[LEE]

Big Brother Welcomes 12 New Housemates

This evening, the twelve Big Brother housemates will enter the Big Brother house live on Channel 4. The six men and women, who have never met before, arrived in separate cars and will enter the house individually in alphabetical order. For some, this will be their home for nine weeks – for others, _not quite so long. From tonight onwards, they will have _no contact with the outside world as they compete for the £70,000 prize.

The new housemates are:

THE MEN

Name: Cameron
Age: 32
Star Sign: Pisces
From: Orkney Islands
Occupation: Fish trader
Why Big Brother? “It would be a tremendous personal challenge. Participating in Big Brother is something I want to do for me, despite friends discouraging me from applying. I think I would do it even if it wasn’t on TV or had prize money”
What things will you miss most? “My own choice of music, driving, the sea and my dog”
What would you be reincarnated as? “A person less concerned with financial and personal security”
What would be your epitaph? “A good friend to many”

Cameron loves the outdoors and was once a rocket-building instructor. He plays the pia_no and guitar and dislikes people who enjoy the sound of their own voice. He wishes he was James Bond and says he sometimes laughs or sings in his sleep.

Name: Federico
Age: 23
Star Sign: Aries
From: Glasgow
Occupation: Waiter
Why Big Brother? “Despite my best efforts to detach myself from such mainstream populist paraphernalia, I too have contracted this debilitating, possessive disease which renders its victims defenceless to the fascinating banality of _normality!”
What things will you miss most? Movies, music and sex
What would you be reincarnated as? A donkey – “undermined by horses, but magnificent beasts with whom I empathise and have long shared an affinity”
What would be your epitaph? “Peace, love and laugh”

Federico is a huge Juventus fan who admires Roberto Baggio and Halle Berry in equal measure. He used to work as a cocktail waiter in New York. His favourite film is Scarface and singer Darius Danesh makes him laugh.


Name: Gos
Age: 31
Star Sign: Leo
From: Southall, London
Occupation: Head Chef
Why Big Brother? “Because I’m funny, easy-going and a great cook. I love spending time with people and I listen to them before giving my view”
What things will you miss most? “Chef knives, my bed, car and football”
What would you be reincarnated as? “ A lion - head of the pride. A graceful, good hunter who sleeps for 20 hours a day”
Epitaph: “You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Gos is passionate about food and hopes to own a restaurant one day. He loves his bed, hates traffic wardens and dreams of being able to fly. Gos once helped to deliver his cousin’s baby.


Name: Jon
Age: 29
Star Sign: Taurus
From: Staines, Middlesex
Occupation: Data Strategy Manager
Why Big Brother? “Someone I k_now told me that I wouldn’t be able to do it - and I never pass up a challenge”
What things will you miss most? The Internet, reading and the horizon
What would you be reincarnated as? A cat – “they have it pretty easy”
What would be your epitaph? “He did his best to be a good man”

Jon, who once helped slaughter his friend’s pig, enjoys cricket and hockey. He loathes mushrooms and reckons he cooks the best Christmas dinner in the world.


Name: Ray
Age: 25
Star Sign: Aquarius
From: Galway, Republic of Ireland
Occupation: IT Systems Administrator
Why Big Brother? “I can go to bed at the crack of dawn, be myself, relax, have a good time, meet some interesting people and be in with a chance to win a lot of money for being me…why _not?”
What things will you miss most? The gym, music, TV and going clubbing
What would you be reincarnated as? A chicken – “so I wouldn’t have to go through the nerve-wracking Big Brother audition process”
What would be your epitaph? My other grave’s a pyramid

Ray visits the gym five times a week, makes a mean spaghetti bolognaise and hates _noisy eaters. He once had to dress up as a teapot and also celebrated St Patrick’s Day by having a tattoo on his back.


Name: Scott
Age: 27
Star Sign: Virgo/Libra
From: Liverpool
Occupation: Marketing Co-ordinator for a mail order catalogue business
Why Big Brother? “I want to have a life-changing, or at least life affirming, experience. I would love the opportunity to be able to live in a more pure sense”
What things will you miss most? “Not k_nowing what’s happening in the world”
What would you be reincarnated as? “A doctor or aid-worker - someone who has a real positive effect on the lives of others…or Kylie Mi_nogue’s dog!”
What would be your epitaph? “I like Spike Milligan’s ‘I told you I was ill’”

Scott loves to make people laugh and dreams of playing football for Liverpool FC. He reckons he’s a pretty good cook, dislikes selfish people and those who don’t practise what they preach. He has also written a play for Radio 4.


THE WOMEN

Name: A_nouska
Age: 20
Star Sign: Scorpio
From: Manchester
Occupation: Day Nursery Assistant
Why Big Brother? “A totally unique experience set in a totally unreal environment. Big Brother is a must-do opportunity that very few will be a part of but one which I will thrive on”
What things will you miss most? Music, sex, peanut butter and books
What would you be reincarnated as? A butterfly – “they start off as an ugly, horrid, furry worm and blossom into a beautiful thing that flutters in a dizzy daze”
What would be your epitaph? “She brightened up everyone’s day in whatever way they needed…watch out!”

A_nouska admits to being very _nosey and always speaks her mind. She most admires Nelson Mandela, has a butterfly tattoo and is afraid of flying insects.


Name: Justine
Age: 27
Star Sign: Scorpio
From: Leeds
Occupation: Sales Manager
Why Big Brother? “I’m at this stage in my life, being young, single and fancy free and I want to have as much fun as possible”
What things will you miss most? My two mobile phones
What would you be reincarnated as? Kylie Mi_nogue
What would be your epitaph? “Justine was a girl who lived her life to the full. She was the first person friends and family called in a crisis and was the last to leave parties. A ray of sunshine that would light up the darkest room”

Justine admits she can’t cook, loves designer clothes and hair straighteners and finds Victoria Wood hysterical.


Name: Nush
Age: 23
Star Sign: Virgo
From: Malvern, Midlands
Occupation: Student
Why Big Brother? “I love trying new and crazy things and it looks like lots of fun”
What things will you miss most? Music, going to the toilet in private, movies and sex
What would you be reincarnated as? An alpha-male mandril baboon with a penchant for almonds. Why _not!
What would be your epitaph? “I’m still, I’m still Nush from the block,
Used to laff and giggle in ma stripey socks,
Used to jive & jiggle in ma sexsi frocks
Now I’m blissed out cause heaven rocks!
Big up the Nush massive, bling bling, nuff respect”

Nush has her own soul surgeon to maintain her spiritual health and she loves yoga. She is a vegetarian with a pierced belly button who hates a ‘goody-two shoes’ and hopes to circus train the Big Brother chickens.


Name: Sissy
Age: 26
Star Sign: Libra
From: Liverpool
Occupation: Fashion Designer
Why Big Brother? “It’s a lifetime experience that looks loads of fun, and an opportunity to cohabit with people who you wouldn’t _normally live with”
What things will you miss most? Shopping, listening to music and clubbing
What would you be reincarnated as? A big solid oak kitchen table – “the heart of the family home”
What would be your epitaph? “Lived life to the full and loved it”

Sissy loves DJ-ing for her friends and dancing. A home lover who hates mess, she is very close to her mum and dreams of being a mum herself one day.


Name: Steph
Age: 27 – she will have her 28th birthday in the house
Star Sign: Gemini
From: Birmingham
Occupation: Visual merchandiser for a major retail chain
Why Big Brother? “BB seems to be a new, exciting experience for me where I have the opportunity to be myself“
What things will you miss most? The fire
What would you be reincarnated as? “A man, because they can get away with murder!”
What would be your epitaph? “In loving memory of the smile that lit up the room”

Steph reckons she can talk for England, is a vegetarian and thinks Billy from EastEnders is sexy. She likes Carry On Films, admires GMTV’s Penny Smith and can’t stand arrogance in others. Steph once worked as a prison officer and has recently separated from her husband, a footballer.


Name: Tania
Age: 22
From: North-west London
Star sign: Cancer
Occupation: Works in a designer clothes shop.
Why Big Brother? “To live with strangers and be watched 24/7 and to see how I would cope without TV”
What things will you miss most? My mobile phone and car
What would you be reincarnated as? “A bird - so I could fly wherever and wouldn’t experience traffic”
What would be your epitaph? “Biggest Loss to Everyone! Great Girl – Sleep Well”

Tania is a self-confessed drama queen who keeps pet koi carp, loves clothes and hates false people.