Seven handy tips to help you identify a Big Brother winner

The UK’s most popular/despised reality TV show returns tonight

chickendinner are Big Brother fans but we find the launch show kind of overwhelming and are often forced to give up watching halfway through. Over the years we’ve gained the ability to bear Davina McCall’s false excitement over trivial things like there being pink wallpaper in the house but with so much going on, it’s a challenge to remember anybody’s name, let alone chose a favourite. This year we’re determined to survive the 1hr 35min extravaganza and to give ourselves something to focus on, we have examined previous winners and gained an idea of what to look out for tonight:

Age: The average age of Big Brother winner’s is around 24.5 but that is hiked up by 32-year-old Cameron’s win in Series 4, where he didn’t have much competition. Five of the nine victors have been aged between 22 and 24 and the last four have all been between 19 and 24 so look for someone young.

Horoscopes: Those who believe in astrology may be interested to know that the only star sign that has triumphed more than once is Pisces, with three of the last six winners being born between late February and late March. It’s also notable that they were arguably the three blandest most ordinary winners - Cameron, Anthony and Rachel.

Gender: Only three of the previous nine Big Brother winners were women and one of those was transsexual Nadia, meaning that last year’s champion Rachel was the first female-born winner in six years. There has also never been an occasion where girls have won in consecutive years, so the chances are there will be a male winner this year.

Nationality: Don’t be fooled into thinking that English voters hold all the sway and favour English contestants, there have been winners from Ireland (Brian Dowling), Scotland (Cameron), Portugal (Nadia), Essex Nigeria (Brian Belo) and Wales (Rachel). There have only been four English winners and there is even a split there with two Londoners (Kate and Pete), a Liverpudlian (Craig) and someone from County Durham (Anthony) triumphing. If you include Celebrity Big Brother, there have also been winners from India (Shilpa) and Sweden (Ulrika).

Odds: Don’t be influenced too much by who is named the initial favourite. The last three early frontrunners have been Grace, Liam and Michael who finished 16th, third and second respectively.

Occupation: Most Big Brother winners have fairly ordinary jobs and that can add to the rags-to-riches appeal. For example, Cameron was a fish trader, Brian was a data clerk and Rachel was an assistant teacher. Glamour models and wannabe WAGs don’t fare well. Admittedly, Rachel had entered Miss Wales but that was easily forgotten because she never really spoke about it and won votes for her friendliness and upbeat nature rather than looks.

Fashion: The last four winners - Anthony, Pete, Brian and Rachel - all entered the house wearing black.

Posted: June 4th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn |