LOCKED in a house for weeks on end, food in short supply, unable to see friends and family . . . How will we cope? We knew just who to ask. These former Big Brother contestants actually CHOSE to be cut off from the outside world for the reality show. Some thought it would be a cake walk, […]
LOCKED in a house for weeks on end, food in short supply, unable to see friends and family . . .
How will we cope? We knew just who to ask.
These former Big Brother contestants actually CHOSE to be cut off from the outside world for the reality show.
Some thought it would be a cake walk, but were wrong, others were pleasantly surprised by the experience.
Here, five ex-Big Brother housemates share their tips on surviving lockdown . . .
Chantelle Houghton
THE reality star won series four of Celebrity Big Brother in 2006 after going in as a member of the public pretending to be a singer.
Four years later, Chantelle, 36, took part in Ultimate Big Brother. She said:
“AT first it was really exciting to be in Big Brother, facing the challenge of convincing all my famous housemates that I was a celebrity like them.
“But after nine days I hit a wall when we all had to individually get inside a cardboard box.
“I remember sitting in that box, tears running down the side of my face. It was the one moment that I felt alone, away from my friends and family.
“The reality hit that I couldn’t see them or call them. As the days went by I found it was 1pm and I still had my pyjamas on, which made me feel a bit grotty.
“I learned then it was really important to stick to a routine and to get up early, as normal.
“The other way I coped with my three weeks in the house was by imagining pictures of my family in my head.
“You need to focus on the positives of the experience, of which there can be some surprising ones.
“Everything happens for a reason. I met Preston (The Ordinary Boys singer) in there, never dreaming that I would meet someone and go on to get married to them.
I learned then it was really important to stick to a routine and to get up early, as normal.
“Even though we are now divorced, we are still really good friends and in touch all the time.
“In the final week I was desperate for the end, but it was such a great experience I did it a second time in 2010.
“Lockdown is something we can survive.”
Samantha Brick
THE writer and telly producer was a housemate in Celebrity Big Brother series ten in 2012. Samantha, 49, says:
“I strutted into Celebrity Big Brother assuming I had confinement sussed. Wrong.
“My game plan involved channelling my domestic goddess and doing the housework to cope with being locked up inside. I even brought a 1950s housewife apron with me. I was dead popular but it made me realise how filthy my housemates were.
“No matter how many times you push a vacuum cleaner around a living room, there is no getting away from the disgusting daily habits of others.
“Watching and listening to them moan, fart, preen, poo — round the clock — was a nightmare.
“In one of the games, I deliberately volunteered to down a vomit-inducing cocktail concoction — ingredients included eggs, tabasco sauce and vinegar — hoping I’d need medical attention and get out for a few hours. No chance. I just felt dreadful for the day.
“Being cooped up with others with no time out is a ticking timebomb. Drama queens always kick off when alcohol is involved.
“Food is another nightmare. People had no hesitation about leaving the knife in the butter or scoffing the last packet of Monster Munch and then blaming it on someone else.
“And personal hygiene goes out the window. I was having a conversation with someone when they began cutting their toenails.
“Towards the end of my time in the house I burst into tears in the diary room. I wanted to talk to my mum, I missed my husband.
“But most of all I wanted to hear: ‘Samantha, this is Big Brother, you have been evicted. Please leave the building’. So I could bloody leg it out into freedom.”
Cameron Stout
THE freelance broadcaster was the winner of Big Brother series four in 2003. Cameron, 49, says:
“Prior to going into the Big Brother house we were warned about the risk of cabin fever.
“Yet despite spending nine weeks isolated from the outside world I didn’t go stir-crazy.
“My lifeline was the Diary Room, which was a valve to let off steam or just describe your feelings of the day.
“In the current situation people are bound to get on each other’s nerves so we could all do with finding our own diary room.
“Perhaps nominate a friend to call every other day. I didn’t expect to survive for nine weeks, I just took it one week at a time, which helps psychologically.
“What kept us going in the fourth series of Big Brother was the camaraderie.
“Families together will be able to help themselves get through the lockdown. Rather than resenting the person who didn’t wash their cup, we worked together.
I didn’t expect to survive for nine weeks, I just took it one week at a time, which helps psychologically.
“Put up a slip in the kitchen and say Monday’s cups are all going to be done by me and Tuesday’s by someone else.
“What also aided us was we viewed the tasks as us versus Big Brother and we need to view it as us against the virus, rather than each other.”
Rhian Sugden
THE former Page 3 model was a Celebrity Big Brother contestant in series ten in 2012. Rhian, 33, said:
“Being locked in for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, certainly took some adjusting to.
“Getting used to having no contact with the outside world was already a bit of a shock. Then add to that being hemmed in, with no clocks and only yourself and complete strangers for company.
“Creating my own structure for the day is what stopped me from going insane.
“We would all be woken up at the same time and from then on it was up to us to keep ourselves entertained until Big Brother gave us a task — which only really took up an hour of our day.
“Housework was something that kept a lot of the housemates busy, as it was a job that was never-ending. The rest of us would do each other’s hair, try each other’s clothes on, sing songs and learn about each other.
“I like my own space, so I would often remove myself from the group a few times a day and lay on my bed to switch off, do a bit of meditating then rejoin the group.
“It’s important to just remove yourself from situations that make you a bit anxious or stressed. Taking five minutes out every now and then to level myself out really helped get me through the day.
“At night time alcohol would arrive and people would loosen up, so evening became the favourite time of day for us all.
It’s important to just remove yourself from situations that make you a bit anxious or stressed.
“It was partly because it included alcohol and we could all get a bit merry, and also because we all knew we could tick one more day off from being locked in.”
Anthea Turner
THE TV presenter was a housemate in the first Celebrity Big Brother in 2001. Anthea, 59, says:
“NOT only did I live in the Big Brother house, in 2018 I did Channel 5 show In Solitary, where I spent four days in a room with no social media, no television and no books.
“I was only allowed to take three things in with me, so I chose a 5,000-piece jigsaw, a crochet hook and wool, and paper and paint.
“My room was basically a container, with a toilet, a little shower and enough food supplies for the duration.
“What I learned from being in the Big Brother house is that it is very easy to lose perspective.
“A really small incident, like someone taking the last tea bag, was magnified.
“Under normal circumstances when you feel a bit niggled you will nip off outside, go see a friend or go to the pub in order to get away from the situation.
What I learned from being in the Big Brother house is that it is very easy to lose perspective.
“But if you are locked in a house you can’t use those coping methods.
“When you are in a confined space it is going to kick off. Tell each other, ‘We are going to annoy each other at some point’, so it’s not a surprise when it happens.
“When I was on In Solitary I tried to keep everything in perspective by remembering it wasn’t going to last forever.
“I cracked it by following a routine, getting up, having a shower, putting a little bit of lipstick on, dressing properly and sitting at the table to eat.
“Be really strict with yourself and we can make it out the other side with our sanity intact.”
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