Well, I agree with everything you've said there Bonzo, and I also have some other reasons .....
The fact that he only came out to his parents a few days before entering the house is one very big factor. A few of my gay friends really identified with his situation, putting it off for years and being on the point of spilling the beans so many times and backing out at the last minute, before eventually making sure they
have to do it. BB was the perfect situation in some respects, but the worst in others. On the one hand, he had all the months of interviews etc to go through, and so ample opportunity to break it to his family gently. On the other hand, he probably used the uncertainty of the situation to put it off even longer, until the day came when he either had to tell them or let them read it in the papers first. I think his Rural Irish Catholic background made it very difficult for him, he'd left home at a young age, and had obviously lived a totally different life in England. Although he was from a very close-knit loving family, none of us would truly know how our families would deal with that sort of bombshell, and the torture he went through for 9 weeks was desperately touching, fascinating and a little uncomfortable to watch at times.
Another reason Brian has my respect and admiration is the way he handled his relationship with Josh in the latter weeks. Initially being threatened by Josh and behaving very badly towards him in the beginning, I honestly thought he'd blown it on his birthday. I could see exactly what was going through his mind, and I was aghast that none of his so-called friends could, and persisted in saying precisely the wrong things which wound him up even further. (are you listening Naz??) His heartfelt apology the next day just made me angrier, as certain people could see the chink in his armour and took great delight in taking pot shots at him. He took it all on the chin as he felt he deserved it, despite the fact they were simply milking the situation to their own advantage. Over the next few weeks, Josh made constant jibes and catty comments, which were seldom shown, and along with Elizabeth made every effort to destroy his confidence. (I can't say I wouldnt have been a bit of a bitch in Josh's situation tho!) Added to this the constant innuendo's and sometimes blatant passes, it was little wonder Brian retaliated with the famous and often trotted-out bitchy comments. He never once tried to justify himself, even on the night when it seemed the whole house had turned against him, and culminated in the showdown in the bedroom. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for Brian to tell the others exactly the sort of harrassment he'd had to put up with from Josh, but he never did. He once tried to confide in Dean that Josh was "overstepping the mark", but stopped after Dean said "Well, I really wouldn't know". I couldnt help thinking that if anyone had been treating Helen the way Josh treated Brian,
someone would have stepped in. (I should mention that I actually don't mind Josh now, looking back with the blinkers off, and having chatted to him, I feel he was in a no-win situation anyway.)
On a lighter note, it was Brian's effervescence and humour that made him the obvious winner for me. Together with his darker side, his modesty, innocence and naivety, his intelligence (general knowledge is no indication of intelligence - my head is full of trivia and I'm certainly not the sharpest tool in the box! lol) vulnerability and openness, it made him by far the most interesting and complex character in all 3 series of BB.
Last but not least was his total lack of awareness of how he would be seen by the public. He never believed for a second that he would win, and the final night when he & Helen were really, genuinely rooting for each other brought a tear to my eye.
I loved him for his qualities
and his faults, they mesmerised me, and I'll certainly never forget him.
Wonderful man!!
