[Amy]

Nadia's victory is to have been herself

When the fifth series of Big Brother began, no one would have bet on Nadia Almada eclipsing Jose Mourinho, the new Chelsea manager, as Portugal's most famous export to these shores. But then no one was betting on the 27-year-old transsexual to win the gameshow. Now, six days ahead of the final, the 33-1 outsider has become the 1-3 favourite.

This is a remarkable turnaround and speaks of a welcome tolerance generated by a show that has often been castigated for pandering to low-slung morals. Nine weeks ago none of her housemates knew that Nadia was a transsexual, and she has told no one. To keep a secret of this magnitude might seem perverse when eight million viewers are in on it, particularly as doing so has proved painful. But she has seized a unique opportunity to test the strength of her new identity. The fact that the contestants evicted so far claim to have had no idea of her secret means that in some sense, Nadia has already won. The reason she is now likely to win the series on Friday is that the public wants to share in her personal triumph and the happy narrative arc that her success has given this Big Brother. The question of her sexuality scarcely comes into it.

Article from Media Guardian