke loose – with BB eventually forced to call in security.
Despite this, Jason made it all the way to the final and jetted off to Spain and India for an extended holiday after leaving the house.
He later qualified as a personal trainer but, in 2011, his world crashed when he was charged with sexually assaulting a woman.
Jason denied the charge and was found not guilty following a three-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
After the verdict, he said: “I am glad it is over and that I can now get back on with my life.”
Jason shaved off his blonde hair and now lives a quieter life in his native Scotland.
Daniel Bryan – Third Place
Hairdresser Daniel Bryan lasted 71 days in the Big Brother house, earning him a place in the final.
He walked away in third place and returned to his job in hairdressing.
Daniel then took up several positions with the BBC, reviewing TV shows and working as a freelance radio producer.
He juggled this with hairdressing before going in a completely different direction in the past year.
Daniel is now creative director of The Falafia Ltd, a small-medium enterprise that “provides a healthy food option in every major town and city”.
Shell Jubin
Art student Shell Jubin finished Big Brother 2004 in fourth place.
Shell made a name for herself after cutting the grass in the BB house while completely naked.
She also appeared as a bride in a fake wedding task.
In the wake of her BB fame, Shell enjoyed a successful modelling career.
Now, she lives in the United States after quitting the limelight to become a mum.
She goes by her married name, Michelle Millar Fisher, and is making use of her arts degree.
Shell works as a curator at major museums in cities across the States – including Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Stuart Wilson
Stuart Wilson hit the headlines in 2004 after striking up a relationship with fellow housemate Michelle Bass.
Michelle renamed him ‘Chicken Stu’ and they soon got tongues wagging with their antics underneath the dining table.
Were they the first couple in BB history to have sex on the show?
Stuart stayed in a relationship with Michelle for a year after leaving BB5, but they then decided to go their separate ways.
It is believed Stuart unsuccessfully auditioned for James Bourne’s band Son of Dork before he ducked out of the limelight for good.
Speaking some years later, Michelle said of her ex: “When was the last time anybody saw him? Does he even exist anymore? Who knows?”
There is no trace of Chicken Stu on social media.
Michelle Bass
Mortgage advisor Michelle Bass had already tried to find fame before BB5, having auditioned for Pop Idol.
But when that didn’t work out, she turned up in the Big Brother house.
Together with housemates Nadia Almada, Emma Greenwood and Marco Sabba, she formed a clique called ‘The Lipgloss B****es’.
Following her romp with Stuart under the dining table, Michelle left the house and launched a career as a glamour model.
Over the years, she went on to write columns about Big Brother for various media outlets and even returned to the show for Ultimate Big Brother in 2010. Michelle lasted 16 days the second time around.
During the same year, she married hypnotist Steve McKeown and they now have two children together.
Appearing to want to put her BB past behind her, Michelle now goes by her married name and does not have a public profile on social media.
Victor Ebuwa
Politics student Victor Ebuwa is most notably remembered for his involvement in BB5’s Fight Night.
Food was thrown by his nemesis Emma Greenwood, metal trays were lobbed, threats were made and security was called.
Last year, with news of Big Brother returning, Victor said to Vice: “They manufactured a confrontation.
“So for them to turn around afterwards and say, ‘Oh we’re giving you a final warning’. Shove it up your a***!
“You sent so much alcohol in there and a couple of maniacs under a tray – what did you think was going to happen? It was absolute carnage.”
Victor’s LinkedIn now states that he works as an operations officer for cannabis lifestyle brand, Arcfarms CaliPo Cartel.
Ahmed Aghil
Property developer and investor Ahmed Aghil lasted 50 days in the Big Brother house.
He is best remembered for furiously smashing plates in the garden after snapping at the early wakeup alarms.
Following his eviction, Ahmed went on to land a job as an agony uncle on radio show Late Night Love.
In 2010, he returned to the show for Ultimate Big Brother and recreated his plate smashing scene.
Ahmed is still a fan of reality TV but has returned to his career in property investment.
Becki Seddiki
Singer-songwriter Becki Seddiki was a late arrival to the house, entering on day 31. She was evicted 12 days later.
After appearing on the show, Becki spoke out about her sex life and it prompted her strict Muslim family disowned her.
Becki landed a radio DJ slot for several years and even dated Russell Brand.
She has gone on to train as an actress and has appeared in various stage productions.
In 2021, Becki revealed she had been diagnosed with leukaemia and was initially documenting her battle on TikTok.
The singer has since deleted her account but keeps fans updated with her upcoming gigs with the band New Born Idols on Instagram.
Marco Sabba
Marco Sabba was a law student when he rocked up in the Big Brother house in 2004.
He was the first person to enter the house and fans quickly fell in love with his camp and quirky personality.
Marco was left terrified during Fight Night, as Jason had waved his fist towards him and yelled: “I’ll f***ing kill you, I’ll knock you out.”
In interviews after leaving the house, Marco said the Scotsman had left him “genuinely frightened”.
Marco has mixed feelings about his Big Brother stint and has since admitted “closed doors” for him.
Nevertheless, he went on to qualify as a lawyer and was working at Hillingdon Law Centre in London in 2010.
Since then, the lawyer has slipped into obscurity.
Vanessa Nimmo
South African Vanessa Nimmo was the second housemate to be given the boot from Big Brother 5.
Seizing her newfound fame, she became a glamour model and often appeared in saucy shoots with housemate Michelle Bass.
Vanessa even tried a shot at acting and starred in a short film about a homeless woman called A Song.
These days, Vanessa is believed to be working as a PA in Leeds.
Emma Greenwood
Sadly for Emma Greenwood, Big Brother fans will only remember her for one thing – Fight Night.
A key player in the almighty scuffle, she was removed by security and isolated in the next door bedsit. Emma was later removed from the show.
Initially, Emma was a regular on the party scene. She even managed to land a role on Richard & Judy as their resident Big Brother expert.
But Emma has now disappeared from the public eye, having married her husband Ben Womack at Gretna Green in 2017.
The couple did run an interiors company together, however it seems the business has now folded.
Kitten Pinder
Kitten Pinder – real name Kathryn – is another Big Brother 5 housemate who has managed to vanish out of the public eye.
She was ejected from the show in the first week after breaking the rules a staggering 30 times.
Within days of her being booted out, Kitten had appeared at Brighton Magistrates Court over the failure to pay four parking fines.
Despite blaming former Prime Minister Tony Blair for introducing university top up fees, Kitten was ordered to cough up,
Her father Ken later told the Independent that Big Brother should be “banned”.
- Big Brother returns at 9pm, ITV1, Sunday October 8