Last night I watched the first hour of the 8th series of Big Brother in the UK. I have no idea if the UK series has been in the headlines elsewhere in the world, but it will be interesting to see if the viewing figures fall or rise following the racism that occurred in the last “celebrity” series.
Channel 4 in the UK are in the middle of a criminal investigation because it turns out they censored the actual racism from the live programme - what really occurred was far worse than anybody knew about at the time.
So - who is in the house this time? I’m basing my view (my personal opinion, you don’t have to read it if you don’t want) of the “housemates” (or “contestants”?) on the hour of the show that I watched last night, rather than the up-beat character reference given on the show’s homepage. It was the “live” feed from the house after the main programme had finished - some of us have pretty busy lives and cannot find the time to sit watching the goggle box that much…
Tracey
If you judged this girl on first appearance, you might think she had mental issues, but after watching her for a few minutes you realise that 90% of it is an act, and she could quite possibly be the most “normal” (read: practical) of the house guests. She read the rules of the house, and put the frozen food away while everybody else got drunk. She’s in the house for the experience, and possibly put in by the producers to self-destruct the self-obsessed celebrity wannabe’s she now finds herself locked up with.
Shabnam
She made the rounds of all the house guests, being overly friendly, hugging everybody, and generally being incredibly annoying. If there was an award for being false, she would probably win it. Undoubtedly in the house to reach as many tabloid front pages as possible.
Sam
One of the twins in the house. The moment they both jumped in the air and squealed, I winced. Unfortunately they both seem very young, and naiive - I hope they survive the more worldly wise people in the house. At least they have each other, which is more than the others seem to have. It would appear the twins are in the house for no other reason than to obtain the fame that Big Brother brings.
Amanda
The other twin. As stated previously - very young, very excitable, very annoying. No doubt she and her sister can look forward to page 3 photo shoots together as soon as they are old enough - not that it will stop Channel 4 broadcasting them in the shower together, which could quite possibly make them very famous indeed - and probably worth the legal bills to the television station too.
Nicky
Seemingly the only person in the house who is (or was) currently employed and has any skills in the real world. Seems very driven, friendly - normal even (shock horror) and will probably be voted out early by the rest of the younger girls. She is almost certainly in the house to be noticed for her future career.
Lesley
Lesley appears to be the only “educated” person in the group - and I say that in a guarded way. She is obviously an academic, and speaks very well - but she also appears to know very little about the real world. She has obviously got this far in her life by relying on others - for cooking, cleaning, and any other normal task you might mention. She managed to annoy the hell out of me when telling one of the others that she “is good at appreciation” - which to me means she’s going to sit on her ass. I have no idea why on earth she would have wanted to be in the house - at 60 years old and a product of the class system she has nothing in common with anybody else.
Laura
Laura could quite possibly be the only “normal” person in the entire house. I do wonder if her weight may cause insecurity though, and she will no doubt be picked upon by the pretty young things when the chips are down. She’s probably in the house to make friends, but these are not the sort of people you want as friends.
Emily
When not name dropping or blowing her own trumpet about her various acting successes, Emily seems okay. She did manage to tell the girls who would listen that she got a triple distinction in her last drama qualification more times than I can recall. So she’s in the house to further her career.
Charley
At first glance, just the kind of girl you avoid because you know she’s going to be a nasty piece of work. Her resume says it all - she’s obsessed with herself, she doesn’t work, she likes money, and men with money. Within an hour of walking in the door she was putting the knife into other house-mate’s backs. The only reason she is in the house is to emulate the likes of Paris Hilton. You never know - maybe she will end up in Jail too.
Chanelle
Oh dear. If ever a vaccuous air-head could want to emulate Victoria Beckham, this is her. Yes, she looks pretty, and yes, she does look like Posh Spice (her admitted hero). The entire act falls apart as soon as she opens her mouth and the entire repetoire of conversation exposes itself as makeup, men and shoes. Completely self obsessed, and on the show purely for the press coverage and Hilton career options.
Carole
At last. A character. She is a political activist, and doesn’t really care much about appearance - which is going to be interesting given her new found “friends”. I have no doubt that she will end up mothering most of the girls, for no other reason than they probably cannot survive on their own. If the house-mates are given the subject of nuclear energy or vivisection to talk about, Carole might just be the most entertaining person… if she doesn’t set fire to anything.
So there you go - my potted “first impressions” of the people in Big Brother 8. If I see any more of the shows I promise to write an update further down the line. No doubt the show’s producers are going to introduce men at some point in order to cause fights among the young girls. I wonder if they’ve hidden the carving knives yet?