[James]

LEE'S FOUND TRUE 'BRUV' WITH SOPHIE

BY AMRIN KHAN

23 May 2003

Big Brother star Lee Davey will be marrying fellow contestant Sophie Pritchard this summer - but he warned today the show is not all a bed of roses.

Love blossomed for the couple on the Channel 4 reality show last year. They will exchange vows at a wedding ceremony by the River Thames, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, where Lee, from Leicestershire, now runs his own fitness firm. The announcement comes as a new series of the show starts tonight.

Last year, Birstall fitness instructor Lee became a hit, and was dubbed the Leicester lothario, who put his long-term relationship on the line by flirting openly with fellow housemate Sophie.

After getting out of the house, his then-girlfriend Carmel was not amused. Despite trying to patch things up when he left the house, Carmel dished the dirt to the tabloid press and the pair split for good.

Lee, 22, said: "I've learned a lot about the programme that a lot of people don't understand. It is not all as rosy as it looks. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes. A lot of politics. The show is a farce, but I have the best thing out of it - meeting my future wife, Sophie."

He had advice for this year's contestants.

He said: "You will have the best two nights of your life - the night you go in and the eviction night.

"Keep your feet on the ground. If you go in there and get swept away, you will come back to earth with a big bang."

Big Brother's other Leicestershire contestant, Narinder Kaur, 30, from Oadby, was propelled to stardom after spending four weeks at the house in the summer of 2001.

A medical sales rep at the time, Narinder's life became an endless whirl of celebrity parties and premieres.

Now pursuing a TV and radio career in London, she said: "I do feel for the contestants. My thoughts go out to them and how much their lives are going to change and what they are going to be put through."

She said Channel 4 was not doing enough to prepare people for life after the show.

She said: "It is an exploitation of Joe Bloggs off the streets. I think Channel 4 and Endemol should be taking more serious responsibility for people's lives afterwards and they don't. They get them on camera, feed them to the lions and then that's it."

A Big Brother spokeswoman said: "Contestants going into the house go through a very stringent cycle of tests to ensure they are robust enough to spend time in the house."

"They are also given the Talk of Doom, telling them this is not going to make them famous, it is not long-standing and will not change their lives forever. They should take it for what it is."

She added all contestants have access to a psychologist. They are also offered an agent to help deal with the publicity.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.u...tentPK=5714832

[Kaz]

So Lee and Sophie have decided to announce details of their marriage, despite saying in 'New' magazine that they had no plans to marry, to coincide with the day BB4 starts!

Call me cynical, but it smacks of cashing in on a bit of self-publicity. OK . . . . . so I'm cynical.

As for Narinder's comments - I've said it before and I'll say it again - she only has herself to blame for all the negative publicity she gets. Still pursuing a TV and radio career nearly 2 years after she appeared on BB2 is verging on desperation. It ain't gonna happen.