GenQ - For the not so straight individual

The buzz at the media pre-show cocktail party was the ?world first? in question. Naturally rumours spread the room like wild fire, everyone had their theory (which would of been expected considering the nations media was in the one room at the one time). We then embarked on our journey to the Big Brother studios at Dreamworld. Sharing the back seat of the coach with me was Chrissie Swan of Hot FM 91.1 Sunshine Coast & BB3 runner-up, the ?Fabulous? Adam Richard of Fox 101.9 Melbourne, 9am with David & Kim and Rove Love, plus the very sexy Jamie Row of Nova 106.9 Brisbane.

Chrissie gave us the run-down of what happened the night she entered the BB house, while Adam administered his hilarious commentaries. As soon as we pulled up to the production entrance to the studios, the noise of the crowd was amazing. ?Well it's definitely Big Brother?, I said to myself?

We then entered the auditorium - fans were screaming and shouting to much-loved Chrissie as we made our way through the crowd to our seats. Her fans jumped down from their seats to greet her. To meet Chrissie after seeing her on Big Brother, was extraordinary. She is every bit as caring and sincere as seen on BB and heard on her breakfast show on Hot FM.

Mike Goldman was warming up the crowd and we were minutes away from the show kicking off. When the Big Brother theme song started, it was obvious from the crowd that BB had been surely missed. Before we knew it, Gretel Killeen graced the stage sporting her new ?corporate? look. As usual, talk of what Gretel will be wearing on launch night sometimes overtakes Big Brothers twist of the year.

Gretel was quick to give clues of the world first twist, revealing that 2 of the housemates are involved in a secret relationship unknown to the other contestants. It was also revealed that a 16th contestant was not entering the house, the reasoning was not disclosed to the public. Little Brother has since learned Gina, 28, of NSW, was a shock last minute withdrawal from Big Brother after being diagnosed with glandular fever just days before the launch.

The first housemate to enter the house was Michael, 25, of NSW who admitted to cheating on all of his girlfriends and that he will do anything to win the prize money. Gretel then unveiled the new house, which has been completely redesigned to encourage romance between the housemates. The open space of the lounge room is no more, instead separate areas for the kitchen, dining table and lounge - creating a more claustrophobic house this year. There are a lot more places for individual groups to discuss things in private. Interestingly the walk-through of the house wasn't as thorough as previous launch nights. It seems Big Brother still has some secret passage ways and rooms yet to be revealed.

The second housemate to enter was Camilla, 22, of VIC who also admitted of cheating on all of her boyfriends in the past. When she met Michael, they were curious why Gretel focused on their cheating on stage. We then met Gaelan (yes it's pronounced Gay-Lan!), Gretel shocked the audience by immediately asking him if he was gay due to the mannerisms of his walk up on stage. He then protested by doing his on-walk to the stage a 2nd time!

Fourth out of the blocks was Gold Coast beauty Katie, 19. She proclaimed that even though she may look like a ?skank?, she is actually a lady, before announcing that she is still a virgin. Katie was fun to watch, her honest character reminiscent of Reggie (series 3) & Ashalea (series 4). We then met divorced postal worker Karen, 36, of NSW, the oldest housemate this year.

A video then appeared, a cowboy riding a horse in slow motion, very Brokeback Mountain style. Meet farmer David, 26, of Outback Queensland. The audience was quite vocal when he came on stage, identifying he is one of the early favourites of the audience. Tilli, 19, of SA, was next to meet Gretel on stage, confessing she is a drama queen and uses the ?tears? in times that can assist her.

One of the most grounded housemates, Dino, 22, of VIC, then entered the stage. With his handsome everyday look, he was also an early pick of the audience. John, 20, of VIC (whose real name is Michael, which is the shared name of another housemate), was next to enter the house. Gretel revealed that John's downfall, may well be his passion for girls.

The wardrobe malfunction of the night, that rivaled Janet Jackson's little moment, gave Anna, 20, of VIC, some popularity with the crowd. However it was obvious Gretel wasn't a fan with the way that she questioned Anna. The 11th housemate was V8 lover Ashley, 20, of WA, who stood out dressed in bright coloured board shorts and sneakers. Interestingly, in his video, he mentioned, ?One thing you probably don't know about me is that I've cried with women, it's made me stronger?.

Next was Elise, 21, of NSW, who revealed that she hates foreigners who move to Australia that do not ?act Australian?. Animal keeper Claire, 22, of QLD, took the prize of ?How many times you can say Gretel? in a single 1 minute interview. Krystal, 19, of NSW, cleaned the slate by stating she got a boob job to assist her confidence and she has lived in over 20 houses. She received a mixed reaction from the crowd, as murmurs were heard from the audience when she left the stage.

The final housemate to enter the house was personal trainer Jamie, 22, of WA. Described as a cross between American Pie's ?Stifler? and Dude Where's My Car? by Gretel, he came across as another good looking guy that knows it.

We were then escorted out of the studios for the after party, as the ?back seat group? took position on the coach. We all debated about who was in, and who was out. Not to mention Anna's wardrobe malfunction. Chrissie revealed that she still hasn't even watched her own eviction show yet, in which her and eventual winner Reggie shared the final eviction. Jamie gave us an insight into his typical Nova day - not only does he have a sexy voice on Nova, but he is also just as handsome to meet in person. Adam ensured that we laughed for the entire time from Dreamworld to Surfers Paradise (which is a 30 minute trip by the way). With Jamie's antics, there was never any shortage of laughs that's for sure.

Rumours of future Big Brother twists circulated the after party ? thanks to Chrissie and her periodic ?Beep Beep Beep? news bulletin we were kept well informed! At this point, the talk of the room was that older housemate Karen, was the mother of one of the female contestants. However it remained as an unconfirmed rumour, as the twist was not being revealed until the coverage on Network TEN the night after (on the Sunday night).

Later we were also treated to another ?Beep Beep Beep?, but this time it was the sexuality of a male contestant. As a twist throughout the series, one of the housemates will ?come out?, something that the other housemates were not initially told. Even bigger, he will also be ?outing? himself to family and friends on national television. A ?straight acting? homosexual is meant to be one of many little suprises that individual housemates will reveal about themselves this year throughout the series. Each housemate has a secret to share about themselves. Talk of the night also suggested that one or two of the male housemates have experimented with the same sex before, however they did not regard themselves as bisexual.

Speeches were underway with Tim Clucas, Network TEN's head of production and development, who gave us an insight into the milestone that is the 100th world wide series of Endemol's hit format ?Big Brother?. He opened with, ?As Australia's most popular and enduring reality TV program??, which is an automatic reminder of when the series started six years ago, the criticism it received (and continues) and the evolution that the program has undergone. He also contributed the success of Big Brother to the fans and the production crew. The heated debate of ?Uncut? was addressed and this year we can expect a name change ? ?Big Brother Adults Only?.

I shared with our little group my experience back in 2001, when I went to the Big Brother final eviction with a good mate dressed in skeleton body suits. Were we selected from the grass area and placed in the 2nd row by one of the producers (who was at the after party, but I kept missing him).

Once the night died down, we continued our celebration of Big Brother to Adam's hotel room. I was lucky enough to hear some parts of his show ?Fabulous ? The Musical? which he wrote on the plane coming up for BB. I won't give anything away but let's just say we were all on the floor laughing our heads off ? Chrissie and Jamie were in complete hysterics. I remember Chrissies famous laugh from BB, but Jamie's laugh was good enough to rival hers! Adam is so talented, hanging around with an established comedian all night was pretty awesome. I can't wait to see his show.

We then said goodnight to Chrissie and all jumped in a limousine into Cavill Avenue and continued with some very late (or early) social drinks. Naturally the topic of the ?world first? and which housemate is gay remained the talk of the night?

Check out all the photos from the Launch Show and stay tuned for Little Brother's housemate evaluation.

Remember that this is an interactive social experiment which exposes the human dynamics, strengths and weaknesses of today's modern society. Like it or not, this is Big Brother. So what happens now? You decide?

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