After spending more than 12 hours in the Big Brother house in Johanneburg over the weekend, I have nothing but respect for those who take part in it.
It’s not as easy as it looks – not only are you disconnected from the real world but you have no privacy. Everywhere you go, there are cameras and microphones.
Last week Friday a group of journalists from various publications around the country were invited to stay at the Big Brother Mzansi (BBM) house for one night.
The purpose of the stay was to give the production staff a chance to test everything before the big launch on Sunday night, and for journalists to get an idea of what the contestants are up against.
At first I was excited but when I got there, realising I would have to spend the day with total strangers and give up my phone, I got a little anxious. I take time to warm up to strangers. A day isn’t enough for me to let my hair down.
Publications represented were the Daily Dispatch, The Herald, Daily Sun, Daily Voice, Isolezwe, iLanga, Sunday Tribune, Channel 24 and Gareth Cliff's online radio station, Cliff Central. We also had two up-and-coming actors – Zandile Lujabe and Fezokuhle Zulu – who recently made their debut in Mzansi Magic’s Ayeye.
All phones, tablets and laptops were taken away from us two hours before the stay-in. As we walked into the house, we were blown away by its beauty. My favourite spots were the walk-in-closet and the kitchen. Both are every woman’s dream. The patio area, complete with a jacuzzi, was also stunning.
The house features two large dormitory-like bedrooms, big enough to each sleep 10, kitted out with double and single beds.
With more than 40 cameras around the house, there is no escape from the monitoring, and I thought for the 20 hours or so we were there no one could be themselves because of them. We had to have our microphones on at all times. Yes, even while in the loo!
After exploring the house, we all gathered in the kitchen area to see what was in the fridge. While some made supper, others broke into song and used the time to get to know one another.
Out of the 11 journalists, I had previously only met the Daily Voice’s Nathan Adams, the others were all new to me.
Within a very short time it became apparent that Cliff Central’s Siya Sangweni-Fynn and the Sunday Tribune’s Liam Joyce did not see eye-to-eye. Both like being the centre of attention. They are lovely people – Liam makes an effort to speak every language in the country and Siya has a bubbly personality – but I think Siya’s habit of breaking into song (and having people join him) annoyed Liam.
And I don’t think Nathan, the only other male in the house, liked either of them. I think the ladies were a tad disappointed over the lack of eye candy.
Big Brother gave us our first task for the night for which the winner would be crowned “head of the house”.
We were given tennis balls and had to shoot them into buckets, the one with most balls in won the game.
Yoliswa was named head of house and was given a bottle of champagne by Big Brother.
We also played our own games just to get to know each other better. Each housemate had to share three stories about themselves, two true and one lie. This got everyone excited. Hearing the sort of things people get up to was interesting. From some selling drugs overseas to survive to others sleeping with high-profile MPs.
Throughout all this, our conversations were listened to by the BBM crew. I don’t think any of the housemates minded though.
The most terrifying thing was having to shower butt naked with the cameras on. Most of us ladies had agreed not to shower in the house but by morning everyone had taken the plunge.
We told ourselves the camera crew would never see us again. I cannot imagine taking a shower in front of the cameras for 56 days.
When housemates sign up for the show, they have to agree to part with their freedom and privacy. The only thing that stays private are your thoughts which BBM does its best to get you to reveal through the diary sessions.
The journalists also had diary sessions with Big Brother where we were asked for our thoughts on the house among other things.
Fifteen minutes before we left the house, we had to decide who we would have nominated for elimination if we were real housemates.
The reasons given for the nominations varied from “irritatingly loud person” to “control freak”.
After we left the house I discovered Siya would have been the first eliminated, followed by me because “I’m too serious”.
All in all it was an interesting experience. Would I ever do it again? Nope, once was enough to last me a lifetime!
Big Brother is just so hip
It’s not as easy as it looks – not only are you disconnected from the real world but you have no privacy. Everywhere you go, there are cameras and microphones.
Last week Friday a group of journalists from various publications around the country were invited to stay at the Big Brother Mzansi (BBM) house for one night.
The purpose of the stay was to give the production staff a chance to test everything before the big launch on Sunday night, and for journalists to get an idea of what the contestants are up against.
At first I was excited but when I got there, realising I would have to spend the day with total strangers and give up my phone, I got a little anxious. I take time to warm up to strangers. A day isn’t enough for me to let my hair down.
Publications represented were the Daily Dispatch, The Herald, Daily Sun, Daily Voice, Isolezwe, iLanga, Sunday Tribune, Channel 24 and Gareth Cliff's online radio station, Cliff Central. We also had two up-and-coming actors – Zandile Lujabe and Fezokuhle Zulu – who recently made their debut in Mzansi Magic’s Ayeye.
All phones, tablets and laptops were taken away from us two hours before the stay-in. As we walked into the house, we were blown away by its beauty. My favourite spots were the walk-in-closet and the kitchen. Both are every woman’s dream. The patio area, complete with a jacuzzi, was also stunning.
The house features two large dormitory-like bedrooms, big enough to each sleep 10, kitted out with double and single beds.
With more than 40 cameras around the house, there is no escape from the monitoring, and I thought for the 20 hours or so we were there no one could be themselves because of them. We had to have our microphones on at all times. Yes, even while in the loo!
After exploring the house, we all gathered in the kitchen area to see what was in the fridge. While some made supper, others broke into song and used the time to get to know one another.
Out of the 11 journalists, I had previously only met the Daily Voice’s Nathan Adams, the others were all new to me.
Within a very short time it became apparent that Cliff Central’s Siya Sangweni-Fynn and the Sunday Tribune’s Liam Joyce did not see eye-to-eye. Both like being the centre of attention. They are lovely people – Liam makes an effort to speak every language in the country and Siya has a bubbly personality – but I think Siya’s habit of breaking into song (and having people join him) annoyed Liam.
And I don’t think Nathan, the only other male in the house, liked either of them. I think the ladies were a tad disappointed over the lack of eye candy.
Big Brother gave us our first task for the night for which the winner would be crowned “head of the house”.
We were given tennis balls and had to shoot them into buckets, the one with most balls in won the game.
Yoliswa was named head of house and was given a bottle of champagne by Big Brother.
We also played our own games just to get to know each other better. Each housemate had to share three stories about themselves, two true and one lie. This got everyone excited. Hearing the sort of things people get up to was interesting. From some selling drugs overseas to survive to others sleeping with high-profile MPs.
Throughout all this, our conversations were listened to by the BBM crew. I don’t think any of the housemates minded though.
The most terrifying thing was having to shower butt naked with the cameras on. Most of us ladies had agreed not to shower in the house but by morning everyone had taken the plunge.
We told ourselves the camera crew would never see us again. I cannot imagine taking a shower in front of the cameras for 56 days.
When housemates sign up for the show, they have to agree to part with their freedom and privacy. The only thing that stays private are your thoughts which BBM does its best to get you to reveal through the diary sessions.
The journalists also had diary sessions with Big Brother where we were asked for our thoughts on the house among other things.
Fifteen minutes before we left the house, we had to decide who we would have nominated for elimination if we were real housemates.
The reasons given for the nominations varied from “irritatingly loud person” to “control freak”.
After we left the house I discovered Siya would have been the first eliminated, followed by me because “I’m too serious”.
All in all it was an interesting experience. Would I ever do it again? Nope, once was enough to last me a lifetime!
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos