It’s been 25 years since Nick Bateman changed the course of reality TV forever. The city broker made a name for himself when he appeared on the inaugural series of Big Brother, with viewers watching on in shock as he attempted to manipulate nominations by passing notes between housemates. While seemingly tame today, such was the scandal at the time that Nick was dubbed ‘the most hated man in Britain’. Overnight, he went from an unknown to dominating the front pages of the national press – with one newspaper going as far to launch a ‘kick out Nick’ campaign, and fly a remote-controlled helicopter over the house to drop leaflets in warning his fellow housemates.
Now, Nick lives his life as a ‘ghost’, having reverted to his first name Jack – he opted to go by his middle name Nick while at boarding school. Yet the road from national hate figure to reclusive expat has been far from smooth – with Nick partying with Brad Pitt, splitting from ‘Lovely’ Lynette – his wife, and being embroiled in feuds with his former housemates.
As Big Brother marks its 25th anniversary this year, Daily Mail charts the rise and fall of the show’s original villain, Mr ‘Nasty’ Nick.
The city broker made a name for himself when he appeared on the first series of Big Brother, where he attempted to manipulate nominations by passing notes between housemates. Nowadays, Nick is as far removed from the celebrity circuit as one could be. He moved to Australia in 2013, splitting his time between Brisbane and Sydney and working in marketing. He was awarded Australian citizenship in 2022. Nick revealed last year that he enjoys living life without being recognized, telling The Telegraph: ‘It’s nice to be a ghost. Sometimes people look at me curiously, but they usually think I was on The Bill.’ While he changed his name, he insisted he was never bothered by the ‘Nasty’ label.
His move also came a year after he split from his wife dubbed ‘Lovely’ Lynnette Peck. After his stint on Big Brother, he complained that the show had derailed his love life, moaning: ‘Before BB, I had no problem with women, but now they can’t get away fast enough.’ Now, Nick lives his life as a ‘ghost’, having reverted to his first name Jack (he opted to go by his middle name Nick while at boarding school) and moving to Sydney in 2013.
During his time Down Under, Nick couldn’t fully get away from his Big Brother past – as he was reunited with Craig Phillips during a chance meeting in Australia. However, Craig reignited their feud after the catch-up, claiming Nick told him ‘lie after lie’ during their meeting.
Yet he managed to find love with fashion magazine writer Lynnette, and the pair tied the knot in 2007. In 2011, he even went into business with her – joining her online fashion business, Lovely’s Vintage Emporium. By 2016, their divorce was made official during a hearing of just 30 seconds, at the Central London Court. In 2022 and 2023, he posted pictures with a mystery blonde woman – whose identity he did not reveal and he has not shared more photographs since.
Despite the public backlash he received, Nick’s cheating was a financially savvy move – with The Sun paying him £75,000 for an interview – more than the £70,000 prize fee for winning Big Brother. Continuing to lean into his villain status, he went on to publish a book titled Nasty Nick: How to Be a Right B*****d, which racked up at least 200,000 advance orders.
He also found himself rubbing shoulders with Hollywood royalty – partying with the likes of Brad Pitt, Guy Ritchie, and Vinnie Jones at the London premiere of Snatch. Nick’s public appearances began to dwindle – until he made his reality TV return with 2010’s Ultimate Big Brother. He fared better this time, finishing in fifth place.
Yet fame soon dried up and over the years Nick’s public appearances began to dwindle – until he made his reality TV return with 2010’s Ultimate Big Brother. The all-stars series gathered legendary housemates over the years in a final farewell for Big Brother after Channel 4 announced they were axing the show. Nick fared better this time, finishing in fifth place, yet in a surprising interview with Daily Mail before he entered the house, Nick confessed that he wasn’t surprised the show had been axed, noting: ‘its decline into a tawdry freak show has been relentless.’ He went on: ‘I am among the dwindling audience who watches it – when I bother to at all – with a queasy sense of uneasiness as the show has lost its innocence as well as the originality of its format. Big Brother returns with the series 22 launch on Sunday, September 28 at 9pm on ITVX.’
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