1. Jade Goody (£1.1million)
She might have been the butt of everyone's jokes while in the house, but Jade is definitely having the last laugh – she's become the first Big Brother millionaire.
She banked her first half million on the day she left the house, from magazine, newspaper and TV deals. She's released two highly successful exercise videos, appeared as the Wicked Queen in panto, and released a best-selling autobiography. So, not so 'fick' after all.
2. 'Nasty' Nick Bateman (£480,000)
Despite being kicked off the first series of Big Brother for cheating, Nick ended up as the real winner – at least in financial terms.
By exploiting his 'nasty' persona, he managed to bag himself nearly half a million pounds in earnings from magazine and newspaper deals, a book and personal appearances. He was back on TV in 2004 (and up to his old tricks) on Back To Reality, and is a regular on the Z-list party circuit.
3. Brian Dowling (£310,000)
After pocketing the £70,000 winnings, Brian waved goodbye to his job as an air steward and went on to have one of the most successful TV careers of any of the Big Brother housemates, with a high-profile presenting job on the now defunct SM:tv Live.
He's still coining it in thanks to his voiceover work for various TV ads, and he's recently signed up as a presenter on ITV's new games channel.
4. Nadia Almada (£250,000)
Big Brother 5 winner Nadia followed Jade's example by releasing a high-energy workout video. Latino Dance Workout With Nadia let us all into the secret of how she achieved her new svelte figure, and it became a best-seller.
That svelte figure also had rather a lot to do with Dr Gillian McKeith of You Are What You Eat fame, who recruited Nadia to help her shift even more copies of her books. Nadia had a stab at being a pop star, too, but the less said about that the better.
5. Kate Lawler (£240,000)
Kate walked away with the £70,000 for winning Big Brother 3, stepped straight into a plum job hosting a show on London's Capital Radio, and quickly became a lads' mag favourite.
She was then poached by Channel 4 to help breathe life into their ailing breakfast show, RI:SE. She went on to date footballer Jonathan Woodgate and popped up on the small screen again as Brawler on ITV's Celebrity Wrestling.
6. Craig Phillips (£220,000)
After winning the first series, Craig gave the £70,000 jackpot away to a friend who suffers from Down's syndrome and needed a heart and lung swap.
Craig has since gone on to carve himself a career in DIY TV as the handyman on shows such as Housecall and Trading Up. In between all of this, he still manages to run his own building company and carry out charity work
7. Anna Nolan (£180,000)
Ex-novice nun Anna came second in the original series, but that didn't stop the TV offers flooding in. She presented her own BBC series, Anna In Wonderland, in which she travelled the world in pursuit of all things bizarre.
She also hooked up with her old mate from Big Brother, Davina McCall, to co-present Closure on BBC1. She had her very own Jim'll Fix It-style show, too – Ask Anna, in her native Ireland – and still found time to strut her stuff on the catwalk for Julian McDonald.
8. Alex Sibley (£175,000)
Before entering the Big Brother 3 house, Alex was working as a model, and his good looks didn't go unnoticed while he was on the show either.
He might have lost out to Kate and Jonny in the final, but he was inundated with modelling offers when he left the house, including advertisements for hair-styling products and bleach (who could forget his cleaning obsession?), as well as catwalk work for the likes of Scott Henshall at London Fashion Week.
9. Helen Adams (£170,000)
Helen might have been the runner-up on BB2, but she walked straight out of the house to pocket a £150,000 magazine deal.
She also bagged herself a brand new convertible car and a luxury holiday – on the condition that she went away with fellow housemate (and new boyfriend) Paul. Five years on, the couple are still together and share a house in north London.
10. Anthony Hutton (£100,000)
Geordie-boy Anthony was famous for having a flirtatious relationship in the BB house with Makosi, who claimed that she had sex with him in the pool.
Since leaving the house he hasn't done as well as winners of previous years. He appeared in panto in Darlington as the Jester in Beauty And The Beast and released a workout video, but otherwise has had a fairly low profile.
From AOL Money
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