A Big Brother star who has made a name for himself, not only in reality TV but haircutting, has announced a fresh new venture after his Darlington success.
Anthony Hutton rose to fame after winning the huge Channel 4 show back in 2005 and now runs his very own barbershop and cocktail bar, Mr Hutton's.
Opening back in 2015 to much hype, the former Consett lad has seen his quirky Blackwellgate venue go from strength to strength over the years.
Read more: What Darlington's Big Brother winner Anthony Hutton is doing now
But now, he has exclusively revealed to The Northern Echo that he is expanding his portfolio - by opening his very first 'academy' for trainee barbers.
Training up to five people at a time, Anthony is hoping to encourage even more "passionate" people into the trade after first getting into it before his career-launching Big Brother appearance.
Read more top stories from The Northern Echo here
"This has been years in the planning. I did a refurbishment and purchased all the chairs and got everything set up when we finished lockdown," he said.
"I had been closed to set up the barbering academy just before the major lockdown happened."
An classroom by day and an Instagrammable bar by night, Anthony has transformed the upstairs of the barbershop into an academy.
Explaining the courses last twelve weeks, he said: "I'm working alongside the City & Guilds to deliver NVQ level two's in association with the Men’s Hairdressing Federation. It's exciting."
However, if you are wanting to sign up, you will have to wait as his courses are not actually launching until November.
Ahead of this, Anthony recently completed his debut course with two top hopefuls, who have since graduated to become fully-fleged barbers.
Aycliffe lad, Josh McCartin signed up to a place on the pilot course after being a regular at Mr Hutton's and suffering from mental health problems.
The 30-year-old said: "I've done a lot of things before and did tiling and plastering before the lockdown.
"In lockdown I was cutting my own hair and a few of the lads said I should do it properly, but the main reason I joined was because I suffered quite a lot with my mental health from lockdown and every time I came in here, Anth was someone to talk too."
After having his haircut and someone to chat to, Josh said his mood was lifted and this inspired him to train up.
He said: "If I can bring someone in and I end up being the only person they talk to all day, that's all I want."
Ben Jackson, 18, from Darlington, who packed in his supermarket job for something new, said: "I was at sixth form and I dropped out for a year, after studying law, business and PE and I had a part time job at Morrison’s.
"I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I used to really enjoy my haircut so I looked at a few places and this course popped up. It’s the best decision I’ve ever made."
Explaining how his academy is different to others on the streets, Anthony said: "Twelve weeks might not seem long but in that time we've got you cutting hair on live models from day one, working and barbering in a live environment and the theory.
"We're a private academy delivering NVQ’s which is a massive win and with me being a hairdresser, barber and still working, still in the trade, we are learning every hair cut down from a skin fade to men’s long hair."
For more information or to contact the academy click here
--
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel