David Gest talks about Celebrity Big Brother and reveals more about his eclectic group of friends

David Gest talks about his decision to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house and talks about his eclectic celebrity friends. Celebrity Big Brother can be seen week nights on Channel 5.

Why did you want to do CBB?

I stayed away from TV for a few years because I haven’t wanted to do that. I love producing and I love performing live, I’ve been doing that for the last three years. I’ve just finished a tour of 24 dates in the UK and played to over 200,000 people. So I love performing live and I love producing films, TV shows and doing other things. I never looked to be a TV star, it was a fluke. But I think this is a really fun show, it’s interesting and I hope that what I can bring to it is the humour.

Do you still tell tall stories?

They're all true. I will be telling lots of stories about my cousins and my family and so they’re in for a lot of fun moments. I have thousands of cousins, and I'll be talking about my childhood in Taiwan.

What kind of housemate do you think you’ll be?

I think I’ll be caring about the people. You know, I’m not looking here for confrontation and I won’t put up with it. It’s not why I’m doing it. I have no desire to win this, I couldn’t care less about that. At 62, it’s not going to change my life one way or the other. I think people go “I’ve got to win this”, but it’s not the attitude to have. It’s to go in and have a great time and make it a fun experience. That’s what I want to do, I want to entertain the audiences and make them laugh and that’s what I’m about. Am I going to sit and do bitchiness and arguments? No. That’s not what they are going to get from me, because I’ll tune out. It’s very easy for me to tune out.

So if there’s a big argument going on, that’s what you’ll do?

I’ll tune out, but if they come to me and ask how do I feel, I will look at it realistically and say you’re in this situation, you’re in this environment, I think you need to learn to get along because it’s a game and when the game’s over you want to be dignified.

What do you think of the rumoured line-up?

I know quite a lot of them. I'm hoping that the Americans this time represent themselves more like the Brits. British people don't talk about how much money they earn or thing they've obtained. It's kind of boring. Farrah Abraham did not make the best impression. And I can't even talk about Perez Hilton.

What about the British housemates?

Daniella is a really talented actress. Nancy I've known for years.

You have quite an eclectic group of friends, don't you?

Yes. I was always friends with Michael and Tito Jackson and now I have a younger friendship group. I'm friends with all sorts of footballers, and Kym Marsh is like a little sister to me. I'm friends with Liam Gallagher, too. When I got back from the jungle, I was with Matt Willis from Busted at a restaurant, and this guy came over and gave me a big hug and asked me to come over to his table and then I was invited to his wife's birthday party. I didn't even know who he was. There was someone from the Prodigy, and we all became friends. I respect him as a musician. I like Pete Doherty from the Libertines too. He's an amazing guy. I've lived such a different live, from the days of Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Robert Mitchum, and someone whose name I can't remember - life is a cabaret, old chum!

Is there anything you're going to miss while you're in the house?

I'm going to miss being able to get into my own bed, and watch a good movie, or put on a CD. But this is an experience and if I only last the first week, then that's fine. I'm really not in it to win it.