ILoveTRW
21-12-2009, 03:39 PM
You're just back from holiday. How was that?
Well, I had a holiday with my missus, ten days in Morocco, which was lovely. Then I came back and swapped airports and went out and filmed a documentary with my dad in Namibia, where we went off to spend time with a tribe. It was the furthest from civilisation that I have ever been. It was a great, it was fascinating.
We've got the last ever series of Celebrity Big Brother coming up. Will you be looking to send it out on a high?
Absolutely! With anything that's done as brilliantly as Big Brother has done, people always want to knock it. So people built it up into this phenomenon, and then they try and knock it down. But I think this year people will be a bit more honest about watching it and enjoying it. Everybody always tells me they're not watching it, but then they'll start asking me specific questions about various people. I think, this year, they'll be a really nostalgic feeling, and people will realise how much they do love it and will miss it. We'll certainly be trying to make Big Brother’s Little Brother the best we've ever made it, for both Celebrity BBLB and in the summer.
Have you been told yet who's on the show?
The fact that I've been away means I probably know less than I would normally, but they're terribly secretive about it. I tried to get them to give me some hints - Is there a big movie star? Or a singer? Or a sportsman? Have we got some Americans coming over for it? And I got less than nothing. So I've no idea. But at the same time, it keeps it interesting for me. If I knew now, I might have preconceptions; I might have already made my mind up about the housemates and what they're like. Whereas if I find out the day before I go on air, then I'm in the same boat as everyone else.
You said before that the longer you do a show, the better it becomes - do you think BBLB is stronger than ever because of that?
Yeah. I don't think you can stand still in life. I don't think it's reached a plateau where it's the best it can ever be. But I do feel it's got better year on year. We've got an entirely new team this year, and we are really going to go for it this series. It'll still be BBLB as viewers know it, and it'll still be the first place to come for information about what's going on in the house, but it might not look exactly as you'd expect it to. Whatever we thought wasn't possible previously we're going to give a go this year. We want everyone to go away from this run and from the summer series going "Wow, what a way to end it!"
Do you like the fact that the show goes out live? Does that make it more exciting for you?
The more television I do - and inevitably some of it isn't live - the more I realise how much I love doing live TV. The adrenaline that gets going, you can't beat it. I don't drive very fast in cars, I'm not up for jumping out of aeroplanes, I just tried surfing and quite liked that, but what I really, really like is red lights coming on and being told I'm going live.
With a show like BBLB, which can be pretty chaotic, going out live, occasional mistakes are almost part of the fun of the show, aren't they?
Yeah. I remember one show in particular where there was a ‘code red’ up at Elstree, they thought someone had got in the house, it meant the task couldn't happen, and our entire show was based around the task. We had 11 minutes until we were on air, and we were literally doing it by the seat of our pants, and making it up as we went along. We pulled the show into a different direction, it was a real team effort. What I had to do was make it look like I wasn't going insane, because I had voices in my ear the entire show rather than once every couple of minutes. But that's the fun, that’s what's exciting about it. It's up to the minute - there's no point in us coming on and banging on about what went on in the house yesterday - it's got to be absolutely up to the minute and reflect what's happening as we speak, so inevitably there might be a few trip-ups. If you make mistakes, so long as you make a little joke out of it and move on, everything's all right. It's when you try and ignore the mistakes that everything starts to look a little awkward.
Does the feel of BBLB change when it’s Celebrity Big Brother?
A little bit. I think it's a little bit more instant than usual, because when people know it's on for 13 weeks, they might not get into it for the first few weeks, and then it gradually builds up. When it's celebrities in there everyone's just glued from the first minute.
Will you have celebs' friends and family on the show?
I would hope so. We had friends and family from just about everybody who was on Celebrity Big Brother last year. That's a big part of the show. We'll certainly have them on the telephone if geography doesn't allow them to be there.
Who have been the best guests you've had on BBLB?
We had Tito Jackson on last year, which was really interesting - it was great to meet one of the Jackson Five. Dirk Benedict was great, because I wanted to be Face when I was little, so that was a real honour, to have him on. Charlie Boorman came on last time, and we had a great time. He's really cool. And maybe the best guests we've ever had on were Boyz II Men this summer. They'd just come in that morning, but they really gave it their all and got involved and had a really good time.
What have been your favourite Celebrity Big Brother moments over the years?
I think the number one moment of all time was George Galloway being a cat and eating the cream. And Verne Troyer and Ulrika doing their duet last year was a really special moment. Those two would probably go down as my favourite ones of all time.
What are your hopes for this series? What would constitute a really successful BBLB?
I don't like it when people are too mouthy or confrontational or argumentative. All that ends up happening is someone ends up playing mediator, someone gets a bit upset and says they want to leave. My hopes are that everyone who goes into the house is going in because they want to be there, and they want to make the best of it and give it their all. If everyone turns up to make the most of it, we'll have a great time.
Well, I had a holiday with my missus, ten days in Morocco, which was lovely. Then I came back and swapped airports and went out and filmed a documentary with my dad in Namibia, where we went off to spend time with a tribe. It was the furthest from civilisation that I have ever been. It was a great, it was fascinating.
We've got the last ever series of Celebrity Big Brother coming up. Will you be looking to send it out on a high?
Absolutely! With anything that's done as brilliantly as Big Brother has done, people always want to knock it. So people built it up into this phenomenon, and then they try and knock it down. But I think this year people will be a bit more honest about watching it and enjoying it. Everybody always tells me they're not watching it, but then they'll start asking me specific questions about various people. I think, this year, they'll be a really nostalgic feeling, and people will realise how much they do love it and will miss it. We'll certainly be trying to make Big Brother’s Little Brother the best we've ever made it, for both Celebrity BBLB and in the summer.
Have you been told yet who's on the show?
The fact that I've been away means I probably know less than I would normally, but they're terribly secretive about it. I tried to get them to give me some hints - Is there a big movie star? Or a singer? Or a sportsman? Have we got some Americans coming over for it? And I got less than nothing. So I've no idea. But at the same time, it keeps it interesting for me. If I knew now, I might have preconceptions; I might have already made my mind up about the housemates and what they're like. Whereas if I find out the day before I go on air, then I'm in the same boat as everyone else.
You said before that the longer you do a show, the better it becomes - do you think BBLB is stronger than ever because of that?
Yeah. I don't think you can stand still in life. I don't think it's reached a plateau where it's the best it can ever be. But I do feel it's got better year on year. We've got an entirely new team this year, and we are really going to go for it this series. It'll still be BBLB as viewers know it, and it'll still be the first place to come for information about what's going on in the house, but it might not look exactly as you'd expect it to. Whatever we thought wasn't possible previously we're going to give a go this year. We want everyone to go away from this run and from the summer series going "Wow, what a way to end it!"
Do you like the fact that the show goes out live? Does that make it more exciting for you?
The more television I do - and inevitably some of it isn't live - the more I realise how much I love doing live TV. The adrenaline that gets going, you can't beat it. I don't drive very fast in cars, I'm not up for jumping out of aeroplanes, I just tried surfing and quite liked that, but what I really, really like is red lights coming on and being told I'm going live.
With a show like BBLB, which can be pretty chaotic, going out live, occasional mistakes are almost part of the fun of the show, aren't they?
Yeah. I remember one show in particular where there was a ‘code red’ up at Elstree, they thought someone had got in the house, it meant the task couldn't happen, and our entire show was based around the task. We had 11 minutes until we were on air, and we were literally doing it by the seat of our pants, and making it up as we went along. We pulled the show into a different direction, it was a real team effort. What I had to do was make it look like I wasn't going insane, because I had voices in my ear the entire show rather than once every couple of minutes. But that's the fun, that’s what's exciting about it. It's up to the minute - there's no point in us coming on and banging on about what went on in the house yesterday - it's got to be absolutely up to the minute and reflect what's happening as we speak, so inevitably there might be a few trip-ups. If you make mistakes, so long as you make a little joke out of it and move on, everything's all right. It's when you try and ignore the mistakes that everything starts to look a little awkward.
Does the feel of BBLB change when it’s Celebrity Big Brother?
A little bit. I think it's a little bit more instant than usual, because when people know it's on for 13 weeks, they might not get into it for the first few weeks, and then it gradually builds up. When it's celebrities in there everyone's just glued from the first minute.
Will you have celebs' friends and family on the show?
I would hope so. We had friends and family from just about everybody who was on Celebrity Big Brother last year. That's a big part of the show. We'll certainly have them on the telephone if geography doesn't allow them to be there.
Who have been the best guests you've had on BBLB?
We had Tito Jackson on last year, which was really interesting - it was great to meet one of the Jackson Five. Dirk Benedict was great, because I wanted to be Face when I was little, so that was a real honour, to have him on. Charlie Boorman came on last time, and we had a great time. He's really cool. And maybe the best guests we've ever had on were Boyz II Men this summer. They'd just come in that morning, but they really gave it their all and got involved and had a really good time.
What have been your favourite Celebrity Big Brother moments over the years?
I think the number one moment of all time was George Galloway being a cat and eating the cream. And Verne Troyer and Ulrika doing their duet last year was a really special moment. Those two would probably go down as my favourite ones of all time.
What are your hopes for this series? What would constitute a really successful BBLB?
I don't like it when people are too mouthy or confrontational or argumentative. All that ends up happening is someone ends up playing mediator, someone gets a bit upset and says they want to leave. My hopes are that everyone who goes into the house is going in because they want to be there, and they want to make the best of it and give it their all. If everyone turns up to make the most of it, we'll have a great time.