Ladies and Gentlemen, game over!
6th Jenni
5th Nikki
4th Richard
3rd Aisleyn
2nd Glyn
1st Pete
Few surprises in store for the final night as Big Brother 2006 rolled towards the close of business. And the nation’s favourite Pete took the crown with a popularity that has been unwavering since the show started ninety days ago.
Jenni was always going to be the first out of the house on the last night, her place in the final being one granted only by virtue of immunity. Often shouting the loudest but seldom heard she found it difficult to make her mark on the house in the final week. Her relative youth and inexperience in “the game” stood against her and I can’t help but think the immunity she obtained would have served another housemate better.
I didn’t expect the next person out of the house would be Nikki though. And judging by the amateur dramatics neither did she. While the rest of the world indulges in a sickly round of “follow that romance” I still can’t help but think that her “relationship” with Pete is one that has been fostered for the sake of publicity. Her mock terror under the bright lights of eviction was however something to behold as was the stunted interview Davina found herself conducting when she finally got her down the stairs. And what did she look like, blessed with that jaw of curious malleability and the hairstyle of Neanderthal proportions she made something of a curious vision as she stumbled back into the real world (or as real as it gets for her).
Richard was next, I predicted third place for him but alas I was one out. He got one of the best receptions seen this series and gave one of the best interviews. Considering the obvious pressures of the final night he managed to hold it together pretty well (even though he will now be remembered for his suspect dance moves as much as anything else).
Aisleyn came third, having undergone something of a late popularity surge in the last week. I wonder if a greater degree of consistency throughout the show would have given her a bigger shot at the title. By the end I think even she realised her “ghetto princess” persona was doing little to win friends and influence people as we saw earlier in the week when she was confronted with her hyper aggressive audition tape.
The runner up was Glyn, self styled spokesman for Wales. The man who had been on a true journey. Entering the house as an inept boy he learned to cook (after a fashion). He got his first lapdance, wanked in the shower (probably after his first lapdance) and went from geeky looking lifeguard to cut price Eminem. In the early days I would never have thought he would become so damn likable and in the end it was a close run thing and he could have caused an upset and took the crown.
The winner however was Pete.
A firm favourite from week one taking the underdog status possibly by virtue of his Tourette’s Syndrome as much as anything else. He did very little to blot his copybook throughout the duration of his stay in the house. Popular inside and out he came across as a caring and empathic individual (he saved a bee from drowning!) and it was only when Nikki returned to get the mone…sorry to profess her love to him that he started to become annoying. Oh and the messages he received via dreams/God started to grate as well. I honestly suspected he had damaged his chances by placing so much emphasis on his need to win. It was the first and only time his character showed a potential level of (dare I say it) vanity and greed.
His exit was nothing short of perplexing, in the grip of one of his more manic bouts of behaviour he theatrically staggered out of the house only to prat fall down the outside steps and appear completely overwhelmed by the whole experience. Getting an interview out of him was nigh on impossible as his ticks were made worse by the heightened sense of occasion.
For me though tonight the real hero was none other than Davina McCall. Looking like a ship in full sail she proved surprisingly mobile and agile for a woman the size of a tank, and I was wondering if there was anywhere I could get odds on whether her waters would break during the show. Especially when she was being pulled here there and everywhere by the excitable housemates. God forbid if she had took a tumble or something…
So there you have it, it’s all over. I get my telly back and the housemates get their deals with OK/Hello/Nuts or maybe Katie will garner an interview with one of them for 020.com. This year however it seems the shelf life of the housemates has been shorter than usual with some of the early casualties falling into obscurity with surprising rapidity (Ok, one was a headcase and two of them had issues with the police) so I suspect they should make hay while the sun shines because I don’t think the spotlight will linger on this bunch for long. They may have been “big characters” in the house but personally I don’t think any of them have the capacity for a long term stint in the media. But then again Jade Goody is still around so what do I know…
See you in 2007. I’m going to see what the outside looks like…
