Brian Patrick Robert Dowling (born 13 June 1978) is an Irish television presenter. He rose to fame after winning the second series of reality series '' Big Brother'', and went on to win ''

Ultimate Big Brother ''Ultimate Big Brother'' was the final series of the UK reality television programme '' Big Brother'' to air on Channel 4. The series was produced by Remarkable Pictures, a division of Endemol. ''Ultimate Big Brother'' was an All Star edition ...

'' in 2010. In 2007, he came third in ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

'' and in 2008, he was runner-up in the Irish reality television series '' Fáilte Towers''. Dowling then guest-presented ''

Live from Studio Five ''Live from Studio Five'' was an early-evening British magazine programme produced by Sky News for Channel 5. It was presented by Kate Walsh and a lineup of co-presenters. It featured interviews and discussions on topical issues, emphasizing sh ...

'' alongside Kate Walsh from 2010 until its cancellation in February 2011. On 22 July 2011, it was confirmed that Dowling would become the new host of ''Big Brother'' upon its transfer to Channel 5, replacing

Davina McCall Davina Lucy Pascale McCall (born 16 October 1967) is an English television presenter. She was the presenter of the reality show '' Big Brother'' during its run on Channel 4 between 2000 and 2010. She also hosted Channel 4's ''Streetmate'' (199 ...

. After presenting two editions of ''Big Brother'' and four editions of ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

'', Channel 5 confirmed in April 2013 that Dowling was to be replaced by

Emma Willis Emma Louise Willis (née Griffiths; born 18 March 1976) is an English broadcaster. She is known for her television and radio work with Channel 5, BBC, ITV, and Heart FM.

Early life

Dowling was born on 13 June 1978 in

Rathangan, County Kildare Rathangan (; ) is a town in the west of County Kildare, Ireland. , the population was 2,611. It is located from the centre of Dublin, and from Kildare, at the intersection of the R401, R414, and R419 regional roads. The Slate River and ...

, Ireland. Before he entered the public eye, he trained as a holiday rep and air steward, working as a flight attendant for Ryanair. He

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as gay to his parents two days before appearing in ''Big Brother'' in 2001.

''Big Brother''

Dowling was the winner of

series 2 Series 2 could refer to: * Apple Watch Series 2, a smart watch by Apple * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 2, the automobile model * BMW 2 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 2 series, line of nV ...

of '' Big Brother'', beating

Helen Adams Helen Adams (born 30 May 1978) is a Welsh television personality who rose to fame in the United Kingdom when she was chosen to be a contestant on the second series of the reality television show '' Big Brother'', in 2001. ''Big Brother'' Adam ...

in the final and polling 4,231,660 votes (58%) out of a total 7,255,094. In 2010, Brian returned to compete in the final ''Big Brother'' on Channel 4 and he became the ''

'' Housemate. Brian spent a total of 82 days in the Big Brother house, 64 for his original stay and later 18 days for ''Ultimate Big Brother''.

Media career

Dowling followed ''Big Brother'' by presenting ''

SMTV Live ''SMTV Live'' (an abbreviation of ''Saturday Morning Television Live'', and also stylised as ''SM: LIVE'') was a British Saturday morning children's television programme, produced by Blaze Television for ITV. Operating on a similar format to ...

'', becoming the first openly gay children's television presenter. He also presented his own show on ITV, ''Brian's Boyfriends'', as well as narrating the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

reality series '' The Salon''. In 2002, Brian co-hosted the

Elle Style Awards The Elle Style Awards are an awards ceremony hosted annually by ''Elle'' magazine. List of award winners 2017 The 2017 edition of the Elle Style Awards took place on 13 February 2017. * Style Influencer of the Year: Debbie Harry * TV Actress of t ...

with

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

presenter

Jo Whiley Johanne Whiley-Morton (born 4 July 1965), better known by her professional name Jo Whiley, is an English radio DJ and television presenter. She was the host of the long-running weekday later weekend '' Jo Whiley Show'' on BBC Radio 1. She curre ...

. In 2003, he joined

Duncan James Duncan James (born Duncan Inglis, 7 April 1978) is an English singer and actor. He became widely known in 2001 as a member of the boy band Blue and later for playing Ryan Knight in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. Early life James grew u ...

and

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson Tara Claire Palmer-Tomkinson (23 December 1971 – 8 February 2017), also known as T P-T, was an English socialite and television personality. She appeared in several television shows, including the reality programme '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me ...

in presenting the '' NOW Magazine Style Awards'', where he also won the award for Most Stylish UK Personality. Dowling regularly stood in for

Liz Bonnin Elizabeth Bonnin (born 16 September 1976) is a French science, wildlife and natural history presenter, who has worked on television in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. She presented morning show '' RI:SE'' and music show ''Top of the Pops'' ...

LivingTV Sky Witness is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts drama shows from the United States, aimed at the 18–45 age group. An Italian version of Sky Witness, named S ...

's ''

Celebrity Extra ''Celebrity Extra'' is a British celebrity entertainment series on Living TV. It is presented by Tania Bryer Tania Bryer (born 5 July 1962) is a British broadcaster who is affiliated with global television network CNBC. She is host and ex ...

'' show in 2004. He has also voiced numerous adverts and TV series and has presented the companion show to ''

I'm Famous and Frightened! ''I'm Famous and Frightened!'' is a Living TV reality TV show in which eight celebrities stayed for three nights in a "haunted" castle. They had to then do terrifying challenges to raise money for charity; each one was evicted until only the wi ...

'' In July 2005, Dowling fronted the ''Party in the Park'' concert in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

with '' Coronation Streets

Nikki Sanderson Nikki Ann Sanderson (born 28 March 1984) is an English actress and former glamour model who is known for playing Candice Stowe in the television soap opera '' Coronation Street'', Dawn Bellamy in '' Heartbeat'' and Maxine Minniver in ''Hollyo ...

. He then went on to front the Irish ''O2 in the Park'' concert, in

Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( ga, Páirc an Fhionnuisce) is a large urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its perimeter wall encloses of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tre ...

, Dublin, alongside Fran Cosgrave and

Caroline Morahan Caroline Morahan is an Irish actress and television host. In 2010, she was chosen as the face of Littlewoods Ireland. Early life Caroline Morahan graduated from Dublin City University with a Bachelor of Arts in communication studies, earni ...

in August 2005. Dowling also hosted a showbiz slot on

Vernon Kay Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English television and radio presenter, and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' All Star Family Fortunes'' ...

Saturday morning show from October 2004 to September 2006. In October 2005, Dowling presented a series of special Christmas features as part of Sky Digital's interactive platform programming, titled ''Christmas Wrapped Up'', in which he reviewed and helped to promote products that were available for purchase in the shopping areas of Sky Digital's

Sky Active Sky Active was the brand name for interactive features on Sky Digital and was available in the UK and Ireland. It enabled a viewer to interact with TV content, respond to an advertisement or access internet-based services. History and techn ...

service. Dowling was reintroduced as a presenter on ITV in March 2006 when the network launched its

ITV Play ITV Play was a short-lived 24/7 participation television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. The ITV Play name continued as a strand on the main ITV Network until December 2007. It was launched as a standalone channel on Freeview ...

subsidiary. Along with six others, Dowling was signed up as a presenter of the network's interactive gamble based telephone show '' The Mint''. The game show ran till 2007. In October 2007, Dowling and his family appeared on ''

All Star Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show '' Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 t ...

'', where they won £4,660 for charity. Dowling was a contestant in the ITV reality series ''

'' during September 2007, where he finished in third place. Following on from this, in August 2008, Dowling was a contestant in the Irish reality television show, '' Fáilte Towers'', where he and 12 other celebrities had to take on the roles of hotel staff. He came second to

John Creedon John Creedon (born 1958), also known as "Creedo", is an Irish language enthusiast and veteran broadcaster with RTÉ Radio. Host of ''The John Creedon Show'', weekday evenings 8-10pm on RTÉ Radio 1, he has also filled in for Dave Fanning on '' ...

. He then went on to become a contestant on TV3's ''Celebrity Salon'', in which he and several other Irish celebrities (Pippa O'Connor, Leigh Arnold, Virginia Macari, Celia Holman Lee and Breffny Morgan) learn the tools of the beauty trade. ''Celebrity Salon'' began airing on in June 2010. Tasks included giving facials, waxing, performing cosmetic surgery, hairdressing and styling. He also appeared in a special episode of '' Come Dine with Me'', alongside three other previous winners of ''Big Brother'' and was declared the winner. Dowling was crowned ''Ultimate Big Brother'' housemate on 10 September 2010 at the end of the ''

'' series that saw the end of ''Big Brother''s transmission on

. Following this he has appeared as co-host alongside

Katherine Lynch Katherine Lynch (born 1967) is an Irish television personality from County Leitrim. She has had several television series broadcast on RTÉ Two, with titles like ''Working Girls'', ''Wonderwomen'' and ''Single Ladies''. Lynch also participated ...

on the RTÉ2 series ''Wagons Den''. On 22 July 2011, after months of speculation, it was confirmed that Dowling would become the new presenter of the revived series of ''Big Brother'' on Channel 5. He presented four celebrity series in August/September 2011, January 2012, August/September 2012 and January 2013, and two series of the main show in 2011 and 2012. He was replaced as presenter of ''Big Brother'' by

Emma Willis Emma Louise Willis (née Griffiths; born 18 March 1976) is an English broadcaster. She is known for her television and radio work with Channel 5, BBC, ITV, and Heart FM.

for Series 14, which started in June 2013. Dowling has also had numerous appearances on '' This Morning'', presenting segments on the show. Since 2014, Dowling has presented the TV3 game show ''Sitting on a Fortune'' in Ireland. In 2020, Dowling participated in the fourth series of the Irish edition of ''Dancing with the Stars''. Dowling was paired with Laura Nolan. On 6 February 2020, Dowling and

Kai Widdrington Kai Widdrington (born 23 August 1995) is an English dancer and choreographer. In 2010, he was the Junior World Latin American champion. In 2012, he reached the final of the sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. Between 2017 and 2020, he was ...

were announced by RTÉ as the first male same-sex dance partners on the show during switch-up week. Dowling was eliminated from the competition in the first dance-off of the series on 16 February 2020.

Theatre

Dowling has appeared in popular Irish Christmas

pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

, at

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

's Tivoli Theatre. In December 2008 – January 2009, he starred as the evil

Captain Hook Captain James Hook is a fictional character and the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate capta ...

in Anthem Productions' presentation of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

''. Since then, Dowling has had the new character "Bridie" created for him, appearing in 2009's ''Cinderella'' and 2010's ''Beauty and the Beast''.

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Brian 1978 births Living people Big Brother (British TV series) winners Gay entertainers LGBT broadcasters from Ireland LGBT entertainers from Ireland Participants in Irish reality television series People from County Kildare Television presenters from the Republic of Ireland 21st-century LGBT people