Melton man causes a stir on Celebrity Big Brother

But one of the contestants in the current Channel 5 series may well be familiar to people in Melton because he grew up in the town.

Ben Jardine (37), whose parents still live in Melton, is rubbing shoulders in the house with the likes of Hollywood star Kirstie Alley, former Premier League football ace Jermaine Pennant and Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas.

He was asked to go in after famously marrying his wife, Stephanie, shortly after meeting her on another reality show, Married at First Sight.

Ben then made the showbiz gossip columns in March when it was alleged he had been kissing other women during his marriage.

And he has already been making waves as a housemate, conducting a flirtatious relationship with former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett.

Family members and friends from Melton will no doubt be voting in their droves when Ben is put up for eviction, although he was one of only two people not to be nominated to leave by fellow housemates in week one.

A spokeswoman for Ben’s management company told the Melton Times: “Ben lived in Melton for around 20 years before moving to London.

“He and his brother Sam, who is 36, both go back home to visit a few times a year and they have fond childhood memories of the town.”

Ben met his agent soon after appearing on Married at First Sight and they discussed the Celebrity Big Brother opportunity at great length before deciding to do it.

The spokeswoman said: “Ben was keen to do it to show people the real him, which he feels he wasn’t able to show on Married at First Sight.

“He has always enjoyed watching Celebrity Big Brother but he never dreamed he would one day be a celebrity housemate in his own right.

“Before he went in the house he told me it would be surreal but he felt blessed to have the opportunity and he was just planning to have fun.”

In his normal life, Ben runs his own very successful property consultancy and has been described as a millionaire property developer.

He doesn’t expect his life to change too much when he gets out but there may well be a host of new opportunities on the back of starring in front of millions of viewers every day.