Peter "Pete" Alexander Bennett^[1] (born 22 March 1982 in Camberwell, London) is an English singer, formerly a member of the rock n roll band Daddy Fantastic. He rose to fame on and was the winner of Big Brother 7.^[2] He currently lives in Brighton and has Tourette syndrome.^[3][4] His characteristic phonic tic is a loud shout of "wankers", and he is also renowned for his catchphrase of "Eezamana!"

Bennett was bullied at school from an early age. He was deemed an outcast by fellow children; he was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at the age of 14. As a result Pete missed much school time yet he managed to gain an A* in GCSE Art while attending a pupil outreach centre, Briset Centre in Eltham, South East London. It was around this time that Pete began taking an interest in music, two years later he entered a competition organised by BT called 'Get Out There' in which his entry reached second place.^[5] Bennett's father walked out on his mother when he was very young, and he did not see his father from the age of 14 onwards, although he has always kept in touch. However, in a letter he received on Big Brother, he found out that his father wished to see him again, though this has apparently not yet happened.^[6] Pete also has a younger half-brother, Alex.

Bennett's Tourette's has been publicised as being aggravated by an addiction to ketamine,^[7][8] a dissociative anaesthetic drug generally used in veterinary practice or for pain relief in burns treatment of children. This drug use contributed to his "own personal hell" and led him to "go completely bananas" a year before he entered Big Brother.

Bennett originally auditioned for Big Brother 5, but didn't get in. He can be seen very briefly in the very first episode of BB5, particularly on housemates Victor and Vanessa's audition tapes for BB5. Pete was the second entrant into the Big Brother house, and made an immediate impression as he tumbled down the stairs.

Bennett was the bookmakers' favourite throughout the duration of the series, and had the shortest odds of any Big Brother housemate at the halfway stage of any series, at 1/8, according to John McCririck on Big Brother's Little Brother. On 18 August 2006, Bennett won Big Brother 7 with 61.2% of the final vote.^[9]

Big Brother 7 producers were criticised for letting a man with such a condition onto the show, saying he was 'vulnerable'. The show has been accused of exploiting Bennett's Tourette's syndrome: the TSA UK "claimed the broadcaster had deliberately cast someone with relatively strong symptoms in order to make him a 'figure of fun'."^[10] Some viewers expressed concern that the show had exploited Tourette's, while others felt it was educational.^[11]

Since winning, he announced that he would give the £100,000 prize to his mother, so that she could pay off her mortgage.^[12] Also since winning, he sat on the triumph chair as the winner of the series on Big Brother's Big Mouth, along with the other ex-housemates, whilst being lauded by John McCririck, Paul Morley and Toby Anstis. John McCririck called Bennett 'a hero' for "costing the bookmakers hundreds of thousands of pounds".

Bennett's autobiography "Pete: My Story" was published in hardback in November 2006.^[13] Bennett promoted this book release by giving interviews to several newspapers and magazines. On top of this, Bennett went on a book signing tour in book shops across the UK. The book was reissued in paperback in 2007, this time under the title of "My Journey With Tourettes".

Bennett was nominated for a National Television Award in 2006 for "Most Popular TV Contender" , however Nikki Grahame won the award.

The Daily Mirror revealed that Bennett left his band Daddy Fantastic after agreeing with a record label that he should go solo.^[14] Bennett has written music with songwriter and record producer Guy Chambers. Since working with Chambers, Pete has formed a band "Pete Bennett And The Love Dogs" and embarked on a promotional tour of the UK and Ireland. Performing at Glastonbury 2007 and venues such as IndigO2 (The O2) London and The Cavern Club in Liverpool.^[15]

Bennett was also a guest on The Friday Night Project, wearing the 'Coat of Cash' and later dressing up as a giant question mark for the end-of-show game, and The Friday Night Project Big Brother Special 2008.

On the 21 January 2008, Bennett released a single "Cosmonaut" and can be downloaded from iTunes.

• Pete Bennett at IMDb
• Pete's MySpace page