It's been 25 years since Nick Bateman changed the course of reality TV forever. 

The city broker made a name for himself when he appeared on the inaugural series of Big Brother, with viewers watching on in shock as he attempted to manipulate nominations by passing notes between housemates. 

While seemingly tame today, such was the scandal at the time that Nick was dubbed 'the most hated man in Britain'. 

Overnight, he went from an unknown to dominating the front pages of the national press - with one newspaper going as far to launch a 'kick out Nick' campaign, and fly a remote-controlled helicopter over the house to drop leaflets in warning his fellow housemates. 

Now, Nick lives his life as a 'ghost', having reverted to his first name Jack - he opted to go by his middle name Nick while at boarding school. 

Yet the road from national hate figure to reclusive expat has been far from smooth - with Nick partying with Brad Pitt, splitting from 'Lovely' Lynette - his wife, and being embroiled in feuds with his former Housemates. 

As Big Brother marks its 25th anniversary this year, Daily Mail charts the rise and fall of the show's original villain, Mr 'Nasty' Nick. 

Nowadays, Nick is as far removed from the celebrity circuit as one could be. 

He moved to Australia in 2013, splitting his time between Brisbane and Sydney and working in marketing. 

He was awarded Australian citizenship in 2022.  

Nick revealed last year that he enjoys living life without being recognised, telling The Telegraph: 'It's nice to be a ghost. Sometimes people look at me curiously, but they usually think I was on The Bill.'

While he changed his name, he insisted he was never bothered by the 'Nasty' label.

He claimed: 'It's better to have a nickname than no nickname. How many contestants can you remember from the first or second series? 

'I couldn't do anything about it. Your true friends and family, and anybody with an ounce of intelligence, knows that's not you.'

His move also came a year after he split from his wife dubbed 'Lovely' Lynnette Peck. 

After his stint on Big Brother, he complained that the show had derailed his love life, moaning: ‘Before BB, I had no problem with women, but now they can’t get away fast enough.’

Yet he managed to find love with fashion magazine writer Lynnette and the pair tied the knot in 2007.

In 2011 he even went into business with her - joining her online fashion business,  Lovely’s Vintage Emporium in 2011.

He left the business when the couple broke up the following year, but Lynette, who has written for magazines including Cosmopolitan, Now, Vogue Australia, and New Woman, built it into an award winning brand.

By 2016 their divorce was made official during a hearing of just 30 seconds, at the Central London Court.

In 2022 and 2023 he posted pictures with a mystery blonde woman - whose identity he did not reveal and he has not shared more photographs since. 

When Big Brother was revived in 2023 he spoke about his new life in Australia, sharing on ITV's Lorraine: 'I've been here 12 years and it's just much nicer. Blue skies, great weather, great food. Its refreshing and its nice to be somewhere where you're happy!' 

He also reflected on his reality TV stint, musing: 'I think I was pretty tame compared to what most contestants got up to now on reality TV in the UK. It was quite sweet really looking back on it.

'We just thought no one was watching. We used to think producers were playing tricks and playing crowd chanting outside.'

During his time Down Under, Nick couldn't fully get away from his Big Brother past - as he was reunited with Craig Phillips during a chance meeting in Australia. 

They put aside their differences and met up while Craig and his wife Laura were travelling around the country.

However, Craig reignited their feud after the catch up, claiming Nick told him 'lie after lie' during their meeting. 

He said: 'The last person I saw was Nasty Nick. Laura and I went travelling around Asia and then went on to Australia - Sydney and Perth. 

'I knew Nick was living in Sydney so I spent four or five hours with him over a couple of bottles of wine. Sometimes you can catch him when he’s a bit normal but because Laura was there it was lie after lie after lie!'

Taking umbrage with the accusation, Nick publicly blasted Craig on X/Twitter, writing: 'It’s funny that the people you invite to your house to stay for free and take time out to see when they visit you in another country, are the ones to throw under the bus for a few pounds.'

Nick and Craig made history in 2000 as two of the 10 civilians chosen to make history on series one of Big Brother. 

During Nick's stay in the house, he was the only contestant never to receive a single eviction nomination - yet was soon dubbed 'Nasty Nick' by the press after he was seen playing Housemates off against one another. 

Such was the furore that after 34 days, producers tipped off his fellow Housemates and he was confronted by eventual winner Craig Phillips.

Having been caught out and exposed, Nick was ejected from the show. 

Speaking at a press conference after his removal, Nick downplayed the drama, reasoning: 'I haven't committed a murder, it's a very small error.'

Asked what he thought of his 'most hated man in Britain' label, he replied: 'I'm just an ordinary guy who took part in an unusual experiment amid scrutiny.

'I don't think the label attaches itself to me. I was just taking part in a game show.'

Despite the public backlash he received, Nick's cheating was a financially savvy move - with The Sun paying him £75,000 for an interview - more than the £70,000 prize fee for winning Big Brother. 

Continuing to lean into his villain status, he went on to publish a book titled Nasty Nick: How to Be a Right B*****d, which racked up at least 200,000 advance orders. 

He also found himself rubbing shoulders with Hollywood royalty - partying with the likes of Brad Pitt, Guy Ritchie and Vinnie Jones at the London premiere of Snatch. 

Nick went on to enjoy gigs on local radio and in many pantomimes - playing the villain of course. 

Yet fame soon dried up and over the years Nick's public appearances began to dwindle - until he made his reality TV return with 2010's Ultimate Big Brother. 

The all-stars series gathered legendary housemates over the years in a final farewell for Big Brother after Channel 4 announced they were axing the show. 

Nick fared better this time, finishing in fifth place, yet in a surprising interview with Daily Mail before he entered the house, Nick confessed that he wasn't surprised the show had been axed, noting: 'its decline into a tawdry freak show has been relentless.'

He went on: 'I am among the dwindling audience who watches it - when I bother to at all - with a queasy sense of uneasiness as the show has lost its innocence as well as the originality of its format.

'Big Brother has debased our culture, created melodrama out of human frailty and disability, and encouraged the worst excesses of misbehaviour.'

Big Brother returns with the series 22 launch on Sunday, September 28 at 9pm on ITVX.