[Red Moon]

Oh brother, I want fame

A CORONATION Street factory girl having a mid-life crisis, a Boy George lookalike and a man in a black hairnet - it could only be the auditions for Big Brother.

The Channel 4 reality show rolled into Manchester to recruit new housemates for the television show which causes a stir every summer.

After filling the house eight times with oddballs, extroverts and eccentrics, producers found there is still no shortage of suitable candidates to take their places.

Hundreds of wannabes queued in the rain at New Century House for their chance to impress.

And they were given a few tips from former housemate Nikki Grahame. The `stroppy' love interest of BB7 winner Pete Bennett, came to Manchester to lend her support.

Among the hopefuls were glamorous TV extras Zeta Baguley, 39, from Ainsworth, and Sue Tray, 50, from Whitefield. The pair play factory girls in Coronation Street. Sue said: "I want to be in Big Brother because I am fun and sexy and everyone will love me. I will get on with everybody and I just want to be in there."

Zeta said: "I am nearly 40 and I'm having a mid-life crisis.

"I am a mother and I want to be an inspiration to mothers and show them you can follow your dreams and do what you want to do even if you have a family."

Other hopefuls had travelled from further afield. Mike Gill, 50, who wore a black martial arts suit to match his netting `veil', arrived from Buckinghamshire to find stardom.

Boy George look-a-like and drag queen Bobby Rashid, from Bradford, was also keen to make sure he stood out in the crowd with a brightly coloured scarf and sequined handbag.

Bobby, 28, who uses the stage name Barbaralicious, said: "I have been trying for four years. The last two times I made it through the first auditions."

Call centre workers Amber Isaq and Iskander Rashid, from Halifax, who say they are regularly mistaken for women on the telephone because of their high pitched voices, rehearsed a song called Boys.

A Big Brother spokesman said: "We got a great turn-out in Manchester." The chosen few who did make it through the selection process will come back for further interviews today. But it won't be until the beginning of next year that bosses make their final selection after touring the country.

Source: Manchester Evening News