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As
I turned the car in to the supermarket car park in Elstree, I instantly
realised something big was going down.
There
in front of me stood a line of people circumnavigating the perimeter
fence at Elstree Studios.
They
came in all shapes and sizes but had one thing in common - an array
of multi-coloured posters proclaiming their undying support for
someone who ten weeks ago they never knew existed.
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| Emma
and Sarah - Doncaster's finest! |
Such
is the power of Big Brother. A reported nine million viewers watching
the final instalment represents an amazing 48 per cent share of
the total television watching audience.
The
fifth series had once again gripped the nation, and brought the
supporters from far and wide.
Having
struggled to find a space in the car park, I headed straight to
the front of the queue.
I was
quick to reassure the rabble that I was not trying to push in and
soon they welcomed me into their strange club.
These
people had never met before, but having sat on the pavement since
as early as 2.00am they had formed strong friendships already, mainly
thanks to a Portuguese transsexual called Nadia.
Emma
and Sarah headed the queue. Arriving just before 2.00am, they had
travelled all the way from Doncaster on the back of some very bad
advice.
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| Nadia's
a real winner! |
Emma
explained "We were told that people queue all night so we decide
to get here early to make sure we got in, but no-one was here and
the next person didn't arrive till 6.00am."
Despite
their early start they were still very excited that they might get
onto the set of Big Brother's spin off show Big Brother's Little
Brother, hosted by ladies favourite Dermot O'Leary.
I was
astonished they had travelled for four hours from Doncaster, queued
for 15 hours on the pavement and still didn't have tickets to get
on to the set!
I trawled
the line chatting to the assortment of Big Brother fans, they all
had similar stories, they were fans of the show and just wanted
to be part of the action.
I felt
that most of these people were rejects from the public audition
Big Brother held for this series, and this was their final attempt
to gain fame.
With
my camera flashing away I was targeted by a woman carrying a small
toy bear dressed as Nadia.
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| Bearsac
- Nadia looky-likey and celebrity teddy! |
It
had an uncanny look of Nadia with false boobs and bad hair (sorry
I was a Jason fan until he came out) and I was told that this was
a celebrity in the bear world with its own Website.
This
was a fine example of the calibre of super fans on offer, obsessive,
passionate and suffering from mild sun stroke.
The
further down the line I got the more nerves there were amongst the
people as to whether they would gain entrance.
Some
people had tickets but most were just hoping to get lucky. One lady
said there had been a kafuffle the year before when after the last
person was admitted, those left outside were not best pleased.
As
the line continued to grow in length, the level of support swayed
between Jason and Nadia fans and there was plenty of light hearted
banter.
It
seemed strange that people had really taken these housemates to
heart and were passionately discussing their inner turmoils. Nadia
fans were proud of her decision to keep her sex change secret quiet,
while Jason fans felt he really did have the inner quality that
a Big Brother winner deserved. Whatever that may be?!
There
were the odd Dan and Shell fans hidden amongst the queue but true
to their housemates style they remained quiet - and dressed in a
quirky manner!
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| Go
Nads! We luv the new U! |
When
I eventually reached the end of the line I felt as though my chances
of gaining entry were not looking fruitful.
So,
deciding to watch the proceedings at home instead, I trudged back
to my car.
Now
- I initially thought that the people in the queue were kind of
odd for wanting to get so involved in a TV programme. But hindsight
and actual voting figures speak for themselves.
Over
15 million votes were cast throughout the whole series. Over six
million votes were cast just for the final with Nadia alone picking
up over half of these.
It
is estimated that the entire series has brought in over £45
million in advertising and voting revenue which make the paltry
£63,500 prize money that Nadia walked away with look like
chicken feed.
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| Last
minute banner making! |
But
I think that exactly sums up the spirit of Big Brother. It's not
about the prize money but about the instant fame that can be achieved
instead.
I
watched the whole thing unfold from the comfort of my living room
and had admiration for all housemates and audience alike.
I
even saw Emma and Sarah from Doncaster interviewed by Dermot on
BBLB so their amazing wait had indeed been worth it!
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|
The
housemates are reunited on the final night
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| Amy
& Kelly, Borehamwood |
Tuesday,
10-Aug-2004 11:13:32 BST |
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| We
live in Borehamwood and we love Bearsac so we think it is so
cool that he is on this site. We were in the Tesco car park
when we saw him being photographed and we asked Debra what the
photo was for which is how we got to this site. We think Bearsac
was a great Nadia lookalike even if he is a teddy bear! |
| John
Warburton, Borehamwood |
Monday,
09-Aug-2004 08:00:29 BST |
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| It
is a pity your reporter didn't come back after the crowd had
gone in, and seen the filth and mess they left behind. There
were empty carrier bags, discarded fast food wrappers and bottles
randomly dropped on the pavement and shoved in to bushes... |
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