New high for Celeb Salon winner Philip

Last night, the 32-year-old was crowned King of the Salon when he beat Julian Simmons in the final of the TV3 show.

The result will end his week on a better note than it started, after photos of him snorting cocaine on holiday appeared in a newspaper.

Philip said: "I tried cocaine when I was in Ibiza, but I wouldn't condone it. I was a young guy in my prime. I apologise; it was silly.

"I remember the party -- it was Ibiza. I was with a lot of people, I was having a good time then and I was on a high -- a young man in his prime.

"It's my life and I experimented. I went over there and did a stupid thing and it's obviously come back to bite me on the a***."

Back to curling tongs and eyelash extensions, the former Hollyoaks actor told the Herald: "I feel amazing. I'm so happy."

But he added that the competition was a lot tougher then he had expected: "I never realised how hard it is to put on make-up. I didn't know what girls go through."

The TV3 series is now in its third season and included well known celebrities such as Big Brother's Nicki Graham and model Nadia Forde.

Semi-finalist Julian Simmons agreed with Olivier that the tasks were challenging: "It was so difficult and so tense. I was walking chaos. It was hectic, but we had a good laugh."

The UTV presenter said that he was "delighted to get as far as I did" and couldn't have lost to a better guy.

"Phil is a great guy. He's so enthusiastic and passionate. He was a natural."

hnews@herald.ie