020 8914 8966
020 8914 8966
Craig Phillips was born in Liverpool in 1971, the younger of 2 children, his family moved to Shropshire in the late 1980s. At 18, Craig secured a bricklaying apprenticeship whilst employed with Wrekin Council’s construction department.
Determined to ensure he excelled in his chosen profession, he attended further night school classes in advanced brickwork and civil engineering. Having qualified with a City & Guilds, Craig went on to set up his own building company.
In 2000 Craig Phillips shot to fame winning the first ‘Big Brother’ and with it the hearts of a nation. Many viewers already knew he was a self-made entrepreneur. He set up and ran his own highly successful building company for 10 years throughout the 1990’s. He had also started developing his own property portfolio employing 30 tradesmen and operating a company with an annual turnover of over 1 million. Craig is now recognised as a successful property developer with numerous dwellings in his portfolio, all of which have been personally designed, restored and project managed by Craig Phillips and his team.
Television Presenting:
His public appeal shown in Big Brother along with his vast property experience, construction knowledge and down to earth manner were quickly spotted by television executives. They drafted him in as a resident expert on various TV programmes. Craig has now presented over 700 shows and appeared on shows for all the major broadcasters. These include BBC, ITV, C4, Five, UKTV Style, also Discovery Realtime. His programmes have been seen not only in the UK but across the globe. He has reached millions of viewers on a daily basis. Craig has been seen all over Europe and as far as Korea, New Zealand and the USA.
Shows Craig has either presented, co-presenter or appeared as regularly as resident expert on include ’60 Minute Makeover’ (ITV1),’Housecall’ (BBC1), ‘Big Strong Boys’ (BBC1), ‘Conversion’ (Discovery Realtime), ‘Trading Up’ (BBC1 & UK Style), ‘Hung, Drawn & Quartered (British Forces Broadcasting Service)’, ‘Renovation Street’ (ITV1 & Discovery Realtime), ‘Builders Sweat & Tears’ (BBC1) ‘Our House’ (UK Style), ‘Housecall In The Country’ (BBC1), Craig’s Trade Tips (BBC1) and ‘Boyz In The Wood’ (Discovery Realtime) amongst others. He has presented TV shows across the globe, destinations including Canada, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Germany, Cyprus, Kosovo, Bosnia, France, Spain and Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
In 2003, Craig Philips merged with a top BBC cameramandirector to form their own independent production company Avent Productions which has since gone on to produce projects for a range of broadcast and corporate clients. Craig has now executive produced and presented shows for Discovery worldwide and the British Forces Broadcasting Service reaching 17 countries within the United Nations worldwide.
In addition, Craig is often asked to make television guest appearances on entertainment and factual programmes and has appeared on numerous shows for broadcasters in the UK and Northern Ireland.
Building School:
In 2005 Craig Philips set up the largest independent construction training centre in the North-West. The 25,000 square feet facility was designed and built by Craig and his team to simulate a real construction site environment.
After 2 years of planning and development, Cherie Booth QC and a whole host of celebrities formally opened the doors to the first 152 students. Craig’s vision created a centre which simulates a real construction environment providing facilities for a range of building trades and this was recognised by the CITB who gave the centre full accreditation and the accolade of providing the best wet trades training facilities in the UK. Today the facility is now 100,000 square feet, delivering a variety of work based learning courses in numerous construction disciplines. It also has the capacity to train up to 500 students on site.
Corporate:
Craig’s warm down to earth personality and vast knowledge in construction makes him a popular choice for a variety of corporate and educational clients for live appearances.
He is often asked to attend as guest of honour at official openings of housing developments, present property awards events, deliver motivational and after dinner speeches, open home improvement and garden superstores, perform professional building demonstrations at home and trade shows, open housing and regeneration conferences, host on stage building challenges at construction trade shows, open construction trade counter branches and lend his support to regional and national regeneration initiatives.
The list of corporate and educational clients Craig has assisted to date is as diverse as it is impressive and includes Construction Industry Training Board, Learning and Skills Council, Department for Education & Skills, Wickes, Everbuild, Floors 2 Go, P&O, Nestle, St Ivel, McInerney Homes, Bellway Homes, Business Link, Harrods, Trinity Mirror Group, BBC, Emap, Channel 4, Gala Bingo, British Gas, Abbey National, Homebase, various district council’s, county council’s, universities, and colleges across the UK.
Brand Ambassador:
Craig also acts in a capacity as a corporate brand ambassador for leading national companies, lending his name, signature and image to products and services and assisting in raising awareness of these in addition to participating in national radio and television campaigns.
The First UK Reality Television Show Winner:
In 2000 watched by over 10 million viewers, Craig received 3.7 million votes on the final night. He became C4’s first Big Brother winner, donating his entire 70,000 prize money to a Downs Syndrome friend Joanne Harris.
When Craig famously confronted ‘Nasty’ Nick Bateman the UK TV industry came to a virtual standstill. The stand off was watched live on the internet by a record 10 million people. Intel quoted this was ‘the most traffic ever seen live on one website’ landing Craig a television award and also being voted one of the 50 best ever television moments in Broadcast magazine.
Charity Support:
Craig supports numerous charities and is certainly a man of action in supporting them. He has abseiled one of London’s tallest buildings, abseiled the 335ft high St John’s Beacon tower above Liverpool City Centre. Also, he completed the London marathon, zip lined 600 feet across an open quarry, took part in a 12,000 ft skydive jumps, wing walked at 2000ft. Craig’s charity activities in 2007 included several bike rides, golf days and taking part in the 2008 PDSA Pet Pawtraits celebrity calendar. 2007 also saw him round off his charity activities with his most challenging charity activity yet. Here has was diving with Europe’s largest collection of sharks and stingrays for the Anthony Nolan Trust.
Craig is a patron of the Downs Syndrome Association and road safety charity Brake. He is one of the Lord Mayor of Liverpool’s chosen charity ambassadors (alongside football’s Kenny Dalgliesh and musician Gerry Marsden) assisting at events throughout Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture 2008.
2008 saw Craig Phillips filmed 80 new shows of 60 Minute Makeover for ITV1. It was broadcast across the UK throughout 2008 and 2009.
Testimonials About Craig:
”Craig Phillips shot to fame in front of 10 million viewers winning Big Brother, but it is his wealth of knowledge in the construction industry that has constantly kept him in the public eye on hundreds of television shows.”
Construction News
”Craig is a prolific ideas man…he certainly breaks the mould of your average reality TV star”
Mail On Sunday
”We are grateful to Craig for supporting adult learning within construction so publicly – it is vital to our future as a nation”
National Director of Learning, Learning & Skills Council
”I thank Craig for his immeasurable support to vocational education. He is a sple
ndid ambassador and role model to young people”.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair MP
”Craig’s warm personality and expert knowledge of all things DIY makes him a popular choice with the public”
UKTV Style
”Craig Phillips winning Big Brother still remains one of the most emotional moments ever witnessed on British TV”.
Heat Magazine
”One of the most recognisable smiles on TV, and arguably the only reality star to have successfully adapted his high profile to his original profession”
BBC
