Lucky chancer or desperate sell-out? Many have questioned the decision of The Ordinary Boys' Preston to take part in this year's Celebrity Big Brother.

But the amiable frontman has fought his corner well. And with a sell-out tour, a sizeable increase in record sales, a glamorous new fiancee and a few extra bob in the bank - all resulting from the reality TV stint - perhaps it wasn't such a bad move.

"I truly believe we haven't lost a fan since the whole TV thing," he says.

"Maybe I'm being naive, but our fans seem to know exactly what's going on. This whole episode has made me think, 'Our fans are well good'."

From the day he stepped out of the house, coming a respectable fourth, work offers have been coming in rapidly for the Worthing-born musician.

"It's actually been ridiculous," he says. "If I'd accepted everything I would have been set for life - things like advertising an anti-dandruff shampoo and loads of stupid PAs where I just stand there and wave at a load of students in clubs.

"I've turned so many things down. I may end up poor but at least I'll have some dignity intact. When I'm looking through bins for food, at least I'll be happy although I might have dandruff."

Some of the jobs he's accepted have been questionable, however, and aren't likely help his cause when it comes to rock credibility.

There's that Hello! photoshoot with fellow housemate and new wife-to-be Chantelle, which led to them being dubbed "the Primark Pete and Kate".

"Well, you have to do Hello! don't you," he says. "I couldn't say no. My auntie's the biggest ever Hello! fan.

"I look like I'm going to cry in the pictures, though. I probably was. I wanted to have a sarcastic face, a dry expression like Terry Hall from The Specials.

"We were in this horrific, pretentious house and they made out it was my house. They put Goldfrapp on in the background, too, which was bad. The magazine's a good souvenir though. It was all a bit mad. I was on the front page of Hello! and the NME in the same week."

Then there's the support slot for Robbie Williams on the European leg of his tour.

Another strange decision for a group who insist they are a "punk rock band, with a punk rock attitude".

"We'll probably get criticism, yeah," he admits. "I just thought we'd never get another chance to play to crowds that big in stadiums. We would have been playing Wembley if it was finished. It's going to be mental.

"It's not every day you get to go round Europe and play to that many people."

Ultra-friendly, honest and cheerful, Preston is a likeable lad. He loves to chat, is happy to laugh at himself and his habit of animatedly veering from one subject to another means interviewing him is good value.

He admits his opinions sometimes stink of hypocrisy and can fully understand why some might dislike him.

"I'm sure people thought I was a w*****, especially before I went in the house," he says. "I might have come across as arrogant in interviews in the music press because sometimes I've been sarcastic, just to have a bit of fun myself, really."

He's been dubbed a "rich boy" and a "fake" after his distinguished ancestry was revealed. On coming out of the house, fellow housemate George Galloway ranted:

"I thought he was a phoney - his mockney speech, the love and hate tattooed on his toes. The way he smoked his cigarettes was affected. It turns out he's the direct descendant of an earl Earl Grey, the 19th-Century Prime Minister, best-known for the tea that takes his name, which is not a small thing.

"His maternal grandfather is Professor of Literature at Princeton University."

Preston's speedy engagment to Chantelle has also raised eyebrows, with some branding it a publicity stunt, although anyone who's seen the doey-eyed pair strolling through Brighton cannot deny they look completely in love.

"She's like a soulmate," he says. "I could never be bored with her and that's what you look for in a wife."

But despite the cynics, Preston says the overall response has been positive.

"I think people actually got a chance to sit down and see the real me and think, 'Actually, this bloke's all right'.

"Everyone's been so nice, even the NME. I always thought people on Big Brother would get loads of people having a go at them, but that's not been the case."

The band have been touring almost constantly since Preston left the house, playing a string of sell-out dates arranged on the back of the TV show.

"Since Big Brother there's an extra row of screaming girls at our gigs and that's fine by me," he says. "Who's going to complain about that?"

He says tonight's gig, in his hometown, is the one he's been looking forward to most. "We're being supported by Young Soul Rebels, who are from Brighton and who are really good friends. We used to live together. It's going to be all mates together, a really good homecoming.

"The last date we did at the Dome was brilliant. I had been wary of playing Brighton. When we started out I had these pre-conceived ideas of what places would be like.

"I thought everyone in London would be wearing their suits and stroking their chins quizzically and everyone in Brighton would listen to electroclash and have ironic haircuts."

The boys, (Preston - vocals/guitar, Will Brown - guitars, James Gregory - bass, Simon Goldring - drums) will be playing tracks from their first album, Over The Counter Culture, and its follow-up, Brassbound.

When it was released in June, Brassbound failed to make the top ten, as did the single. However, due to the Big Brother effect, internet downloads saw the album go back into the charts at number five, and the single go to number two. Their new single, Nine2Five, is out on May 22.

"A lot of people have said they've started to get into the album after getting to know me a bit," Preston says. "It's very dark lyrically and quite sarcastic. It's very personal.

"I properly put my soul in that album and it got some pretty mediocre reviews. Now people are saying, 'Actually, I really like it'.

"But even if the album had done brilliantly first time around, I still would have done Big Brother. Absolutely.

"Before I went in, I apologised to the other band members for what I was about to do but said to them, 'This is something I just really want to do and I'm going to do it. If it messes things up for me I'm prepared for that.'"

The gamble paid off. If the rumours are true, before Preston went into the house the band were about to be dropped by their record label, B-Unique.

Instead, they're planning their third album and Preston is confident enough to take an experimental path.

"What I've learnt from this experience is the obvious route is always the worst. I want to do a record that makes people go 'f****** hell, this can't be The Ordinary Boys'.

"It could be Latin-fusion-heavy-metal-post-modern or something. Now's the time to do something different. At least people are going to take an interest in the next record and it might actually get played on the radio."

They're aiming for an October release, although there's still plenty of work to be done. "I haven't written a word yet but I've had one of the most mental years of my life, so lyrically, there's a lot to say," he says. "Once I write one thing, the whole lot starts to fall into place."

The Ordinary Boys, originally called Viva Hate, formed as teenagers in Worthing and originally played hardcore metal - albeit briefly.

They played to virtually non-existent Worthing crowds, at tatty pubs like the (now closed) Inn On The Prom ("No one really came to that gig.")

They progressed to venues like Brighton's Pressure Point and the Freebutt and, one record deal later, were among the first wave of alternative British bands to help revitalise the UK's music scene.

Their heroes, Morrissey, Paul Weller, Suggs and the elusive Terry Hall, all became fans and the band has now had the honour of working with all of them.

However, groups like Kaiser Chiefs and Hard Fi (who both supported The Ordinary Boys in their earlier days), overtook the band, leaving Preston and his gang by the wayside.

Then founder member drummer Charlie Stanley left, apparently because he felt their music had become "too poppy". By the time the second album was released, parts of the music press turned against them, tiring of their brand of bouncy ska-pop and turning to more urban, gritty ska bands like The Dead 60s.

But since the turnaround in the band's fortunes, Preston says he's never been happier and the loss of some credibility is a small price to pay.

"I'd much rather do something and regret it than not do it and regret it. I might make some mistakes but at least I'm not gonna end up a bitter old man. I'm so happy at the moment I'm just waiting for the rug to be pulled away."

Starts at 7pm. Tickets cost £13.50 (sold out).