George is shock contestant

Surprise: George Galloway enters the house
11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Controversial MP George Galloway was today getting used to life as an unexpected contestant in Celebrity Big Brother

The anti-war politician said his participation would be "good for politics".

Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green, was a surprise inclusion in the 11-strong cast for the hit show which started last night.

In a statement issued today he said: "It's good for politics. I believe that politicians should use every opportunity to communicate with people.

"I'm a great believer in the democratic process. Big Brother is watched by millions. More young people vote during Big Brother than in the General Election. I hope they'll all be voting for me over the next few weeks."

He added: "If I win, it will be my greatest election victory since, well, since my last one."

Galloway, a left-winger who was expelled from Labour, inflicted a shock defeat on his former party when he won his seat from Oona King at the last election.

He last night sauntered along the red carpet into the Big Brother house to a chorus of boos from the crowd, before pausing to make a victory sign and shout "Stop the war!".

Once inside the house he introduced himself to the others, accompanying each handshake with the words: "I'm a Member of Parliament".

Galloway's presence was the second major twist to emerge during the evening.

An unknown member of the public, 22-year-old Chantelle from Essex, has been planted in the house with the mission of convincing the real celebrities that she is famous.

The blonde model promoter has been briefed to pretend she is in a girl band called Kandyfloss.

Initially she seemed to be having a degree of success, possibly because her fellow "stars" did not recognise each other either.

Apart from Galloway and Chantelle, they include ex-pat entertainer Michael Barrymore, basketball player Dennis Rodman, Baywatch star Traci Bingham, glamour girl Jodie Marsh, actress Rula Lenska, eighties pop star Pete Burns, rock musicians Maggot and Samuel Preston, and Sven Goran Eriksson's former lover Faria Alam.

Maggot's band Goldie Lookin' Chain have enjoyed a few hits in the UK, while Preston's group The Ordinary Boys boast a number one in Japan.

If Chantelle manages to convince the others that she is a pop star she will win the right to stay on the show. If she fails, she will be evicted on Sunday.

The Channel 4 show - won last year by Happy Mondays dancer Bez - is due to run for a total of 23 days this year and producers promise it will be more "evil" than ever before.

This time around the house is equipped with single beds, a gym and outdoor pool.

Bookmakers William Hill have installed Marsh as favourite to win at 4-1, and said they had not yet taken a single bet on Barrymore despite odds being offered for three days. Galloway is a 14-1 outsider to come out on top.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in