I watch Big Brother for the women. That’s not really surprising - I’m a man! But women are the real stars of the show and the viewers, fans and producers know it.
In the eleven years the programme has been in existence the vast majority of winners have been men, but there is a good reason for this, they’re dull. They have to be to win. If they upset the other contestants they’re going to be nominated pretty quickly, then it’s only a matter of time before they walk. This is obviously not conducive towards winning the show, therefore the nice, gentle, never-upset-anyone types tend to win. And they’re not remembered for long after the series finishes.
I, for one always remember the feisty females. The Chanelle Hayes, Charley Ucheas, Nikki Grahames and of course the Jade Goodys of this world. The men often walk away with the prize money, but it’s the women who have the personalities (and are not afraid to use them) that are the undoubted superstars of every series and are remembered long after the closing credits of the final show.
Women have undoubtedly provided the programme’s most memorable moments down the years. Who can forget Jade stripping off in 2002 (and I’m sure she was only pretending to be thick!), Kinga with the bottle in 2005, Nikki’s rants in 2006 and Emma Greenwood versus Victor and the others in the notorious ’Fightnight’ of 2004. There were so many other incidents too numerous to mention.
In 2007 Channel Four went as far as kicking off the series with a female-only cast, I personally thought this was the best Big Brother of all time.
For my book I wanted to create a strong female character who becomes the star of a reality TV show. It was pretty easy really - I just used my memories of watching some of the most entertaining, spirited and dare I say it - aggressive women in the perfect setting - the Big Brother house! Kyla Andretti is the character I invented. I’m not sure you’ll like her, she’s a conniving and manipulative bitch, to put it bluntly. She becomes the undoubted star of my book, Little Men. The story charts her battles, some she wins, some she loses, against some well, little men. She is devious, cunning and clever as well as stunning to look at. Of course she’d do well on reality TV, she was born for it. But her appearance on the show is just the beginning. It’s the aftermath that gives her far more than she bargained for.
The new series, of course has it’s share of feisty females keeping me glued to the screen as ever. Personally, I think the best thing Channel Five could’ve done to re-vamp the programme is change the name to Big Sister!
http://www.the-e-book.co.uk/
