Celebrity Big Brother 2025 stars’ real names revealed – and they might shock you

The 2025 series of Celebrity Big Brother has brought nothing but drama and chaos to our screens—but we have some more secrets to reveal.

Earlier this month, stars including Jack P. Shepherd, Chris Hughes, JoJo Siwa, and more entered the famous ITV abode.

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been treated to several revelations, from Chesney Hawkes’ sex club confessions to Daley Thompson admitting he once turned a young David Beckham down for an autograph.

That’s not all, though, as several housemates have revealed they’re not who you think they are—they have different names.

The likes of EastEnders legend Patsy Palmer and Hollywood’s Mickey Rourke go by different monikers in their personal lives, and you’ll probably be shocked by what they’re actually called.

Here’s a round-up of the CBB stars with different names so you can impress your mates with this deep pop culture knowledge.

Patsy Palmer

Not only do we know her best as Patsy, but the soap queen is typically referred to as Bianca Jackson in households up and down the country, having played the part in Albert Square since 1993.

However, CBB viewers were stunned when she revealed her real name to be Julie.

The 52-year-old star’s full name is Julie Anne Merkell, with her surname being Harris before she married Richard Merkell in 2000.

In a conversation with comedian Donna Preston (whose real name is Donna Preston, don’t worry), Patsy dropped the bombshell.

‘It’s crazy that I’m talking to you, Bianca. Patsy Palmer, obviously. Great name. Really great name,’ Donna began.

‘My name’s not really Patsy Palmer, though. It’s Julie,’ the actress declared, to which Donna swore out of shock.

This isn’t the first time Patsy has spoken about her birth name. During an appearance on This Morning in 2019, she explained: ‘They [the fans] don’t know me [in America], and I have another name.

‘My name is Julie, really, so I thought, “I’m going to get back to calling myself my real name”.’

She added: ‘But I actually get so confused myself that sometimes I’ll say Patsy, and sometimes I’ll say Julie.

‘So now in Malibu, they call me Patsy Julie.

‘Julie Anne Harris was my name; my married name is Julie Merkell.’

Patsy’s showbiz name was inspired by her mother, whose name is Patricia Harris, as her maiden name was Palmer.

Mickey Rourke

Mickey Rourke made plenty of headlines despite spending less than a week inside the Celebrity Big Brother abode.

The 72-year-old former boxer was ultimately removed from the house after squaring up to Love Islander Chris and using ‘threatening’ language.

Mickey had already been warned about his ‘inappropriate’ behaviour, having infuriated viewers with homophobia, weight-related jibes, and sexually inappropriate remarks.

While Mickey’s problematic persona came as a surprise to many on launch night when he was accused of ‘creepily’ groping host AJ Odudu, there’s another fact that might stun you.

The American actor’s real name is Philip Andre Rourke Jr., having originally been named after his father.

During a conversation with talk show legend Trisha Goddard, who was the second evictee, Mickey made the revelation after she greeted him with a fake Irish accent.

Singer Chesney Hawkes remarked: ‘I guess you must have Irish roots, with a name like Rourke. Is that your actual name, by the way?’

‘No, my real name is Philip Andre,’ Mickey said.

He teased that it’s a ‘long story’ when asked where his stage name came from, but it’s believed he was given the nickname Mickey by his father, since he was a fan of the baseball player Mickey Mantle.

However, as Mickey candidly discussed in the house, he had a difficult childhood.

After his father left their family home, he was abused by his stepfather, leading to Mickey venturing into boxing and adopting the nickname as his real one.

Daley Thompson

Gold medalist Daley Thompson has an entirely different name from the one we know him by as a decathlete.

The sporting legend was the third official evictee from this series of CBB, having lost out in a head-to-head against Patsy.

Daley, 66, lasted almost two weeks inside the walls of the ITV house, but it seems his lack of enthusiasm for helping with chores was his downfall, causing him to be nominated.

While he shared plenty of anecdotes during his CBB stint, there’s one thing Daley didn’t touch on—his real name.

The Olympian is actually called Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson, you might be shocked to learn.

Having become one of the most impactful figures in decathlon history, the British-Nigerian athlete chose ‘Daley’ as it is a shortened form of his middle name Ayodelé.

This is also a Yoruba term meaning ‘joy comes home’.

JoJo Siwa

Internet sensation JoJo Siwa boasts over 45million followers—and that’s just on TikTok.

While plenty of us know who she is, the 21-year-old (this year’s youngest housemate) has acquired a whole new fan base throughout her time in the CBB house.

Thanks to her friendship with Chris Hughes, her playful antics, and refreshingly candid conversations about sexuality, the American pop star has been welcomed into the UK’s hearts.

However, when she’s not performing or creating online content, JoJo goes by a different name, having been born Joelle Joanie Siwa.

During a conversation with Towie’s Ella Rae Wise this week, the Karma hitmaker admitted the two identities often overlap.

The Dance Moms alum mused: ‘It’s so hard because I feel like I’m so proud. I love having a partner, but I wish nobody knew. 

‘You know what I mean; I wish I was better at keeping it private. Because I separate my life into two people, right? JoJo and Joelle.

‘And typically when I date somebody, they start to really get to know Joelle, right? But they’re both always present at all times.

‘Like right now, I’m Joelle, but JoJo’s still here, you know what I mean? And Joelle runs JoJo.’

JoJo was thrust into the limelight in 2015 when she appeared on two seasons of US reality show Dance Moms alongside her mother, Jessalynn Siwa.

Since then, she’s become a pop culture phenomenon, touring the globe, appearing on television, and clocking up millions of views for her music videos.

In 2020, she was included on Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Danny Beard

RuPaul’s Drag Race favourite Danny Beard is best known for his flamboyant drag performances and show-stopping attire.

However, the nation has seen a different side to the performer over the last two weeks and has already predicted him for the CBB win.

The 32-year-old Liverpudlian goes by Danny Beard when in drag, a name that isn’t too different from his own, which isn’t so typical in the industry.

But when he was first starting out, Danny – whose name is Daniel Curtis – decided that he didn’t necessarily ‘need’ a drag name.

‘When I started experimenting with makeup, clothes, music, and art, I was at university, and I was studying contemporary theatre—arty-farty, I know!’, he previously shared.

‘I was obsessed with Leigh Bowery and the whole movement surrounding him. I loved that he didn’t need a drag name; it was still his name, so I knew I wanted to be Danny or Daniel.

‘And then once I started wearing a glitter beard, it was Danny with the beard that eventually became Danny Beard!’

Celebrity Big Brother continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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