Who is Stephen Bear and when did he leave prison?
IN January 2024, disgraced reality TV star Stephen Bear was released from prison after spending 11 months behind bars.
Here we take a look into the life of Stephen Bear and the crimes he was convicted of.
Who is Stephen Bear?
Stephen Bear, born January 15, 1990, is an English former television personality who was raised in Walthamstow, North-East London.
The former reality TV personality made his debut on Shipwrecked back in 2011 before disappearing for a while.
Then, in 2016, he saw his fame soar after winning the spin-off version of the former Channel 4 show Celebrity Big Brother.
It meant he cashed in on his newfound celebrity status, earning £1million after a number of personal appearances and a biography.
Prior to finding fame as a reality TV star, Bear worked as a roofer.
What did Stephen Bear do?
In March 2023, Stephen Bear was jailed after sharing a sex tape of ex Georgia Harrison to pay-per-view adult site OnlyFans.
Bear was found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court of voyeurism and of two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
Georgia had begged Bear not to share the footage after he showed it to her as it would "upset her greatly".
But Georgia was later airdropped the 20 minute clip and discovered it was being offered for pay-per-view on OnlyFans.
Bear had advertised it: “Can’t wait to see me f*** in the garden.”
A trial heard that Bear uploaded the footage "either himself or had it uploaded to OnlyFans and profited financially".
Judge Christopher Morgan told of how a jail term was the “only appropriate” punishment for Bear’s sick crimes.
Georgia Harrison bravely waived her right to anonymity to highlight the case of so-called '’revenge porn’'.
“When it first happened, the physical effects on me were just horrific.
Georgia Harrison
She continued: ''I had acne come up all over my face. I ended up getting a cyst infection — the cyst eventually burst — and I was in hospital from stress.
“They said my kidneys, my pelvis, and multiple organs were infected, and I was going into septic shock.”
As well as receiving a jail sentence, Stephen Bear was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years and was handed a five-year restraining order - banning him from contacting Georgia.
He has also been ordered to pay Georgia £207,000 in damages for the leak on a "grand scale" after the star took him to the High Court.
Speaking on This Morning in March 2023, Georgia said: "First of all, just really grateful, it wasn't until recently I realised just how hard it is to get a conviction for this sort of a crime. It shouldn't be as it is such a painful crime.
"I think it's made an example of change in society and I can take something away from that," she added.
How long will Stephen Bear spend in prison?
In January 2024, Bear was released from prison, just 11 months into his 21 sentence.
He was pictured leaving HMP Brixton with a full beard, shorts and a matching T-shirt despite cold temperatures.
Following his release from the jail in South London, Bear shared a bizarre video shadow boxing in a park.
The former reality star also told fans he's skint after his prison release and living in a "mouldy" bedroom as he tried to get a date.
Bear will now serve the second half of his term on licence and will be monitored with an ankle tag.
What TV shows has Stephen been on?
Stephen got his first taste of fame when he appeared on Shipwrecked: The Island in 2011.
He then disappeared for a few years, before returning to the small screen for Ex On The Beach in 2015.
Since then, he's been on Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Ghost Hunt Live.
In 2017 he joined his girlfriend at the time Charlotte Crosby on MTV show Just Tattoo Of Us.
From 2019-2020 he appeared on The Challenge.