Original ‘Big Brother’ winner Craig Phillips has admitted he thinks it’s time for Channel 5 to pull the plug on the show.

Former builder Craig won the very first series back in 2000, when it still aired on Channel 4 and famously donated his £70,000 prize money to a friend, so she could undergo a heart and lung transplant.

Almost 18 years later, and Craig has said he thinks ‘Big Brother’ has had its day, and it’s time for the house to close its doors for good.

Speaking to the Shropshire Star (always first with a TV exclusive), Craig said: “People often come up to me and say they have applied for Big Brother or are thinking about it, and ask me what advice I would give them. My honest advice is ‘don’t do it’.

“They say ‘What? You did it’, but I say that was a different show when I went on it.”

He added: “On the one hand it massively changed my life, predominantly for the better, and it would be the end of an era if it was axed.

“On the other hand, from a viewer’s point of view, I think it probably is time for it to come to an end.

“When Channel 5 took it on, I thought that might give it some fresh ideas, but it hasn’t, it’s just continued to decline.” 

Over the weekend, it was rumoured that the upcoming series of ‘Big Brother’ would be the last, with only one regular series and one additional ‘Celebrity’ series left on Channel 5’s contract.

‘Celebrity Big Brother’ is currently airing on Channel 5, with a shock triple-eviction planned for tonight (26 January).