If socialite, hotel heiress and Concorde-nosed thicky-bo-bo Paris Hilton hadn't made a dead-eyed home porno that leaked online, we'd never have heard of her. And the world would be a wonderful place. But she's not the only celebrity known to have bared all for the camcorder...
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For example, an anonymous staff nurse named Abi Titmuss turned into one of the internet's most notorious adult stars when a smutty video of her entertaining creepy TV presenter John Leslie and an anonymous woman surfaced online. "Blue" Peter indeed.
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Men the world over spent their teenage years preoccupied with what lay beneath Pamela Anderson's Baywatch lycra. And they got their chance to see her ladybumps in the augmented flesh when a clip of her and husband Tommy Lee making the beast with two backs found its way online.
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We've all enjoyed a holiday fling. But when dim England footballers Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Kieron Dyer decided to see if they could score in Ayia Napa, they filmed their group exploits with various tarts - and the match highlights were eventually made available online.
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He's most famous for his role in Minority Report, but Colin Farrell is becoming increasingly well-known for a little independent feature that sees him enjoying a vigourous round of coitus with Playmate Nicole Narain. Not sure what awards he'd win for it, mind you. Maybe a Shafta?
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However, the original sex tape is probably the most sordid of all. In 1998, Rob Lowe filmed himself in a menage-a-trois with two girls – one of whom was just 16 and therefore underage according to US law. Ever since, the actor has been referred to in certain circles as "Raw Blow".
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Kelsey Grammer had scrambled eggs a-a-all over his face when he falsely accused an internet company of stealing a homemade sex tape from his house. Nowadays, the Frasier star claims to be more careful about what he performs on camera – although this doesn't explain Back To You. Ugh.
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Everybody loves a diamond in the rough, but nobody fancies a Diamond in the buff – especially when it's Dustin Diamond, who is more commonly known as Screech from Saved By The Bell. His sex tape was released under the title Saved By The Smell. You don't want to know why.
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In a spoof of Paris Hilton's sex tape, reality TV nobody Chanelle Hayes agreed to be filmed being rogered by an array of colourful puppets as a viral video for an MTV show. However, instead of looking knowing and cheeky, she just looked sad, desperate and deeply unsexy. Plus ca change.
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Despite looking like a post-op Paul Danan, these days Big Brother series 1 star Nicola Holt now makes her living appearing in various R18 grot films. One of them bears the charming title of Big B*gger. Don't worry, we won't give away the ending.
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