Hundreds queue for 'Big Brother'

Grandstanding: Housemate hopeful attempts to stand out from the crowd

THEY queued patiently for an opportunity to do something that would make them stand out from the crowd and bring them good earnings and renown.

It was a surreal experience for the medical students of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland solemnly waiting to sit winter exams at the RDS yesterday who had to contend with the Dublin auditions for Big Brother next door and the hundreds looking for a fast-track to fame and fortune.

Love it or loathe it, and there are few with an opinion in between, Big Brother could be described as the television phenomenon of the decade.

Now in its 10th series, the Channel 4 programme has confounded the expectations of those who hoped the public would be heartily sick of reality TV by now. By the end of yesterday, the Big Brother producers had seen 600 prospective housemates.

During the selection process, the series makers will whittle down 15,000 candidates to the 20 or so who will take part in this summer’s series.

Groups of six were selected and writhed around the floor making words or shapes resembling famous landmarks out of their bodies. They were then split into groups of two and asked to recall an interesting fact about the other person. “He’s been circumcised,” said one woman of a young man standing beside her.

Though the producers warned that trying to be wacky for its own sake would not impress, several tried their best to grab attention.

Undeterred by seven previous rejections, mother of nine and grandmother Olivia Reid (54) from Dundalk turned up for yesterday’s audition with curlers in her hair and a mop bucket in tow, like an Irish version of Hilda Ogden from Coronation Street.

“My family are reared now and this is my space now . . . they don’t even know I’m here,” she said.

Also cutting a dash at yesterday’s auditions was the strikingly tall drag queen Davina Devine (25), who glammed up for the occasion and clearly made an impression on the producers, who pulled her from the queue for a face-to-face interview.

“I’m getting into that house if it’s the last thing I do. I’m getting out of this recession. That’s my motto. You have to razzle-dazzle on a day like this. We need to look fabulous and that’s what I’m looking.”

Geraldine Matthews (32) and her fiance John Gray (28), both from Blanchardstown, Dublin, turned up in borrowed wedding gear.

The couple are getting married in March and have answered a dare from radio station 98 as part of a competition to win a €20,000 wedding.

“I’m hoping it’s going to be our year,” said Matthews, an investment banker who still has a job. “We’re hoping to be the first married couple in Big Brother.