Big Bro: Are We There Yet?

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Josie - raised a rare laugh

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Caoimhe - wearing one of her lovely hoods

Normally Big Brother would have me well and truly sucked in at this stage but despite flicking over to it fairly often in the last few weeks I am absolutely indifferent to the show and the housemates. I haven't checked the figures but I reckon it has not exactly been a rating winner for Channel 4.

The main problem seems to me to have been the casting - this bunch are the type of housemates which BB selected in the first few seasons. It worked then because the programme concept was so new and it was just interesting to see how people behaved in a strange new environment. In more recent seasons the producers have been forced to go with more extreme personality types to win viewers. It has been commonplace in the past few years for the contestants themselves to talk about having a storyline which would help them stay in the show. If you weren't involved in a romance or major conflict then you didn't get screen-time which meant you were unlikely to last too long.

Let's face it this lot are fairly bland.

One of my favourites is Steve. He has had a fascinating life and has fought to come back from the serious injuries he sustained in a bombing in Northern Ireland but what is great about him is he is not defined by his disabilities. He just is a regular guy getting on with things. He is however uncontroversial as are so many of them and is unlikely to cause any tension in the house. And let's face serious tension is lacking. The only person who was likely to stir things up was Shabby but she has walked (and to be honest I was not too sorry to see her go).

The other thing which is really lacking is some good old sexual tension and a bit of romance. There are absolutely no candidates for romance in there that I can see. The suggestion of Double J and Josie as a couple seems ridiculous to me. They seem more like brother and sister than anything else. Last night however there did generate at least some laughs with Josie's shoes for booze challenge which proved mildly entertainment in an otherwise non-descript hour of television.

I know some will say I am being disloyal here but I am not loving the Irish housemate Caoimhe. She is just not very interesting. She however seems to think she is fascinating. Last night Ife was honest enough to tell her some comments (unflattering) she made to Big Brother about Caoimhe. Fair enough you would think at least she is not talking behind her back. Caoimhe's reaction was predictably over-the-top and she rushed to try and involve everyone in the house - "so enough about you let's talk about me". She found major disinterest from Double J and Josie who were far too busy stealing shoes to be worrying about Caoimhe.

And one other thing what's going on with her and the hoods?

So is there any saving this series? I would say some new blood is needed stat!

Bree Treacy