He arrived in the Celebrity Big Brother house proclaiming: "The madness begins".

And Tommy Sheridan's grand entrance to the reality TV show has prompted precisely those fears among supporters and opponents.

To a chorus of boos, the firebrand Scottish politician looked stunned as he trod the red carpet saying "hello" and "awright" in his broad Glaswegian brogue as he posed for photographers.

It soon gave way to the trademark broad-grin smile and deliberate waves to the crowd. If you forgot the 44-year-old Solidarity leader was on CBB, you would think he had been making his way to the podium for a political speech.

In an interview montage for the TV reality programme, posing serious-faced with arms folded like a boxer heading for a world title fight, the former Labour Party militant announced: "With Solidarity, from Scotland. I'm Tommy Sheridan."

Telling that he "rose to infamy" on the back of the anti-poll tax campaign and that he had been jailed in that fight as well as his protest against nuclear weapons, the former MSP said: "Conflict has been my life. I am involved in conflict. Politics is conflict.

"I feel like I have been living in the Big Brother house for the best part of the last five or six years. The only difference this time around is that it is on my terms."

But this is CBB, the show resurrected after being dropped from the schedules in 2008 after the allegedly racist bullying of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, which has a habit of orchestrating situations that cause the famous lose their dignity.

While the notorious racism incident garnered 45,000 complaints to media watchdog Ofcom, the show producers insist the show is not being toned down.

For many supporters and opponents, Sheridan's attempt at the popular vote on the Channel 4 reality show is a major risk, coming as it does after George Galloway, the Respect MP and fellow left-wing diehard, blazed the reality show trail.

Two years later Galloway is arguably best remembered for pretending to be a cat, purring and licking the hands of actress Rula Lenska, and donning a red leotard to perform a robotic dance. He was fourth to be evicted, managing 22 days in the house.

If public acceptance is what Sheridan is seeking, the bookmakers were quickly predicting that it would backfire.

An hour before the 11 walked into the house, Sheridan was the rank outsider to win the show. He now rubs shoulders with La Toya Jackson, Ulrika Jonsson and topless model Lucy Pinder, and will spend three weeks in the house if he does not get evicted or leave early.

Bookmakers were typically quoting 20-1 for him to win the competition - the same as Pamela Anderson, who was not even heading into the house.

Early favourite amongst the bookmakers was Verne Troyer, the 2ft 8in actor better known as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series, at 3-1, followed by Ben Adams, former member of the British boy band A1, at 5-1.

In a newspaper interview today marking his appearance in Big Brother, Sheridan, who has just successfully completed his masters in social research at Strathclyde University, said: "I'm a full-time law student with fees for three years in front of me.

"Now I'm offered a three-week contract that may not even last three weeks. What student wouldn't be attracted to significant earnings to meet those essential costs?"

Sheridan won a £200,000 libel case against The News of the World in August 2006 but an appeal is pending and he was arrested and charged with perjury in December, 2007.

It is understood Sheridan has already been forced to change his bail address to the Celebrity Big Brother house as he is on remand for perjury in connection with the case.

Crown Office officials are expected to be watching in case he makes any reference to the investigation.

Scottish Big Brother contestants