BIG Brother is back for 2024, meaning a whole host of new housemates will be taking on the challenge of life in front of the cameras.
Picked out from tens of thousands of applicants, amputee footballer Thomas Atkinson is one of the new batch entering the iconic compound.
Thomas Atkinson, from Carlisle in Cumbria, is an amputee footballer.
He was born without a left hand, and was told he would never walk after having his left leg amputated when he was just two.
Despite this prognosis, so far the goalkeeper has earned a total of 26 caps with the England Amputee national team.
The 20-year-old opened up about one of his pet hates before entering the Big Brother house, saying: “I describe myself as a very energetic, always lively person — I hate silence!
He added: “People are going to see me as that giddy young person.”
And he believes that his talkative nature could lead to his downfall on the show.
When asked what he was most likely to be nominated for eviction for, Thomas said: “One of my bad traits is that I speak a lot. I do a lot of talking without thinking.
“In myself I never get offended, you can say anything about me — I’ve already heard it before.
“Obviously I look a lot different to everyone else and that’s alright with me.
“If they say something about me then I can say something about them whereas I don’t think everyone is comfortable with that!”
Asked about his reasons for swapping everyday life for one of intense scrutiny in the Big Brother house, he said: “I like trying everything in the world. I feel like I want to give everything a go.
“This was another opportunity where I thought ‘you only live once’ and I can be one of the few people who’ve said that I’ve done Big Brother.
“I’m only young and it’s one of those experiences I can look back on and tell my kids, my grandkids what I’ve done.
“If I don’t make it to the end then that’s alright with me.”
People are going to see me as that giddy young person
Thomas Atkinson
When asked what about him might surprise his fellow housemates, Thomas rather modestly highlighted his intellect.
He explained: “I think I’m quite a smart feller. I know a lot of things about different and weird subjects.
“I’m a really good communicator in that I think I can make people feel a certain way, not manipulate them but to get what I want out of the conversation.”
You can catch Thomas enjoying life in the Big Brother house every night of the week at 9pm on ITV2.
Viewers can also tune in to BB spin-off show Late & Live after each episode has been broadcast.
And if that’s not enough for you, episodes of season 21 of the original reality show are available on ITVX.
A brand new batch of Big Brother housemates are living it up in the famous compound.
Meet the cast of the 2024 series:
