[Amy]

It takes more than a serious chill in the air to deter the even-more-serious celebrity wannabe from queuing for a place in the king of reality TV shows.
Big Brother will hit British screens for the fifth time this summer and for the first time, the producers are coming directly to the people who want to be its stars.

The Cardiff leg of the UK-wide auditions had already attracted more than a few people happy to be outrageous in their quest to get on television - and that was just by 1000 GMT.

One man came sporting a bare bottom with an eye - the trademark Big Brother symbol - painted on each cheek.

"It certainly caught my attention," Shirley Jones, BB's executive producer laughed.

"Cardiff has come out in force so far."

There is no guarantee that any of the Welsh hopefuls will make it through to the final 10.

Ms Jones said only those with the biggest personalities would be successful, regardless of where they came from.

"You've got to have something about you to make you stand out from the crowd.


BB contenders in groups of 10 try to get through to the next stage
"At this stage we don't know anybody's background or lifestyle. You've got to come here and impress us," she explained.

Programme chiefs decided to ditch initial selection by video tape after worrying they would miss out on a broader selection of contestants, and that tapes were not always giving an accurate reflection of personality.

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