Celebrity Big Brother’s Danny Beard: ‘Mickey Rourke’s welcome to have my number’

Drag Race legend Danny Beard ‘feels like a winner’ after the Celebrity Big Brother final (Picture: Rex Features/Shutterstock for Big Brother)

‘I feel like a winner,’ says Danny Beard, three days after narrowly losing to Jack P. Shepherd in the Celebrity Big Brother final.

Celebrity Big Brother returned to its best this series, largely because of Danny. Those levels of high energy, drama and wisdom rarely come in one package unless that package is a star in the making.

Danny may not be joining the ranks of previous CBB winners, but when that exclusive group includes the likes of Stephen Bear and Jim Davidson, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Still, Danny admits to Metro: ‘I wanted to win, I’m not going to lie. Why would you not want to win? Anyone that says they didn’t want to win is lying.

‘But Jack’s got all this stuff going on, and he’s amazing, but he’s literally going back to Corrie right now and jumping in a scene. All of this stuff that’s already started to come my way is just a dream come true.’

Jack beat Danny by 2% in the public vote, despite the drag queen carrying this series on their black satin shoulders.

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‘He’s welcome to have my number,’ Danny said of booted-out housemate Mickey Rourke (Picture: Rex Features/Shutterstock for Big Brother)

As days inched closer towards the final, bookmakers tipped Danny to win by a record-breaking landslide.

The LGBTQ+ community was mobilised like it was Eurovision, Geri Halliwell was flying the flag for UK and gay rights depended on her win. It was electric among the gays and theys, dead certain our girl Danny was bringing home the win.

They were clearly so loved going into the house, but they’re leaving a national treasure among the LGBTQ+ community which is rooting for them every step of the way.

‘That is something I didn’t think about or expect genuinely,’ says Danny of their newfound popularity.

‘I love it when people say I’m good because I am. That sounds cocky, but I am.

The performer made a sparkling entrance for the first live show (Picture: Sofi Adams/Rex Features/Shutterstock for Big)

‘I’ve been in the industry of drag for over 10 years, and I’ve cut my teeth. Of course, when I started, I was terrible – everyone is, comedians are terrible when they start, but to be told I’m great or loved or liked, or any of those words about me out a drag, as me, it’s really touched me on a different level.

‘Can one homosexual man get any more confident? I have, actually, and it’s been so lovely.’

It would be easy to suggest Danny soared to the final and became one of the most popular housemates because of their sense of humour, but they weren’t given an easy ride – particularly in the early days.

The first night, we saw a different Danny to the bolshy, razor-sharpy, confident queen that won Drag Race UK. They were ‘wary’, particularly by the presence of Daley Thompson, an Olympic athlete who wasn’t exactly famed for his allyship.

Danny was ‘wary’ of Olympian Daley Thompson (Picture: Rex Features/Shutterstock for Big Brother)

‘I’ve never been able to fully trust straight men. I’m wondering, Am I the butt of the joke? Are they going to get violent? And I needed to let go of my past. I’m a grown ass man,’ Danny says.

Danny shared his anxiety, eventually they made somewhat of a friendship. At the very least they bonded even if Daley wasn’t as warm about Danny behind their back.

And then the whole house was shaken by the presence of erratic Hollywood legend Mickey Rourke, who even prior to entering the house sparked Ofcom complaints by grabbing AJ Odudu on his way in.

The next morning, he cracked a careless homophobic joke about 21-year-old LGBTQ+ popstar JoJo Siwa, and eventually he was kicked out after making a grotesque misogynistic remark to Towie’s Ella Rae Wise.

It put a natural empath like Danny in an uncomfortable position.

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When few would give Mickey the time of day and it became increasingly clear his position in the house was untenable, Danny still reached out to a man clearly damaged by life and fame.

‘He told me I was one of the only people whose numbers he would like,’ says Danny.

‘If he wants my number, he’s welcome to have my number but I have a feeling that he’s going to want to move on and forget this.

‘I saw Mickey for who he was, and I managed to connect with the man. I actually do have empathy for him, and I do think that he is a little bit damaged, but I also don’t think that makes him a bad person.

‘If there’s one thing I’ve taken from this experience is that we all need to make a bit more effort with each other. I’ve got an ex-Tory minister’s number in my phone. If you told me that three weeks ago there would be expletives.’

Mickey was forced to leave Celebrity Big Brother early after receiving formal warnings for his remarks (Picture: Rex Features/Shutterstock for Big Brother)

The ex-Tory in question is Sir Michael Fabricant, who was the first housemate evicted. In his short stint in the house though he made quite the impression on Danny.

‘There’s a mutual respect between Michael and me. He’s is a queer man, he lived a very different time to me, and he opened doors for someone like me to be me on TV and be me in public.

‘There’s certain elements of his political views I don’t have much respect for. I’d like to think maybe in the future I can convince him to be a little less Tory.

‘I don’t think all of his views are horrendous though – he’s got morals.’

But one housemate Danny did expect to form a close bond with was JoJo, two larger than life queer icons with so much mutual respect, the potential of their friendship was so glaringly obvious.

JoJo Siwa also made it to the final on Friday night (Picture: Rex Features/Vianney Le Caer/Shutterstock for)

That didn’t quite happen, even though Danny stresses: ‘I saw JoJo this morning, we’ve exchanged numbers. She’s going to be a dream guest on my podcast!’

Instead, JoJo was permanently attached to Love Island star Chris Hughes. Their friendship the source of much discussion both in and outside the house, despite her partner Kath Ebbs waiting for her on the outside.

Hours after the Celebrity Big Brother final, Kath shared a candid video confirming they’d broken up at the wrap party.

Since then, speculation surrounding JoJo’s relationship with Chris has reached unhealthy levels of fascination. Danny is quite rightly reluctant to discuss the events that unfolded after Celebrity Big Brother but they did share their concerns about the friendship in the house.

‘I raised it exactly how I would have raised it with any of my close friends. I like it when my close friends call me out and I said, “This is what this looks like.”

Chris Hughes and JoJo took part in their first live TV interview since the CBB final on Monday morning’s This Morning (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

‘I just hope is that people don’t get hurt. I don’t like hurting people, and I don’t like seeing other people hurt people, so I wish them the best with whatever their friendship is, and I believe it to be a platonic friendship.

‘I think they formed a very close connection in there, and I was happy to see that, because I think they needed that. And I think JoJo needed somebody in there to be close to, and that’s what she got.’

During the short time I have with Danny, their ambition is palpable.

They went into Celebrity Big Brother with a clear goal: to build their television career and they couldn’t have done more to lay down the foundations for a promising start.

But they won’t climb to the top with their sense of humour alone. They’ll get there because of their wisdom, their effortless attempts to approach everything with kindness.

They’re coming at exactly the right time.

We can’t wait to see what Danny will get up to in the world of TV next (Picture: Rex Features/Shutterstock for Big Brother)

Sadly, it will take courage to commission prime time television with a drag queen at the helm. We’ve come a long way since Lily Savage was inescapable.

Drag has become so needlessly divisive, but also more popular than ever before.

Broadcasters are clearly scared to find the next Savage, but there is so clearly a gap and hunger for it even if they come to some opposition.

‘I moved to Birkenhead, 10 minutes down the road from where Paul grew up. If I could achieve 5% of what Paul O’Grady achieved by the time he passed away, I would die a very happy boy,’ Danny said.

‘Paul did Lily, then gave up Lily and did Paul. I mean, I know we have RuPaul in the US that does TV in and out of drag, but we don’t have that here, and that is on my mind.

‘If this crazy experience has been one small step towards it or big step towards it, I’m ready, I’m waiting, and I’m more excited than ever. And you know what? If actually the opposite, if that is true, and I’m not one step closer to that dream I’ve still just had the best three weeks of my life.’

You can stream Celebrity Big Brother on ITV1 and ITVX.

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