Barrymore cracks up...

Shamed TV star Michael Barrymore today made an early play for the attentions of Celebrity Big Brother viewers - by getting up at dawn to play the clown.

The 53-year-old comic was awake and cracking jokes to the camera at 4.30am, after claiming to be disturbed by basketball ace Dennis Rodman's snoring.

"I was asleep but the basketball guy woke me up," he said. "Now George Galloway has taken over the snoring."

He coined a nickname for cross-dressing Pete Burns, saying: "Priscilla the Queen of the Desert's gone to bed." Then he pretended to clown around, quipping: "This is interactive TV. If you're sitting at home watching this, then if you do something I'll copy it to show you I can see what you're doing."

Earlier Barrymore told MP Galloway he was "on a high" after his rapturous reception by fans as he arrived at the Big Brother house. He took five minutes to soak up the cheers of the public and was close to tears as he entered the Channel 4 house.

Later, Barrymore - who has been living in New Zealand since the death at his Essex home four years ago of local meat factory worker Stuart Lubbock - told Galloway he had finally found peace of mind.

"That walk here, after being away so long, it was really weird," he said. "Until you step out there you don't know. I've always done that in my work - I've always jumped in and then worried if I had a safe place to land."