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The beauty of the original Big Brother is that many were inspired by real people and well-known celebrities, with personalities that made sense, for example Bubbles is a cheeky geezer, Nick is a cheating snake cunt, Jade is an annoying prick who is now a ghost, Vanessa Feltz is the manifestation of the concept of pollution. This makes them easy to relate to, especially to children, because they recognise the origins of the characters from real life and therefore the programme becomes more real to them. Within the framework of Big Brother bearing close resemblance to real people, slowly the more fantastical contestants such as Makosi and Brian can be introduced into the environment incrementally, which enhances the magic of the Big Brother world, but the idea of still being in a somewhat plausible real world has to always be underpinned by simple and recognisable traits with visual characteristics clearly defining their self-image.

My problem with the new series is that there is barely any connection with the real world either in routine or activities. There are some, but the ratio is skewed far in favour of totally weird random creatures with no obvious type and no easy way to remember them. In my opinion this undermines the programme's ethos in portraying a reality where contestants are just everyday people.

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