Page 16 - Fyne winter 2014

Pop Idol – 2001-2003
Big Brother – 2000-current
Britain had thoroughly been bitten by the
reality bug! In a twist of production genius, ITV
commissioned what was basically a talent show
for singers which would result in a recording
contract for one lucky winner. And that winner
was Will Young, a student who had already been
part of a failed boy band. Not long after his
win, he decided to come out. His decision to be
open showed a new sense of ‘so what’ among the
British public. In the past, recording contracts
would be lost and fans would throw out their
‘I Love Will Young’ t-shirts. But not this time.
The revelation of his sexuality did nothing to
dent his popularity and he is still riding high as a
performer today.
Definitions the genre of reality TV will always include Big Brother. The ultimate in fly-on-
the-wall programming, Big Brother gets around the idea that being watched changes your
behaviour by actually making that the main feature of the show. How will housemates ‘be
themselves’ when they are filmed 24/7?
In the first ever batch of UK contestants was an ex-nun called Anna Nolan.
Anna was open about her sexuality from the start and her calm, witty
personality made her a favourite to win right from the start. To date, she is
one of the first ever housemates not to be nominated at all. After the show,
she returned to her native Ireland and launched a successful presenting
career. She is now a household name and presents the Irish Big Bake Off.
A year later, Big Brother has its first gay man, air steward Brian Dowling,
who was also Irish. He represented the every-day gay man and although he
had his camp moments, he was not an over-blown scene queen. Audiences
loved his quirky nature and he became the first ever gay winner of Big
Brother. A TV career followed and he still works in the media today.
But Big Brother has also tackled gender issues. In 2004, Nadia Almada
entered the house. Although viewers were informed about her gender
reassignment, she decided not to tell the other housemates. She was
a favourite of fellow house members and ended up winning the show.
However, there was criticism over the way her gender was handled as
producers did play on ‘the shock factor’ of revealing her past to evicted
housemates.
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