‘I wish I never went on Big Brother – I think it ruined my career’

A former Big Brother star has spoken out about her time in the competition, admitting that she wishes she’d never done the show as it might have ‘ruined’ her career.

In 2017, Ellie Young was one of the contestants of the reality TV series when it was airing on Channel 5, and was presented by Emma Willis.

After arriving on day one, the then-23-year-old made it all the way until day 47 before she was evicted.

She went on to star in the TV show Ibiza Weekender alongside David Potts, who recently won the 2024 series of Celebrity Big Brother on ITV.

In a recent TikTok video, creator DJ AG Online interviewed Ellie while DJing on the street, seemingly unaware of her reality TV past.

‘You was on Big Brother?’ he asked, before she revealed that she competed on the programme seven years ago.

‘What was it like?’ the DJ asked, to which she replied: ‘I wish I’d never done it. I think it ruined my career in a way, because I think people saw the real me.’

‘Is that a bad thing?’ he questioned, as she responded: ‘Yeah, if you see too much of me, it can destroy you.’

When Ellie was asked if she got anything out of the experience in terms of opportunities or exposure, she explained how she went on to appear in Ibiza Weekender with her ‘best friend’ David.

‘He won Celebrity Big Brother, I don’t know if you know who David is. And it’s been amazing, I’m so lucky, but at the minute I’m doing TikTok and TikTok has literally changed my life,’ she shared.

She then revealed that she’s in London doing a presenting course, as she ‘loves entertaining and making people laugh’, with her ideal aim being to present Love Island one day.

Several TikTok users expressed their shock over seeing Ellie in the video several years after her Big Brother stint.

‘Loved Ellie on big brother! Back when big brother was actually good,’ MissGreen wrote, while Jen remarked: ‘Aww her honesty.’

Nicky also added: ‘Ruined her career ????she was on the weekender show then she did big brother she didn’t ruin herself from that at all?’

Ahead of the 2017 Big Brother series, Ellie, who hails from Yorkshire, opened up about her reasoning for wanting to do the show, stating: ‘I have always wanted to do it and be able to say I have lived in the Big Brother House. Not many people have been given that chance.’

Over on TikTok, she has over 196,000 followers and regularly posts about fashion and beauty, whereas on Instagram she has 259,000 followers.

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