Thu 18 May 2006
EMMA COWING
ARE YOU SUFFERING the seven-year itch? Channel 4 and Endemol certainly hope not, as tonight the seventh batch of guinea pigs enter the Big Brother house. Rumoured contestants have had whole pages devoted to them in tabloid newspapers, and the internet has been awash with gossip over the identity of the chosen few. A few hours from now, Britain will have as many as 18 new celebrities jostling for our attention.
Fame, as many of Big Brother's previous participants have found, can be a fickle mistress, and not every Big Brother contestant has lived happily ever after. While many have disappeared back into obscurity, some have fallen foul of the press, or into debt, or struggled merely to cope with being in the spotlight. Cameron Stout, who won Big Brother 4 , says many of the show's contestants don't realise what they're letting themselves in for: "Even though I've got my head screwed on, and no matter how many times I was warned before I went into the house, you just cannot imagine what it will be like."
Nick Bateman, the legendary antihero of the first series, agrees: "People become very short-sighted about fame. They can only see what's in front of them and don't realise how destructive it can be. Channel 4 don't owe you a living. A lot of contestants seem to forget that."
And, as the contestants have become more media savvy, the nature of the programme has changed. "The whole process is more contrived now," says Bateman. "People know that if they wash their hair ten times a day, they might get a shampoo advert."
Not that this will stop people watching or indeed auditioning to get on the show. "I'd still wholeheartedly recommend it," says Stout. "But the one thing I'd say to every contestant is: don't go in with any expectations. That way, you won't get let down."
Here, we look at some of those who have profited from, and those who have fallen foul of, Britain's biggest reality TV show.
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Scotsman
