Pete Bennett biography
Peter "Pete" Alexander Bennett (born 22 March 1982) is an English singer, author and media personality, who won the reality television series Big Brother 7 in 2006. He has Tourette's syndrome. He currently splits his time between Brighton and London.
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. 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'." 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. 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. 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. He wrote music with songwriter and record producer Guy Chambers, but failed to gain commercial success with any releases. 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. The Daily Mirror reported in 2009 that Bennett had earned £1.5 million since appearing on Big Brother.
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. 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.
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