BB FANS

EDP24
EDWARD FOSS

10 August 2005 06:41

The end of the current Big Brother series may be in sight, but the repercussions from the events of the last 11 weeks will be felt by the contestants and their families for many months to come.

As Edward Foss found out just hours before the latest eviction, the parents of Norfolk contender Craig Coates have deep concerns about the welfare of their son.

Craig Coates' dad Johnny said yesterday that he wished his son had never gone into the Big Brother house.

But both he and his wife Yvette maintained staunch support of their son, who has come in for some tough handling by the media, especially in the last couple of weeks.

The 20-year-old hairdresser may be a free man by the end of today, although his ordeal in the BB6 house may well go on for a couple more days.

Many viewers expect the current five contestants to have been whittled down by two by the end of today, in the expectation that the three final places will be announced on Friday evening.

Craig's parents hope he makes it all the way to the last day, although they care little about the top spot, even though it carries with it a £100,000 prize.

“He deserves to be there with the last three,” Yvette told the EDP.

“But this is not about winning, that has never been an issue. He just wanted to go in there and have a good time.”

But things have not turned out in the way that any of the Coates family hoped.

“We just wanted him to enjoy himself and have a laugh. He has given his entertaining side and his sensitive side,” said Yvette.

“But I think it has gone a week too far, they have pushed them all to the limit.

“He feels he has let himself down, but he has not. They are all stressed and at the end of their emotional bank accounts.

“And when you fuel it with alcohol, what can you expect?

“We are worried about him because we need to know he is getting the support in the house from the producers.”

Despite the difficulties Craig has faced, such as accusations of behaving like a “stalker” towards fellow housemate Anthony, the couple remain fully behind their son and look forward to seeing him.

“He is a winner to us because he has survived in that house through an awful lot of emotional stress,” explained Yvette.

“We are really looking forward to seeing him and hope we can all go on holiday together for a few days to get his head together.

“His gran is really worried about him, it's not nice seeing your grandson being ridiculed.

“A lot of people are absolutely disgusted with things that have gone on with the way the show has been put together.

“He said recently he is petrified at coming out, which is quite a worry for us, especially in the light of how he has been portrayed by the programme and much of the media.

“The highlights programme is heavily edited, even the live streaming has a delay of several minutes on it which means they can edit that too.

“Things can be taken in a different context if they are cut or edited.”

Of the many concerns the Coates family has, there is one that stands out above all others to his mum.

“The thing that has bugged us is that we are all very touchy feely people in this family, including Craig, and, like me, he wears his heart on his sleeve.

“None of that makes you a bad person, it's just the way you are.”

And Yvette conceded that her ability to deal with the pressure on her son was waning.

“It's getting to me now.

“Yes it's a game, but he has to have a life after this. People seem to think he is something he is not.

“Craig will be absolutely horrified at some of the things that have been said about him when he comes out.

“He is emotionally drained but he has given his best.

“I am proud of him, not ashamed at all. He is strong and is not a whinger or a crier, in 20 years we only saw him cry once because he was terrified of getting onto a plane.”

But irrespective of the criticism, Yvette and Johnny said there had been a largely unsung but hugely significant level of support for their son.

“We have had fan mail from all over, both locally and nationally,” said Johnny.

And Yvette added: “We want to make sure we thank everybody who has supported both us and Craig.”

Maybe they should have brought him up properly?

What scares me, is the ease to which Craig bets on their lives, I know its only a saying but its not one i would ever say about my loved ones.

Last night Craig shot himself in the foot again, purposely walking in on Anthony in the toilet to get a look at the guy nude. The action caused a torrent of annoyed protest from Ant who excaimed" look Craig I have told you not to do that, ever"

I think Craig is acting like a spoilt brat at times, and whenever Anthony tells him something calmly, he just then storms off. Anthony tells Craig in the best way he can, but Craig just won't hear of it. That time when he (if he did), Accidentally hit Anthony over the head with the microphone, all he had to do was say, sorry, but i never meant it on purpose, i was carrying the towel and it must have somehow come loose and hit you. Instead of saying this, he just went off on one, and thought that Anthony didn't have the right to say what he said. He is starting to become a bit of a pest now, he's stuck to Anthony like glue. I can really imagine him being mummy's little boy, getting everything he wants out of life, and because he can't have Anthony, he's not happy about it.

What makes you think he's acting?

Just a phrase i'm using

I agree with Craig's parents.
Craig has been edited by the media and tv producer's as this years bunny boiler, just like Michelle was last year.
He is only 20, a very mature 20 year old in some aspects and very emotionally inmature where his feelings for another person is concerned.
I don't know how the BB media journalists and tv producer's can sleep at night after the hatchet job they have done on him.

After watching a video clip, Craig really thinks he is somebody. Kinga walked out of the shower, and was making some kind of noise. It turns out that she was saying i'm Craig, he turns this into an argument "i don't like people doing that to me" meaning people repeating every word he says. After telling her this, he gave her such a look, and when throwing his goggles over to Anthony, he's just standing there with a smile on his face. Anthony was just as bad in this situation, Craig was totally out of line with this. Kinga was oblivious as to what she had done, and yet this pompus little prat was just trying to make a fool of her, Anthony was no better for laughing either.

I know they will be doing some editing with people, but there are some situations where he does act spoilt though. And yes, all they will care about is making money. If they aren't careful, this will be exposed, and then people won't bother to watch big brother.

Am in agreement with you on this one, Madeline.

I've been thinking about Craig's parents for the last week or so. Nobody knows how they brought him up, or what challenges they've had to face together as a family, but they are obviously doing their best of support him now, and it must be very stressful.

He has provided us with much to talk about during BB.

I agree with that. I think they are all finding the extra stretch just that bit too much. Makosi, Anthony and Craig all seem to be very tired and emotionally drained.

That's where Eugene has the advantage, but even he is saying that he is very tired, so I wonder how he would have been if he had been in there the same length of time as the others - not very good I suspect.

what about Craig actions when Anthony was drunk/dehydrated, the editing could have been lots worse

the simple fact is Craig has been overly possessive, the difference between him and Michelle is the "unrequited love" disclaimer that Craig gets

Michelle suffered miles more at the hands of the media last year, Craig's situation is more treated as a joke

I think Craig was just about as drunk as Anthony that night so I would not put too much emphasis on his actions. Have none of you notiched the way he clings to his friends? IMO, he clings to them because he is all talk and no action. He has never really tackled anyone, he even waited for Kinga to be out of ear shot last night before he told Anthony how he was going to deal with her if she spoke to him again like that.

All I'm saying is, I think he has a heart of gold, he might get very amorous when he drinks, bitch a lot when drunk or sober none of which warrents the bad press coverage or the hysterical posts on a lot of forums, imho.

I think Craig was just about as drunk as Anthony that night so I would not put too much emphasis on his actions. Have none of you notiched the way he clings to his friends? IMO, he clings to them because he is all talk and no action. He has never really tackled anyone, he even waited for Kinga to be out of ear shot last night before he told Anthony how he was going to deal with her if she spoke to him again like that.

All I'm saying is, I think he has a heart of gold, he might get very amorous when he drinks, bitch a lot when drunk or sober none of which warrents the bad press coverage or the hysterical posts on a lot of forums, imho.[/quote]

Absolutely agree, Madeline

That's exactly how I see Craig - I also believe Craig's bitchyness is nowhere near as malicious and funnier thatn some of the other contestants this year. He clings to Ant now - as he did to Lesely Max and Saskia before him, more out of needing a supportive friend...in what I believe he percieves to be a hostile enviroment. IMO

Craig blurts everything out (which slays me sometimes) and as his mother said 'wears his heart on his sleeve' - I think Craig is a much nicer character than what he's being portrayed as in the highlight show and the media. I wish him all the best.

at least we know Craig will get 2 votes this week

I can't warm to guy, I find him annoying - but he's not evil