[Mrluvaluva]

Ahead of the return of 'Big Brother' to our screens (yes folks, it's almost that time of the year again), one of last year's contestants Ziggy (Zach) Lichman chats to us about life inside 'that' house, his desire to become the 'Ultimate Fighting Champion' and... of course, Chanelle (or did he answer that question?).

Linda McGee: OK Ziggy, we have to go back to 'Big Brother' first...
Ziggy Lichman: What? I don't know what you're talking about. I wasn't on it. (Looks deadly seriously but then bursts out laughing.)

LM: Thinking back on it now, do you have any regrets at all about doing the show?
ZL: No. No regrets at all. Honestly, it's been a good experience. I can't regret anything really. I made some decisions in my life before that that I regret but I don't regret that.

LM: Out of the housemates that were in 'Big Brother' with you, who are you still in touch with or do you see any of them?
ZL: I still go out with Liam a lot. When he comes to London he stays with me. He's wicked, probably as close as my best friends were. He's a best friend now. He's coming down to London tomorrow when I get back. Brian, a little bit and the twins. The twins live five minutes away from me so I see them about three times a week.

LM: Are they as hyper-active and fun outside the house as they were in it?
ZL: As nuts? 100% Honestly, we'll all go for drinks and be absolutely exhausted and we'll get back about two o'clock and everyone will go to bed and the twins are ready to go on till 5 o'clock. Even if they've got no drink they'll happily sit there and talk for ages, which is sometimes a little bit tiring! (Laughs)

LM: Are you working on music projects at the minute?
ZL: I'm Djing quite a lot and I'm producing for other bands and I'm writing. I've got a studio and stuff, so I produce. I've done a couple of house tracks, which I'm probably gonna look to release maybe in the summer time, with a couple of people. I'm not singing anything because,y you know... (long pause)... I can't sing... No, I'm joking. (slightly delayed reaction from me as I try to recall whether or not he sang or just looked pretty with boyband Northern Line.) No, it's because I did that and I honestly think of it as like a business now. It's a tough business as well. People are a lot more realistic towards musicians now, musicians who play an instrument - it's not really pop anymore.

LM: Is the change in your attitude to do with the type of music that you personally enjoy?
ZL: Yeah, it's about the type of music. I've completely moved my kind of music taste and started to learn about other stuff and the beauty of it is now that I can go out and play my own music and I can play a track in a club and see if it goes down well - if it doesn't chuck it and play something else.

LM: And do you really enjoy that immediacy of watching how people respond to your music?
ZL: Yeah, I did one last week and I played a track that I did with a few friends and it went down well. So that's cool. And then I've got a couple of other projects - one quite... very strange project... (trails off, seeming secretive)

LM: Are you allowed to tell us because you can't just mention it and not say?
ZL: I can, yeah. It's something called UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) - it's a cage rage thing. I'm going through an eight-week stint of training to be an Ultimate Fighter.

LM: Where can we see you competing in this?
ZL: There's a big event in London and it's going to be televised. And hopefully if all goes well then I'll be on it.

LM: How gruelling is that?
ZL: It's going to be a very gruelling experience. I did karate for ten years but this is a whole different thing. There's a lot of physical skill involved in it.

LM: And presumably mental strain too?
ZL: Yeah, the mental element is going to be serious. I have to lock myself away for a good time before it.

LM: Have you picked up any injuries so far? No broken bones or nasty bruises yet?
ZL: I do. I trained yesterday and I've swollen my foot by kicking this punch bag.

LM: Why would you want to do this?
ZL: For me it's a challenge. It's out of your... you know, everyone thinks when you come out of 'Big Brother', people - they just lay around and come out of clubs. This is kind of out of the norm. I will probably do a lot of weight training. It's eight weeks of gruelling training.

LM: But this isn't out of character for you. You're into your fitness, aren't you?
ZL: I love my sports, yeah. The direction that someone like Ben Fogle went is the direction I'd like to go in, you know, try out different things.

LM: I presume you've been offered a lot of different things since you left 'Big Brother'? How about television work or magazine columns?
ZL: Some good and some bad.

LM: So, you weren't really interested in developing the television side of things?
ZL: Not hugely. No, this is cool. This is all cool for me. I'll just give it a go and stuff. I think it will be something fresh and we'll see what happens. I'll probably get my arse kicked but anyway...

LM: Am I allowed to ask you about Chanelle?
ZL: There's nothing really to say to be honest with you. There's absolutely nothing to say. It's the past. But it's cool.

LM: Any other projects coming up that you're excited about?
ZL: I'm actually looking to go to the South Pole with a group of people for charity, for prostate cancer. So that's like an expedition which is getting put together. I'll be training and then I'll do that. I think it'll be this time next year when that happens. But that's a long way away.

LM: Is the trip going to be documented?
ZL: It will be and also the UFC is as well.

LM: Are you going to be tuning in to 'Big Brother' this year?
ZL: Yeah, you've got a new batch coming in and I'm sure they'll be fine. So we'll see what happens.

LM: Any advice you'd like to give them before they go into the house?
ZL: Don't do it!!... No, no, I wouldn't really say that. I started off saying 'No regrets'. The advice is just to have fun. It's a wonderful experience.

LM: Was it quite scary though, with the claustrophobic environment?
ZL: Yeah, it is. Just be realistic I suppose. Sometimes people get ahead of themselves.

LM: Was the house itself very different to what you expected?
ZL: I didn't know what to expect. It's kind of like putting your feet first.

The above endorsements are probably the best advice that the potential housemates are likely to get before they agree to be locked in the house for most of the summer. And, after passing judgement on Ziggy Lichman's every move inside the house in our blog last year, we are forced to concede that sometimes very nice, polite and charming people (and no I'm not referring to Carole) are forced to make questionable decisions when stuck in a house with zooming cameras and all kinds of characters that are not of their choosing. Lesson learned. Don't believe everything you see on reality TV!


Original article here