newsandstar
Published on 22/08/2005
THE muddy touchlines of certain West Cumbria football teams could see more than the customary three men and a dog turning out for matches this winter.
The big attraction? Why, it's
Big Brother hero Anthony Hutton, of course.
Could the likes of Cleator Moor Celtic, Whitehaven Amateurs and Windscale find their Saturday afternoon attendances supplemented by screaming teenagers and sad reality TV show enthusiasts?
Big Bro winner Anthony turns out for North East team Annfield Plain, who just happen to be in the same league as the aforementioned Cumbrian sides.
And there's speculation that once he's trimmed off a few of the extra pounds he put on while stuck in the Big Brother house among some of the world's finest intelligentsia, notably Kinga and Eugene, Anthony will be back in Plain's line up again.
His club manager Bernie Allaker reckons that Anthony's fitness suffered as a result of his incarceration, but Bernie's not complaining because he backed the midfield maestro to win the latest Big Brother and took a few quid off his local bookie.
Before signing for Annfield Plain, Anthony played for Whickham in the Northern League against the likes of Penrith.
Whitehaven Amateurs' official Bill Robson certainly remembers him as a regular for his current club. "The lads recognised him on the television right away," he said.
Well, there can't be many professional Seventies style dancers playing in the Wearside League, can there?
Reiver can't wait to see young master Hutton, now considerably better off as a result of his Big Brother victory, dancing down the wing at Egremont's Falcon Field.
Although come to think of it, when you consider the artistic and educational qualities of Big Brother's so-called "reality" show, Cleator Moor's Birks Road ground seems altogether a more appropriate venue for our latest winner.
