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BB Pete: Exploitation or education?
By Liam Allen

BBC News

When the producers of this year's Big Brother accepted a man with Tourette's syndrome as a housemate, some accused them of exploiting his condition - which, in his case, includes the involuntary use of strong language - for the sake of entertainment.

Pete has achieved his goal of becoming a "famous Touretter"


As Friday's final approaches, have they changed that view?

The day after the housemates in the seventh series of Big Brother entered the house 13 weeks ago, the president of the UK's Tourette's Syndrome Association (TSA) said it had been against Pete Bennett being among them.

Roy Hillard said that, while he hoped the inclusion of the 24-year-old would help raise awareness of the condition, he thought "on balance, it will have adverse effects".

He said Pete's condition was "likely to get worse" in the house, and said it could lead to children with Tourette's being mocked.

Composer and writer James McConnel, 48, who has the condition, also initially expressed concern over Pete's inclusion in the house.

Speaking on the eve of Friday's Big Brother final, Mr McConnel told the BBC News website: "I was worried because I do think Channel 4 was looking for a bit of voyeurism."

But the "theatrical" nature of Pete's Tourette's "makes him loveable", he said.

Pete's symptoms include involuntarily hitting his throat and swearing, namely the word "wankers".


Mr McConnel, who has written a book about Tourette's, dismisses concerns that Pete's fame could lead to children with Tourette's being bullied.

"He's a very likeable bloke, a very nice bloke.

"Young kids have a hard time as I did but maybe this will help them. Maybe it will help bullying."

Idiosyncratic behaviour


Author Nick von Bloss, 38, who has also written a book on living with Tourette's, says that at the start of Big Brother he was "incensed" by the "sensationalism" surrounding Pete's entrance into the house.

And, after watching much of the series, he is still less than impressed.

"I think Pete's inadvertently doing a lot of damage to Tourette's awareness," he added.

Mr von Bloss said he had observed Pete displaying only two symptoms of Tourette's - the throat-hitting and swearing - and that the rest of his idiosyncratic behaviour, including making faces and putting on voices, was down to his personality.

"He's such a colourful personality with so many odd aspects to his personality that it's obscuring his Tourette's and making people think that's part of his Tourette's."

'Not representative'

But the TSA said it now thought some good things had come out of Pete's inclusion on the show.

"What it has done is put Tourette's on the map," said a spokeswoman.

"Hopefully, people will recognise other people with Tourette's and see they have more in common with a person with Tourette's than they'd realised."

But she said the fact that Pete's tics included involuntary bad language - or coprolalia - had the negative effect of reinforcing a public perception of Tourette's as "the swearing disease".

In fact, coprolalia affects only about 10% of people with Tourette's syndrome.

"It's a serious point. Even now there are GPs saying that if you're not swearing then you have not got Tourette's," she said.

"Overall, our view would be that Big Brother has been helpful and shows someone who's nice and normal has Tourette's.

"Our only reservation is that it may reinforce the mistaken view that coprolalia is a necessary diagnostic criteria."

Tourette Scotland chairperson Janice Mylan, meanwhile, said Pete had been a role model for people with Tourette's.

"Most of the reaction we've had has been positive. People have felt that he's been honest and upfront about his Tourette's and that helps with removing the stigma that's there, especially with youngsters."

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said Pete, who has been a runaway favourite to win the show from early on in the series, had been chosen solely for his personality.

"Pete's attitude to his condition is a really positive one and that's helped to educate and inspire people," she said.

"He's a very positive role model and he's been a great housemate."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5259916.stm