Hulk Hogan has become the latest in a list of celebrities to find themselves at the centre of a sex tape scandal, after footage of him and a pal's wife was leaked.

We take a look back at some of the other major sex tapes that made it into the public eye.

Rob Lowe

In 1988, emerging young actor Rob Lowe starred in several films... and a highly scandalous sex tape. The video was divided into two parts - the first showed Lowe at a hotel with two young women (one who was just 16). The second part showed another threesome, which has the dubious honour of being the first ever commercially-distributed celebrity sex tape.

Pamela Anderson… Twice

One of the first cases of a celebrity sex video going viral on the internet was Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson's sex video with her then-husband Tommy Lee. The couple, who got married after knowing each other for a whopping 96 hours, made the steamy video on their honeymoon. The tape was then nicked from their home and publicly released by the video distribution company Internet Entertainment Group.

The courts awarded Anderson and Lee $1.5-million plus attorney fees – not as damages, but for their share of the profits. The company then started selling copies of the stolen tape across the United States.

After this tape made its appearance, a second tape involving Pam and musician Bret Michaels was brought to the surface. The tape, which was made before the Tommy Lee tape, appeared on the net as a 60 second clip. Frames of this video also appeared in Penthouse in 1998. Although the tape was successfully blocked by Michaels, a four-minute version is still available on the internet.

Paris Hilton
The woman that made celebrity sex tapes a quick way to get famous. Paris Hilton. The 2003 film depicted Paris and her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon having sex, and was filmed in night-vision. The film was made public by Salomon shortly before Paris' TV show The Simple Life debuted. The result? A media sensation and huge interest in The Simple Life. Paris rocketed to stardom for no particular talent, other than an exceptional knack for marketing herself.

Kim Kardashian

Following closely in her footsteps was fellow socialite Kim Kardashian, whose 2003 sex tape with then-boyfriend Ray J was leaked in 2007 – just months before the debut of her reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The video was purchased by Vivid Entertainment for $1-million and released as Kim Kardashian: Superstar in February 2007. Kardashian sued Vivid for ownership of the tape, before quickly dropping the suit and settling for $5-million instead. Like her reality rival Paris Hilton, the sex tape catapulted Kardashian to actual superstardom.

Colin Farrell

Irish bad boy Colin Farrell filmed 14 minutes of kinky material with former Playboy Playmate Nicole Narain in 2006 – which was leaked to a company that tried to release it publicly. Narain claimed that she was not involved in the video's release, and would work with Farrell to make sure the footage remained private – but Farrell claimed she was behind the leak and was trying to "make money out of it" and ruin his career. A judge later issued an injunction barring the sale or distribution of the tape – but it found its way online anyway.

Joost van der Westhuizen

For a little bit of local spice, who can forget the infamous "Joostgate" tape of 2009? The tape showed the then-married former rugby player engaging in some racy acts with a woman who was not his wife and snorting drugs. Although he initially claimed not to be the man in the tape, Joost eventually came clean about his involvement. After months of denials, Joost told Rapport: "It is me in the sex video and I'm very, very sorry that I lied. Please forgive me."