Frankie Cocozza, the disgraced former X Factor contestant currently appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, says he is only using the Channel 5 show as a stepping stone to a career as a television presenter. The Brighton-born bad-boys says he would eventually like to emulate Channel 4 personality George Lamb.
Frankie shot to fame after making it to the live finals of the X Factor, only to be dismissed for a serious breach of the rules. Now, the singer says he wants to follow in the footsteps of Lamb, who began his career working on Big Brother - he told the UK's Metro newspaper, "I'd like to be like George Lamb, he's cool". The 18-year-old entered the house on Thursday evening (January 5, 2012), along with The Only Way is Essex star Kirk Norcross, Loose Women presenter Denise Welch and ex-Eastenders actress Natalie Cassidy. In one particularly cringe worthy segment, Cassidy was asked to kiss Cocozza on the lips as part of her secret task set by Big Brother. Though ultimately failing the task, Natalie is deemed to be the favourite to win this year's competition, with most bookmakers offering odds of around 5/2. Gay rugby player Gareth Thomas, who is set to be played by Mickey Rourke in a forthcoming movie, is the second favourite at around 5/1. Presenter Brian Dowling announced on last night's sister show Bit on the Side that the first elimination will take place next Wednesday (January 11, 2012).
Frankie attempted to work his magic on Playboy bunnies Kristina and Karissa last night - enlisting the help of Norcross to persuade the models to get in the hot tub. He asked The Only Way is Essex Star, "Did you manage to talk the Playboy bunnies into coming in or what?", to which Norcross replied, "I didn't even ask, I got scared".