The importance of being idle

“I’m very down to earth and kind-hearted,” said Charley. There in a nutshell is an example of just how badly someone can misjudge their own persona.

Black cloud Laura was voted out this week and despite her statements that she knew she was going, she so didn’t because all of her actual behaviour since nominations were announced indicated that she actually thought she was a dead cert to stay. It’s no surprise really because this year, the housemates have been totally useless at guessing what the public mood is and even those disingenuous people in Chanelle’s camp seemed convinced that Laura would survive.

Laura’s attitude is symptomatic of a wider malaise that has taken hold in the house. The people that apply for Big Brother are by and large by now dyed in the wool fans of the show and a BB culture has grown over the years. The problem this year is that we have a house full of dullards that are continuing to relate to the show inside the house the way they would outside, that is sitting around on sofas criticising other housemates. They are far too passive.

The result of that is that this year’s show has lacked the sort of strong narratives that have been generated in previous incarnations and degenerated into a series of pointless arguments about nothing.

A by product of this is that anyone who shows the slightest sign of being at all interesting is allowed to become the centre of attention because no one else wants to be, hence Charley becomes more of a monster day by day because the others are prepared to let her and because they are being so inert, Charley is having to generate the conflict she needs to stay at the centre of things because no one else seems bothered to.

A further consequence of not much actually happening is that greater focus is placed on the few things that are, so the Ziggy and Chanelle thing which would have burned bright for a short time in a more active house has been allowed to drag on with everyone shoving in their four pence worth.

Whatever Ziggy’s game plan was over his dalliance with Chanelle, it has blown up spectacularly in his face and every time he tries to make a move to rectify the situation he ends up looking worse and worse. This is cutting him to the quick because the whole thing seemed to me about him trying to project a good image of himself and he looks more and more like a rat with each passing episode.

He’s in something of a clef stick now because had he just been himself from the start, who knows? He may have been far more likeable. As things stand, even if he starts being himself now, that will seen as fake by housemates and viewers alike. He couldn’t even do a simple thing like order tobacco on the shopping list without most thinking he was doing it for an ulterior motive.

He’s actually squirming now and though it should be uncomfortable to watch I’m actually enjoying it.

As for Chanelle, her behaviour is becoming so unbearable that I’ve finally remembered why I didn’t like her in the first place. It was worth her staying though, just for the look on the faces of both Ziggy and Charley when the announcement was made. Charley has become so much the centre of Charleyworld that she is genuinely taken aback when she misjudges the public mood. As for Ziggy, far from being delighted his face betrayed a mixture of shock and horror as his the final facade disappeared and his black heart was exposed to all.

Laura’s departure means that three witches are one short. The other two I’m referring to are of course Nicky, who to be fair has been a sour-faced trout from day one and surprisingly Tracey, whose bitching this week has seen her slip down massively in my estimation. Any goodwill she may have gained when successfully passing her greed task evaporated in a single caravan bitching session.

The witches had the twins in their sights and hints were made that Sam and Amanda may be playing the 'love me I’m thick' card. I’ve never seen them as thick. Annoyingly fun loving and girly yes, but not thick. The witches’ main piece of evidence was that Amanda was capable of adding up the shopping list. It’s a sad indictment on the educational standards of the housemates and maybe our society as a whole if so many people can be impressed by basic numeracy.

Though I’ve been firmly on the side of keeping Charley in up until now, I was on the verge of changing my views but there’s no point in jumping on Charley Out bandwagon this week because it’s fake week complete with the long awaited and in my view much needed mole in the house. Sadly, the eviction will also be fake and Charley gets enough attention without effectively getting two eviction nights, though it would be fun to see her getting a full idea of how the fans view her and then see how much she changes.

The reason I was tiring of her is that there has been no growth. While the departed and much-missed Jonathan claims to have found himself in the house, the opposite seems to be happening to Charley, and her failure in the Seven Deadly Sins merely amplified that she’s never going to change.

I think it was her strop in the sin bin that finally convinced me that enough was enough, but it seems she’ll be there for at least another fortnight now.

Following her failure I have to admire the way that Liam and Gerry took her task for her failure.

Her mantra is “don’t get involved” but for my liking, too many are taking that advice.

Fake week has come along at exactly the right time.

As for Laura, I’d be lying if I said I’d ever taken to her, but to be fair she hasn’t been treated that well by the highlights package. She has at times been funny and engaging but that’s something I’ve only ever picked up on from live streaming.

Love her or loath her she was a major force in the house and quite possibly the first departee that will cause a major shift in the dynamic