Since winning the most recent and final season of reality competition series Big Brother, Cameron Cole has revealed that he receives homophobic abuse on a daily basis.

In an interview with Radio 1 Newsbeat, the 19 year-old blogger claimed that he is the victim of verbal and online abuse almost every day. Cole spoke to the radio station about how a group of people targeted him at a bowling alley in Norfolk:

“There were a couple of people sniggering, and, as I walked past, they said the homophobic remark beginning with the letter F.”

Cole added that his personal phone number was leaked and that he is frequently targeted with anonymous hateful abuse:

“Somehow, somebody got my number too. It’s a no-caller ID and rings me every time I’m on an Instagram Live. They shout a barrage of homophobic remarks and you can’t get a word in edgeways.”

Cameron Cole spoke about the impact of the constant abuse on his mental health:

“It might come across like it’s not affecting me but of course it is. It affects everyone for other reasons too, like race, religion and gender. It makes you feel worthless.”

Cole continued:

“The issue with the stuff in the streets if you can report [homophobic abuse] but the likelihood is that it will never be traced back and it’s just going to be a waste of time.”

Last October, Cole came out as gay to both his housemates and the general public on the 19th series of Big Brother. In an emotional moment, Cole sat the housemates down only to find himself unable to say the word gay. Sensing his hesitation, fellow housemate Lewis asked him outright if he was gay, to which Cole responded with ‘yes’.

Cole spoke to Radio 1 about how he had come out to his mother before entering the Big Brother house:

“I came out to my mum literally the day before I went in. My dad had an idea because parents have instincts, but no other family [members] knew.

“Not my two sisters, my step-dad, my grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins.”

Cole spoke about the anxiety he felt surrounding coming out:

“At some points, I thought I’d come out and my family would hate me and my friends wouldn’t talk to me.”