PUNK rocker and Buckinghamshire resident Donny Tourette made quite an entrance on Wednesday night, as he became the eighth celebrity to enter Channel 4's Big Brother house.

Donny, aka Patrick Brannan, of Chalfont St Giles, who is the frontman of controversial band, Towers Of London, walked defiantly down the red carpet towards the house entrance, while swearing profusely at both the crowd and the cameras.

Once he disappeared from view, amid all the booing from displeased onlookers, presenter Davina McCall told viewers that the former boyfriend of Peaches Geldof "smelled like a brewery".

Once inside the house, the 26-year-old received, something of a warm welcome from 1970s singer Leo Sawyer, who knew Donny from his time living in Amersham (see below).

He then became acquainted with his other housemates who include film director Ken Russell, columnist Carole Malone, actress Cleo Rocos, ex-Miss Great Britain Danielle Lloyd, actor Dirk Benedict, former Steps singer Ian 'H' Watkins, former Jackson 5 member Jermaine Jackson, former S Club 7 singer Jo O'Meara and Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.

His entrance into the house, situated at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, was watched by his father, James, a site manager at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, alongside his wife, Patricia.

Brother and fellow Towers Of London bandmate Francis, aka Dirk Tourette, was also there to cheer Donny on.

James tells me: "Yes, we were all there last night. Of course, we're really proud of him and he's becoming more and more well known."

Former manager Stuart Epps, who knew the group in 2004 as The Lostboys, says being inside the house "will be brilliant for the band".

He adds: "Not many people have really heard of Towers Of London and this could really boost their careers. Plus, it will probably do Patrick the world of good. It might help him cut down on his outrageous behaviour, as well as all that alcohol."

Asking him to elaborate further on the band's antics, Stuart tells me: "They were mad, very enthusiastic, good guys. They all wanted to be outrageous, but Pat topped them all. He's so charismatic, a bit of a Russell Brand in many ways. But he's generally got a good head on his shoulders.

"I do remember one time though, turning up for a gig at 3pm. The band had got there before me and within an hour they'd managed to p*** everyone off and trashed the dressing room. That was the boys though: very inventive, but they just drank too much."

Ex-band member Damien West, who acrimoniously split from the band three years ago before entering a bitter legal battle over song rights, says the other housemates should watch out for Donny.

"God help the other celebrities, that's what I have to say. I think Patrick will certainly shake everyone up in there. He's a nice enough guy, but he drinks so much, it's like he's permanently drunk.

"You talk about the Rolling Stones, but Pat just eclipses them all with his behaviour.

"There was one time when we were out in London, at about 4am, and he started picking a fight with some drug dealers. I pleaded with him to stop. Before I knew it, they were beating the s*** out of him. He could've died that night.

"Another time we did a showcase for Sony, in front of all these top executives. It was all going well until the end, when he started smashing up all the tables and swearing at the execs.

"At first they thought it was funny, but then they stopped laughing.

"They liked us, but Pat ruined it with all the bad attitude."

But for all his rock n' roll antics, was Donny always the purveyor of chaos and destruction?

Not so, according to Sue Tanner, headmistress at Chalfont Community College, in Chalfont St Peter, which Patrick attended until 1997.

"At school he was a really, really nice lad," says Sue. "He was very bright, well-behaved and always got involved with school productions. Most times he had a major part in them. He was exceptionally talented in drama."

When I tell Sue some of the stories surrounding Patrick today, she can't help but express some disbelief.

"He wasn't like that at all, he was always very polite," she says, adding, "It's funny really how these young people turn out."

Celebrity Big Brother shows daily on Channel 4 at 9pm and live at selected times on E4.