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The much awaited Big Brother 7 (haha, isn't it 8 that's on now?) starts tonight on channel 4 and is hailed to be more controversial than ever. No doubt an excess of colourful and extrovert housemates will be unleashed onto our screens, but what kind of people want to subject themselves to this intense scrutiny and what does the future hold for them when they leave the house? Plus given the recent shaming of Jade Goody, are there any positive aspects to taking part in the series?
Former big brother contestant Narinder Kaur joins us to talk about 'Big Brother The Inside Story' and psychologist Anjula Mutanda is here to talk through the kind of people that choose to enter the house, how contestants have changed over the years and what they can expect when they leave.
About Narinder
Narinder Kaur, a medical rep, was the third housemate to be evicted from Big Brother 2 in 2001. The overall winner this series was Brian Dowling. Following the show Narinder presented the TV show "Undercover Lovers" for the satellite TV show Trouble TV. Over 50,000 people requested an application form to be on Big Brother 2 and around 5,000 videos were submitted compared to just 700 in the first series.
Going into Big Brother
"I was 28 when I went into the house, it was Big Brother 2 and I'd watched Big Brother 1 and enjoyed it. I wanted to act and I thought it would give me a bigger profile, at that time I was acting in theatre and also worked as a medical representative. The whole audition process was so enticing, it was very exciting, the producers would call you up and say "You're down to the last 500", then "You're down to the last 50", by the time it was the last 10, you felt like you'd won the lottery.”
The Big Brother Experience
"Our series was the first one where they put someone in half way through, we were so excited, we were so fed up and bored with each other. I left the house after a month and was completely unprepared. It was the maddest experience, I didn't sleep for a week, people wanted me left, right and centre, it's a very unreal situation, Big Brother is artificial but the situation you enter when you leave is even more so."
The backlash
"The press became really bad about 5 or 6 months after coming out and they started writing really vicious things, I'd starred in a sky one reality show too and the papers really gunned for me. One paper wished me dead, another said, 'I hope she dies in a car crash', another one wrote 'Narinder is so ugly and so fat.' The comments were appalling."
Getting back on her feet
"I never gave up, I had my own show on Trouble TV and then I went to the BBC asian network, I worked really hard, I did the night time radio thing. I went back to basics and learnt the skills. Then I wrote this book 'Big Brother: The Inside Story'. I'm pregnant with my second baby now, I love writing and hope to do more."
Anjula on Big Brother:
What attracts people to being a Big Brother housemate?
'I think it's the instant gratification culture, many young people believe they can have instant fame and access to a celebrity lifestyle overnight. They think Big Brother is a short cut to being a star. They are also seeking approval, they want to be liked by the public and are competing for attention.'
Have the contestants changed on Big Brother over the years?
'Yes, when Big Brother first started, many of the housemates were students, they had varied backgrounds, were educated and it was more of a social experiment, the goal was to win the prize money. Now the aim is to secure a deal with 'Hello' and get in the Daily Star. The producers just select exhibitionists now, Jade Goody was a turning point and now they are looking for the lowest common denominator to attract viewers.'
Will they get fame?
'It's short lived, it's the Andy Warhole syndrome, 15 minutes, they know if they behave outrageously they will be talked about and get column inches. But they do at some point have to go back to being normal, a lot suffer clinical depression and it can have very negative repercussions.'
Has anyone beaten Big brother?
' Big Brother 4 was an anomaly, the contestants managed to slip back into normality mostly unnoticed. This is because they took control of the experience and their image, when they left they weren't pictured falling out of night clubs, drunk in the street, splashed across the tabloids. It was said to be the most boring Big Brother but this is because they played the game well and weren't manipulated.'
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