In a photographic studio in North London, a rail-full of gorgeous, next-season dresses are hanging, and the soundtrack is a series of screams and squeals, and ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. The excitable model in question is Big Brother queen bee Davina McCall who is like a kid in a candy store, trying on dress after dress to find not only something to wear for today’s official Big Brother photoshoot, but for the all-important ensemble for the launch night of this year’s series.
Davina McCall is back for Big Brother 9. Credit: Big Brother, C4 & E4
What she’s wearing on the live programmes is as much of a conversation point as which housemates are up for eviction, so getting the perfect outfit each week is crucial.
And if anyone needed proof that her exercise videos actually work, the mother-of-three is in incredible shape – her slim frame making every dress a possible contender for launch night. She’s fit and ready for Big Brother in every other sense too. With the traditional Celebrity Big Brother format taking a break this year, Davina’s not been onscreen presenting BB since last year. But now she’s back, energised and ready for action – channelling Katie Holmes’s fashion sense, hoping for another winner as good as Brian, and contemplating a nipple piercing…
Wow, look at all these clothes. It’s like a dress-up box for grown-ups in here.
Without the scientology…
Yes, very much without the scientology.
So with the change of format of the January Big Brother, it feels like ages since we’ve seen you on screen for BB. Welcome back!
Thanks, I’m back. It’s bloody good to be back – brace yourselves!
So are you all ready to get back into it?
It feels quite fresh I suppose because I haven’t been on Big Brother for a while, so for me it feels like renewed vim and vigour. All I know is that I consistently meet people who are Big Brother obsessed, as I am, and what I love is the lead up for them.
I was working on a job yesterday where the make-up ladies were about to spontaneously combust when I was talking about it starting again and they were so excited, they were going “It’s not shorter is it? It’s not is it?” And I said “It’s not shorter” and they were like “yaaay!” I was so happy that they were so happy.
Some people fail to see that it’s an entertainment programme and it’s not trying to be anything other than that. It’s supposed to be fun and silly and a bit raucous. People don’t ask Ant and Dec why they present Saturday Night Takeaway or I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here. They’re entertainment. It’s just as silly and they do naughty things. It’s just a programme.
The bedroom in the BB9 house is pretty industrial. Credit: Big Brother, C4 & E4
Is it going to be strange for you without Dermot around on Little Brother this year?
God, no Dermot, no Russell. Russell obviously left a couple of years ago and now Dermot this year. I think as long as the new Little Brother presenters (George Lamb and Zezi Ifore) love that programme and love Big Brother then I think it’ll be great. Dermot was unique in that programme, but I think Dermot also grew into it, and I think we have to let George and Zezi have a few weeks to grow into it and make it their own.
Do you find it funny that Russell’s now a film star?
Oh god, I love it! I spoke to Russell two days ago and we were just laughing about it. It’s amazing. He’s gone global. I love it, so proud of him. He’s come a really, really long way. Brace yourselves America!
How do you feel when people look like they’re going to be one thing in the launch night video, then turn out to be something else once they are in the house?
Last year, Carole went in saying “I am gonna shake it something rotten and they will be shaking s***less. If people want an argument, here’s the f***ing argument!” then it felt like she just cleaned the house for 13 weeks.
I thought Carole was actually the catalyst for a lot of stuff going on in there. So even though she didn’t give everybody a fight, we had enough of that going on with Charley. I think the one who really was different from her video was Bonnie (BB7) – she was a mouse. She totally lost her voice in the house I think, and I thought she was going to be outrageous. So yes, it’s frustrating when somebody doesn’t, but they always counteract it in some other way, some other trait of theirs will come into play. Like Carole with her manic cleaning – that was kind of annoying and important to the house, and became the topic of many a conversation or argument so it was quite interesting.
What were some of your favourite moments from last year?
God, Ziggy coming into the house was amazing! The break-up (Chanelle and Ziggy) was amazing. Charley…. well, just Charley. For me a little bit of interest was between Charley and Ziggy who I thought had real chemistry and I thought if he hadn’t got together with Chanelle…. there was something between them I thought. And Brian and Amanda. I love a love story and I thought Brian and Amanda were so beautiful.
But they’ve sadly broken up now…
That’s alright, that’s what happens when you’re young! You get together for a bit and then you split up but at least he got his princess. And I think with unrequited love, god watching it is like watching a Shakespeare play unfold. Not having someone love you back, Brian crying, then Brian the biggest Big Brother fan ever, winning!
The garden is a little less harsh. Credit: Big Brother, C4 & E4
Do you watch/read about what they do after they come out of the house? The falling out of nightclubs, or in the case of Chanelle a publicity-stunt “sex tape”?
Not really. But I think that somebody like Cameron – I loved Cameron Stout and I though he was such a worthy winner and he really made me laugh and I think the real people always win in the end – that Cameron did it right. He had a job before he went in, he took some time off, he had a brilliant time, had a fantastic experience and then went back to his job and that’s the way to do it.
I mean Big Brother is the experience of a lifetime, it can be really, really good fun and you can make friends in there that you will keep forever but you mustn’t think of it as a stepping stone to anything. I think the people who haven’t thought of it as a stepping stone to fame and fortune have done really well out of it.
Big Brother and pregnancies go hand in hand for you – anything to declare this summer?
No. More. Babies!
What would you do if your children said they wanted to be in Big Brother or a similar reality show?
I would like to think that whatever my children choose to do I’d just go “brilliant! Go and do the best job you possibly can” and then be there to pick up the pieces if it all goes horribly wrong, because you have to learn your own lessons. However, in 15 years when Holly’s about to go off and appear in some reality TV show I’ll probably be tearing my hair out. But then I’m sure Amanda and Sam’s mum was really worried because they were such innocent girls and so sweet, and she was probably thinking “they are going to go in that house, and it’s going to be horrible and the press will be vile” but look how great they did! As a parent, your children may just surprise you, and you may just be very, very proud of them. Brian’s mum must be so proud of him, he was such a lovely winner.
So have you decided yet on an outfit for launch night?
Not decided yet, but I’m so excited about launch night. I’m also excited about stupid things like how are the housemates going to come out? Are they going to be on a top floor coming out above the audience? Will they walk down stairs? Is the house going to be bigger? Is the house going to be smaller? Are they going to have a pool? All of these things I know nothing about and those are the things I want to know about it.
Would you want to know these secrets beforehand?
Definitely not. I only like to know about that stuff about a week before but I obviously need to know the housemates beforehand because I need to know all their names. But I am quite crap at keeping secrets, I can keep one for about a day.
In that case, go on and tell us a secret then. It can be non-Big Brother related.
Ooh. OK, I nearly got my nipple pierced yesterday.
Eww! What stopped you?
The idea that my husband would be so mortified. I was going to have a bar through with baubles at the end and imagine you got a diamond at either end of the little bar. So all you could see on either side was a little diamond.
Hmm, maybe that’s not so bad…
See! Yeah, it could be cute! I think this is probably part of my mid-life crisis, thinking I must get a piercing. But then I just thought my husband wouldn’t like it, so in the end I didn’t do it. But it would have been cute!
View some photos of the Big Brother 9 House .
Interview courtesy Big Brother, C4 & E4.
Your Talkback on this Story