Gogglebox star to make first TV appearance on Channel 4's First Dates since 'devastating' divorce
A favourite of viewers at home, Daniel Lustig-Webb is best known for roaring at the TV screen with his best friend and ex-husband Stephen Lustig-Webb.
But after the couple split in April last year, freshly single Daniel has appeared in the opening credits of the newest series of First Dates.
Daniel, 50, and Stephen, 54, were married for six years. Speaking on the Suddenly Single podcast, Daniel called the split 'devastating' and 'traumatic'.
To make matters worse, the pair are still living under one roof, which makes dating difficult, Daniel says.
He told the Mirror that the living situation makes his love life 'complicated', adding: 'If I'm going on a date, I'm a bit sheepish about it.
'I'll say I'm going to meet a friend but Stephen can just read me. He'll say, "Don't wear that."
'I can't bring anyone to the house so it's a little bit different - but we make it work.'
But reality star Daniel will soon be making a very public return to dating and relationships.
First Dates, which has been running for more than ten years, sees ordinary people head on blind dates at a restaurant run by French maitre d'hotel and host Fred Siriex.
Daniel added of his upcoming appearance: 'I did do something to do with dating that's coming out next year, but I can't talk about that.'
Hairdresser Daniel is following in the footsteps of his ex Stephen, who appeared on the most recent series of Celebs Go Dating.
Also a hairdresser by trade, Stephen took part in the show with Love Island's Chris Taylor, Corrie star Helen Flanagan, MAFS star Ella Morgan, singer Jamelia, influencer Lauryn Goodman and Made In Chelsea's Tristan Phipps.
In January this year, Daniel revealed he and Stephen were still living together - then nine months after they announced their marriage split.
'We've found a way to work together, live together and be dog dads. It's always been about friendship.
'As soon as we started dating, I said, 'this guy is so different to me' but we got on so well, even though we came from completely different backgrounds.'
Talking about their split, he added: 'It was devastating. For me, it was traumatic and although I knew things weren't great, I didn't see it coming.
'It was quite a slow process because we were completely entwined for so long, with our businesses, the dogs, we were so close in everything we did.
'There was nothing underhand happening, no-one had slept with anyone else. Stephen was the complete opposite to me, and we'd say opposites attracted, but fundamentally, that was our problem in the end.'
Confirming he was back on the market, Daniel said: 'Once I got over the shock, in the summer I was going on date after date with all these different types of people, I was on apps all the time, and now I realise I was trying to fill a void.
'Friends took me aside to ask if I was okay. Now I'm happy being single. I love going on dates but I don't need a long-term relationship, I need to repair myself a little and learn who I am again.
'The first guy I dated (after Stephen), I went on about six dates with him in London. He was very nice, he knew my situation and it was teenage dating, nothing sexual at all, we'd go somewhere really nice and have a snog in the end.
'He did end it, I think he realised I wasn't in the right frame of mind.'
Stephen an Daniel are still on good terms, with the pair both running their hair salon together.
At the time of their split, Daniel said: 'We've made the decision with a very heavy heart to confirm our marriage has come to an end.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Bonnie Blue C4 show's most disturbing moments from 'petting zoo' stunt to husband's brag
A new Channel 4 documentary, titled "1,000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story" has exposed the often lonely reality of earning millions of pounds for sex work. A new documentary delving into the smutty world of Bonnie Blue has given a disturbing insight into the dark reality behind the scenes of her sex empire. The adult star became one of the most controversial figures on the internet after encouraging "barely legal" teens to sleep with her in X-rated content she films and profits from. And her work has only become more extreme ever since, reports the Mirror. Now, a new Channel 4 documentary, titled "1,000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story" has exposed the often lonely reality of earning millions of pounds for sex work. From a sex scene filmed in a school to gushing over Andrew Tate, here is a look at the most disturbing moments from the show, that the broadcaster insists they are "proud of". School classroom stunt One scene shows Bonnie filming a sex tape with young female OnlyFans creators and a male porn star inside a school classroom. The director of the documentary, Victoria Silver, reveals the women aren't being paid to take part in the video. One young woman called Codie, who sells both solo content and videos with her partner, speaks to the camera and says that she's never done anything this "adventurous" and looks visibly nervous. At the shoot in Birmingham, she says of Bonnie: "She got quite big quite fast, so it will be nice to see how she does things." Another woman, Leah, timidly admits that this is the first time she has been with other people in a room having sex and she is "definitely" nervous about doing so. "I got a DM to see if I wanted to take part. As soon as I heard Bonnie Blue's name I was intrigued because she's everywhere at the minute," she said. A third creator, a 21-year-old woman, admits her depraved subscribers love her content because she looks so much younger than she actually is. Rather than being concerned about their shyness and discomfort, Bonnie insists what she is doing is actually a positive thing. She says: "The fact they are so nervous works in my favour, because their reactions will be more realistic. Or if they feel intimidated, obviously, I want them to say, but sometimes sex is intimidating, so it's going to be good." However, experts have questioned the power dynamic in Bonnie's work with young women. Charlotte Proudman, an award-winning barrister specialising in violence against women, told The Mirror that 'power imbalances' can give cause for concern as it can suggest 'coercion or abuse', especially in 'sexual contexts'. "Filming this in a classroom further blurs the line between fantasy and the normalisation of child sexual abuse tropes, something that's already widespread in online pornography," she said. Bonnie says that every participant has to sign a consent form and show ID before taking part in the footage. Ex-husband speaks out In the show, we hear from Bonnie's ex husband Oliver Davidson for the first time. She reveals that it was actually Oliver, or Ollie as he's known to Tia, who encouraged her to move into sex work in the first place. "I met Ollie when I was like 14, 15," she explains in the show. "We got married really young. Pretty, quite intimate wedding, nothing crazy, nothing over the top. Then we relocated to Australia shortly afterwards. "Ollie was beyond supportive, he gave me the confidence to do OnlyFans. And it wasn't because he wanted to pimp me out, he just wanted me to be happy and have control of my life. And obviously the money was good as well." Her ex gushes about Bonnie's sex stunts with the public and says he's proud of her. "She really connects with the fans. Most people, if they do porn, they seem out of reach. You're never going to meet them. You're never going to be able to film with them. "Whereas Bonnie puts a location online, and then obviously her fans can actually film with her. It's like a defining moment in porn, where she's completely changed the game." In a new interview today, Bonnie shared exactly why things didn't work between her and Ollie, and told the Daily Mail that they broke up some time before she moved back to the UK from Australia in 2024, and that Ollie returned before her. "We loved each other, but we weren't in love. So we separated, but we didn't make it official," she said. "Me doing what I've done recently had nothing to do with the relationship breakdown. But, of course, no one will believe me." Acid attack fears "I was the most searched woman in the world this year. I've had headlines in just about every country. I get to travel to amazing places, I've got an amazing team behind me. My bank account has millions in," Bonnie brags at the start of the film. But a different story soon emerges as Bonnie's mask slips when Tia's real-life fears bubble to the surface. Her notoriety, and her boasts of sex with married men, who, she says, should not feel guilty about cheating on their wives, comes at a price. Despite her confidence on social media and in her sex videos, Bonnie lives in fear at home and employs full time security. She admits: "The last time I went out by myself was probably about six months ago. Now it is not that safe. I get 100s of death threats a day, so it is not that safe when I walk around. "I say, 'It is going to happen at some point, someone will come and give me stick' and fair play to her, at least they are getting up off their sofa. My worst one is acid, if someone did acid, and I could see some spiteful girl doing that." Petting zoo stunt Bonnie shares disturbing new details about her 'petting zoo' sex stunt that eventually got cancelled when OnlyFans permanently banned her from its platform just days before the 'challenge' was due to go ahead. The stunt would have seen Bonnie"tied down" in a glass box in a house in London, where strangers would come and do "whatever they wanted". She brags in the documentary: "I am going to be completely helpless, tied down, gagged, choked". The star faced outrage from critics who claim the 'event' glorifies rape culture and perpetuates dangerous myths around sex. Some of this fury is seen in the film. A recent government review found porn involving non-fatal strangulation (NFS) was "rife" and that its prevalence online was contributing to choking becoming commonplace in some people's sex lives - particularly among young people. Even more disturbingly, the UK courts have seen an alarming rise in women's lives ending after what those accused of their deaths say were ' sex games gone wrong'. Dr Proudman says: "The language Bonnie uses around being 'tied down, gagged and choked' for public consumption directly mirrors some of the most violent forms of abuse I see survivors disclose in courtrooms. "To portray this as titillating content, especially in an era where non-fatal strangulation has become alarmingly normalised in young women's sex lives, often without consent, is reckless and dangerous." Brushing off her critics, Bonnie argues in the film: "If I consent to something and it's above board, who are you to say I can't do that?" OnlyFans cut ties with the star after facing months of fierce criticism for platforming extreme sex stunts - including Bonnie sleeping with 1,057 men in one day. The website ignored the backlash and continued to profit from the stunts until Bonnie's petting zoo event finally caused them to take action. The star claims that the only reason she was banned is because OnlyFans' payment parties like Visa, expressed concerns. Bonnie has since moved onto a new smaller platform to promote her work. Mum 'on the payroll' One scene in the documentary shows Bonnie back at home with her mum. She speaks with pride about how her daughter was a great dancer as a child. Of Bonnie's career, mum Sarah insists: "Would it be something that I chose for her to do, no. I was really really shocked, but now would I want her to do anything else? No, not at all. "All you want is for your kids to be happy, and she is happy. You know, she's got no daddy issues. She's not been abused and all these things that people insist that must have happened to her. It's her choice." Sarah and some of Bonnie's other family members have given up their jobs to be "on the payroll" of Bonnie after she started getting financially successful, and they started to get abused at work. "Most of the time I just laugh, because I'm like 'if you could earn a million pounds in a month, your morals would soon change, and you'd get your bits out'. I don't care what people say." Bonnie adds: "My family started to put up with hate, I get that, but I also get the life I live and the money. So it's like I also want them to receive some of the rewards." 'Barely legal' brags Bonnie prides herself in specialising in sleeping with "barely legal" teenagers. She claims in the new documentary that it "gives her purpose" - and even jokingly calls herself a "community worker" for sleeping with "normal people". Explaining her 'USP', which sees her earn millions of pounds, she says in the show: "I found my purpose in porn. I found the niche I want to focus on. "And it's not just because I'm obsessed with 18 year olds, like it was such a bigger picture in terms of teaching them how to have sex, like watching their face light up as they, you know, lost their virginity. I was like, Wow. I really love that." Exploring the thinking behind Bonnie's extreme 'niche', Sophie Rhone, a PR specialist from CupidPr, tells The Mirror: "There's a phenomenon known as behavioural escalation, where the need to keep pushing boundaries stems from a diminishing psychological return. "What was once shocking now feels standard, so the behaviour becomes more extreme – not just for audience reaction, but to maintain a personal sense of meaning or relevance." Rage-bait against women The star admits she uses the widespread hate she gets as fuel for engagement, and often puts women down as part of her brand. She says in the show: "A lot of the times when I'll push into the hate, I know the more women that chat about me, the more husbands are going to search my name. "The more they're talking to me in their household, the more their sons are going to go to their bedroom and search for me. So I'm happy to p*** off the women because they're not my target audience." The documentary shows snippets of the promotional videos Bonnie posts on the likes of TikTok and Instagram - clips that anyone, including young girls and boys, can stumble across. In one video, she entices married men by declaring: "The next time you're in my queue, bring your wife's underwear. I can put them on [and] make them smell so much better." PR expert Sophie notes: "Her use of rage-baiting and hostility toward other women may also point to internalised misogyny or a competitive survival strategy in a space where attention equals power. "Publicly belittling others can offer a temporary illusion of control or superiority – especially when self-worth is closely tied to external validation, views, or notoriety." Painful aftermath of extreme sex challenges Bonnie also shares the gruelling physical toll of her extreme sex challenges. In one scene, following an eight hour session with 100 men, she says it was the "hardest [one] to date". "I definitely underestimated it, because I've done 1,000 [sleeping with 1,057 men in 12 hours] I was like, OK, well, this is gonna be a walk in the park. Anything I do now is surely never going to be as hard as that… [But] it was a lot." Her videographer Josh then says: "She basically just got beat up for a few hours." And Bonnie admits "Yeah, it was intense". A photo of the star is then shown during the event where her eyes are bright red. "I liked being pushed. That's what I want to do with sex," she says. In another part of the film, Bonnie insists that her work doesn't impact her mentally. She reflects: "I'm just not emotional. I can very much control my emotions. If I don't want to be upset, I won't be upset. But no, I don't think I'm gonna need therapy, or I've got PTSD, or that there's any trauma. There's no hidden reason of why I do what I do." In response to her comments, John Eastmen, a psychologist at Private Investigators UK, says: "Extreme sexual behaviour, especially in a public and performative context, can often be less about physical gratification and more about control, identity, and unresolved psychological dynamics. "While Bonnie insists there's no trauma driving her choices, it's not uncommon for individuals to reject or disassociate from the idea of trauma – particularly when their coping mechanism becomes intertwined with their public persona or livelihood. "Statements like 'I don't need therapy, there's no hidden reason' can actually be indicators of deep-seated emotional suppression. This idea of being 'in control' of one's emotions to the point of denying vulnerability altogether can be a psychological defence known as emotional detachment – often developed after early experiences where emotions were unsafe, invalidated, or ignored." Controversial ambitions Bonnie makes it clear in the show that there's no limit to her extreme sex work, despite being banned from OnlyFans. In one scene, she makes a shocking remark about her troubling ambitions, where she says: "I really want to do a disabled gangbang." Gushing words on Andrew Tate The documentary ends as Bonnie is about to head to Romania to meet influencer Andrew Tate, who is facing rape and human trafficking charges, which he denies, and is a self proclaimed misogynist. Bonnie says: "He's probably just as controversial as I am. Whether people love him or hate him, he's a marketing genius." Director Victoria asks her: "You talk about female empowerment, but how do you square that with aligning yourself with the most misogynistic male on the internet?" And Bonnie says: " Piers Morgan interviews serial killers all the time. It's not messed up his brand. He [Tate] has been labelled multiple things by the media, and so have I. We're probably the two most misunderstood people out there at the moment." At the end of the show, she insists she would sleep with anyone for clicks. She says bluntly: "I would f*** Andrew Tate," and when her videographer Josh adds "There isn't anyone she wouldn't f***," she nods and says: "As long as they are 18." Reacting to the star's defence of Tate, Dr Proudman says: "Aligning with an openly misogynistic man who profits from the degradation of women is not female empowerment, it's complicity. We are not talking about liberation here. We're talking about the commodification of abuse for clicks. And the real-world impact is devastating."
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Bonnie Blue documentary leaves Channel 4 viewers fuming as they slam broadcaster
Tonight, Channel 4 aired the documentary 1,000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story which featured multiple scenes of graphic sex not normally seen on TV and fans were in shock Channel 4 viewers tuned in to watch 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story tonight, but it wasn't anything like their usual Tuesday night watch. Those watching questioned the channel's decision to promote the controversial adult star without asking crucial questions. The broadcaster recently defended its decision to make a documentary about online porn star Bonnie Blue, as they insisted they were "proud" of the programme, saying they wanted it to "stimulate debate." It looks like the film has done exactly that, as fans flocked to X, formerly known as Twitter to express their shock. Bonnie Blue, real name, Tia Billinger, is no stranger to controversy, recently having claimed to have slept with over 1,000 men in 12 hours. The documentary saw director Victoria Silver followed Tia over the course of six months and "questions Tia's methods and the divisive style of her social media and hears from colleagues and collaborators in order to understand her polarising business model." The show featured a number of shocking moments, including one scene that Bonnie filming a sex tape with young female OnlyFans creators and a male porn star in a school classroom. Fans were left bewildered as they took to X formerly known as Twitter to air their frustrations at Channel 4 promoting Bonnie. "So Bonnie Blue gets a documentary on channel 4 where she can promote and glamorise her lifestyle for the kids watching at home but we need IDs to see posts on X because 'we need to protect the kids'," one fumed. Another penned: "I feel beyond uncomfortable watching this Bonnie Blue documentary, the fact she's been given a platform is concerning. Like it or not, this affects everyone in this generation, how normal this discourse has become from a woman herself is not okay." A third raged: "Channel 4 you are truly disgusting for airing a documentary about Bonnie blue in any way shape or form. Genuinely disappointing how that woman is allowed a platform of any sort, the fact she isn't jailed is beyond me. What a disgrace to all women. #bonnieblue #channel4 #Trending." "Why the hell is Channel 4 showing a documentary about Bonnie Blue....1000 Men & Me," one angry viewer raged. Another angry watcher added: "why on earth are channel 4 giving any airtime to freaks that marginalise and fuel misogyny against women such as bonnie blue????" Aside from the X-Rated moments, viewers also heard from Bonnie's loved ones, including her ex husband Oliver Davidson, who encouraged her to move into sex work. "Ollie was beyond supportive, he gave me the confidence to do OnlyFans. And it wasn't because he wanted to pimp me out, he just wanted me to be happy and have control of my life. And obviously the money was good as well," Bonnie said of her ex. Ollie said he was proud of Bonnie, saying she'd "completely changed the game" with porn. "She really connects with the fans. Most people, if they do porn, they seem out of reach. You're never going to meet them. You're never going to be able to film with them. "Whereas Bonnie puts a location online, and then obviously her fans can actually film with her. It's like a defining moment in porn, where she's completely changed the game," he said. Despite the feedback about the doc, when asked about their decision to broadcast the programme, Channel 4 told the Mirror: 'Tia Billinger, via her stage name Bonnie Blue, has gained worldwide attention and millions of pounds in the last year. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story is an observational documentary in which director Victoria Silver follows Tia over the course of six months. The film questions Tia's methods and the divisive style of her social media and hears from colleagues and collaborators in order to understand her polarising business model. "Part of Channel 4's remit is to reflect modern Britain and stimulate debate amongst viewers, and a film such as this, exploring changing attitudes to sex, success, porn, and feminism in an ever-evolving online world is an important addition to those conversations. 'Channel 4 has a track record of programmes that examine the porn industry from a variety of perspectives. In the last two years we have broadcast programmes such as Sex Actually with Alice Levine that looked at a range of sexual experiences, while OnlyFans Got Me Fired: Untold and Confessions of a Cam Girl showed the personal cost of porn for content creators.'
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Bonnie Blue's husband breaks silence in first TV interview on OnlyFans creator
Bonnie Blue 's husband has spoken out for the first time about the adult content creator in a new documentary. The 26-year-old adult content creator, real name Tia Billinger, is the subject of Channel 4 's 1,000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story, which follows her rise to global infamy, broadcast on Tuesday (29 July). Blue says she and her husband, Ollie, met when they were 14 or 15 and separated in 2023. "She really connects with the fans... She's completely changed the game," Ollie said of Blue. In a two-star review for The Independent, Olivia Petter dubbed The Bonnie Blue Story 'sad, uncomfortable and prurient viewing'.
