Keith Chegwin: Meet the Celebrity Big Brother 2015 contestant 'who couldn't give a toss'

Cheggers is the favourite before tonight’s reality television contest has even begun

Keith Chegwin is the bookies' favourite to win CBB (Getty Images)

Who? Last seen in the land of reality TV Dancing on Ice, Keith “Cheggers” Chegwin has had a varied career as a pop star, serious actor, television presenter and comic.

Famed for 1970s telly classics Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Cheggers Plays Pop and, in the 1980s, Saturday Superstore, he is probably the most established British household name among the Celebrity Big Brother line-up this year.

Age: 57

Why is he in there? Because hell is not other people, he says. “CBB has always been a challenge and everyone says it's because of the people, but it's not. I couldn't give a toss who's in there, it's all about Big Brother. Everyone forgets Big Brother, and you don't know what Big Brother is going to get you to do!”

What can we expect in the house? It will be Cheggers’ 58th birthday while he is in there so viewers can expect some jelly and ice cream and a children’s party to celebrate. He says he’s happy for once not to have to perform any gags, so look out for a meeker, more muted version of this big personality. He certainly won’t be getting involved in any spats: “Let them fight!,” he says. “Mediation is fantastic but it's not my job to do it. I'll probably end up watching it like a viewer, thinking, 'Go for it!'.

Oh, and he’s likely to, er, name and shame any housemates with poor hygiene. “I'm not super clean but I do like clean people. If there is a poo in the loo I will find out whose it is and I might even bring it out!”

Odds of winning? He is already the favourite, hours before the show has even launched. Can he take advantage of his head start and follow in the footsteps of Jim Davidson or Gary Busey?

Celebrity Big Brother starts at 9pm on Channel 5 tonight.

Read more: Celebrity Big Brother past winners