Big Brother winner Craig Phillips has now raised the £250,000 to pay for a life-saving operation for a friend, after a donation from broadcaster Chris Evans. The presenter pledged £50,000 on his Virgin Radio breakfast show, which means that 18-year-old Joanne Harris, who suffers from Down's Syndrome, can now afford to have a heart and lung transplant in the US.
Phillips, 28, donated his £70,000 Big Brother prize as soon as he stepped outside the surveillance gameshow's house in east London, on 15 September. Donations from Channel 4 and the show's producers Bazal, as well as from members of the public had swelled the fund to at least £200,000 before Evans' announcement.
Phillips was a guest on Chris Evans' breakfast show. Doctors in the UK had told Joanne, the cousin of Phillips' best friend, she could not have the operation as it was too risky for someone with Down's Syndrome. As Evans made his announcement, Phillips, from Shropshire, said: "That's brilliant, I can't believe it. It's fantastic."
Joanne's mother Marion called the show and said: "It's totally overwhelming. I didn't believe we'd get to this situation. I never expected this." Evans added: "That means any more money raised by the appeal can now go to help others in a similar situation and it's great that we've been able to heighten awareness of this." An audience of 10 million saw bodybuilder Phillips, who runs his own building company, win the game show. He had to stay for nine weeks in the camera-filled house with a group of strangers, which saw one evicted from the show each week.