[Mrluvaluva]

Another one....

Like it or loathe it, Big Brother has undoubtedly left a permanent mark on UK culture.

Castigated as gaudy, cruel and cheap, it's nevertheless provided some of the most memorable TV moments of the last decade.

From Nasty Nick plotting against fellow housemates to Jade asking where East Angular was, from sex-change Nadia to Tourettes sufferer Pete, most of us have seen it at one point.

It will begin its final series this week, with few mourning its passing as it trundles off into TV heaven (or possibly hell, depending on your viewpoint).

One person with more reason to remember than most is Becki Seddiki. To any non-fans of the show, she's the smiley face greeting you at the desk of Toni and Guy in Canary Wharf.

But back in 2004, she was public enemy number one as a housemate for just two weeks on Big Brother 5.

"I was sent in and told to kiss someone who I thought should be nominated from first impressions," she recalled. "It was labelled the 'Judas Kiss' and the Sun flew a plane over the next day telling everyone it was me who nominated Michelle. I was a lamb to the slaughter really."

Becki, 39, never even wanted to go into the house, having simply gone along with a friend to an early audition.

But producers liked her outgoing personality and willingness to speak her mind and lined her up for an entrance in-keeping with that year's 'evil' theme.

Unsurprisingly, the north Londoner was back in the real world soon after, and had to face up to the benefits and nightmares of fleeting fame.

"The main problem was it screwed up my family. There were people I'd never even met before saying we'd been in a relationship and I'd cheated - I've never cheated in my life! Another said I was an escort - I didn't even know what that was!

"You get invited to lots of parties which is great fun. The first week I had strangers calling me horrible names but since then everyone has been nice.

"The worst thing was I wanted some exposure for my ambition to be a musician, but my agent said I'd shot myself in the foot going on Big Brother."

While some may have cracked up or changed as a result of their celebrity, Becki was back to normality within two months.

She still hangs out with BB5 winner Nadia but is happy out of the limelight in a job she loves.

"Some people do come in and say 'you look familiar', which is weird as it was so long ago. I have no regrets at all. I just wish I'd got my friends to sell all the pictures of me so they'd seen the money".


Docklands24