Big Brother contestant Hallie has come out as transgender to her fellow housemates, admitting she felt she wasn’t being ‘authentic’ by not telling them.
The youth worker, 18, was seen entering the show’s famous house on ITV on Sunday night as the programme returned to British television after a five year hiatus.
She chose not to tell her fellow series contestants her story on the launch night but had a change of hear the following day.
In scenes set to air on ITV2 and ITVX on Monday night, the housemates will be seen gathered at the dining table discussing their living situation.
Hallie says: ‘Hey guys, I just have something to say. Yesterday I feel like I wasn’t being 100% authentic in myself.’
Emotional: Big Brother contestant Hallie, 18, has come out as transgender to her fellow housemates, admitting she felt she wasn’t being ‘authentic’ by not telling them
She adds: ‘I thought I’d let everyone know I’m trans, if you didn’t know already. I just thought I’d make that loud and clear. I’m a trans woman if you didn’t know.’
Hallie’s fellow housemates give her a hug, with Chanelle saying: ‘Good for you. That’s very brave of you.”
As the housemates show their support to Hallie, Dylan says: ‘This is a moment. I like it.’
Hallie says: ‘I don’t know why I was nervous,’ prompting Farida to say: ‘You don’t need to be nervous.’
Trish tells Hallie: ‘We’ve got you.’
At 18, Hallie was the youngest of the 16 housemates to enter the Big Brother house during the launch night on Sunday.
On what made her apply to take part in the show, she said: ‘Just the whole experience. I feel like Big Brother is the biggest social experiment and I want to be a part of it.
‘It’s about getting my face out there and just having fun, enjoying life. I’m only 18 so I didn’t grow up watching it but as I got older, I would watch clips on YouTube and stuff, so I’ve been a fan. And yeah, just for fun, really?’
On what she’s looking forward to most about the experience, she added: ‘The tasks and all the different personalities. I can imagine it’s all extroverted people and big personalities. Just the whole experience.’
She said her friends and family would describe her as a ‘diva’, explaining: ‘I speak my mind but I’m also a very lovely person. I’m a girl’s girl, for sure. I’m honest, fun and, yeah, just brilliant.’
On why she’s most likely to be nominated, she said: ‘Being lazy and having an opinion. I’m quite opinionated, I like speaking my mind and not many people like that. I’m quite real.’
Big Brother has returned to British television with a barman, make-up artist, butcher and youth worker among the contestants entering the famous house.
The influential social experiment, which sees housemates live together in a custom-built home for weeks without access to the outside world in a bid to win £100,000, has opened its doors for the first time in five years.
The reality series returned to ITV on Sunday, after it was axed by Channel 5 amid a ratings slump in 2018, with new hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best introducing a batch of 16 contestants to the brand-new house in front of a live studio audience.
Jenkin, 25, from Bridgend in Wales, who described himself as a barman, cleaner and bingo-caller and will “bring the drama”, was the first contestant to enter the new house.
He was closely followed by 50-year-old “proud Muslim” and make-up artist Farida and butcher Tom, 21, from Somerset, who said he was “funny and outgoing”.
Meanwhile, the youngest contestant to enter the Big Brother house was 18-year-old youth worker Hallie, who has never lived away from home before.
Big Brother started in 2000 on Channel 4 before Channel 5 took over in 2011, airing in the UK for a total of 18 years.
Ahead of the launch show, Odudu and Best asked fans of the show to be kind online, posting a video to the official Big Brother Instagram sending a reminder that the “housemates are real people with their real lives”.
Odudu added: “Let’s make this the most positive series yet and give all of the housemates the respect that you would wish for if you were a housemate too. Is that a deal?”
Similar to recent series of ITV’s Love Island, housemates and their family and friends have also been asked to not post any content about the show on their individual social media accounts while they are in the house.
It comes as broadcasters’ duty of care policies have faced scrutiny following a number of controversies involving on-screen talent.
While the new batch of housemates have received respect and inclusion training to set out the “expectation for appropriate behaviour and language” before they take part in the show, ITV previously said.
Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
BIG BROTHER 2023: MEET THE CONTESTANTS!
JENKIN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Barman
FROM: Bridgend
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU? ‘Loud and messy, and irritating probably.’
TOM
AGE: 21
PROFESSION: Butcher
FROM: Somerset
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘I think I might potentially offend some people. My mouth moves faster than my brain.’
TRISH
AGE: 33
PROFESSION: Stay-at-home mum
FROM: Luton
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE PRIZE MONEY IF YOU WON? ‘I think my first priority is to sort out my housing situation. The housing crisis is just ridiculous and my housing situation has been unstable. It brings me a lot of mum guilt because I’ve got a young child. It’s my biggest incentive and motivation to win.’
JORDAN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Lawyer
FROM: Scunthorpe
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘Being cantankerous and acting as if I don’t want to be there even if I do in my heart. They might nominate me for being disengaged perhaps or not paying everyone an equal amount of attention. They may feel left out but I can’t help that.’
DYLAN
AGE: 39
PROFESSION: DJ
FROM: Coventry
TELL US AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: ‘I appeared on a TV show called The Last Leg about amputees – two years before I lost my leg!’
NOKY
AGE: 26
PROFESSION: Banker
FROM: Derby
WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO BECOME A BIG BROTHER HOUSEMATE? ‘I love challenges. I’ve had so many amazing times in my life, like going to Miss Universe as Miss Great Britain. I like to do something different and I think this is the next challenge I want to conquer. I want to show people what pageant girls are really like and disprove a lot of stereotypes around them. I also show what it’s like being a woman who’s worked in male- dominated fields. I want to show that women are capable of doing anything they want.’
PAUL
AGE: 23
PROFESSION: Security officer
FROM: Liverpool
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘Being the biggest wind up, eating all the food and being the loudest housemate.’
OLIVIA
AGE: 23
PROFESSION: Dancer
FROM: Glasgow
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘I think when people are in that hangry state, that’s when I’ll wind people up and grind their gears. I think they’ll nominate me for being full on, and for my brutal honesty and oversharing of opinions.’
FARIDA
AGE: 50
PROFESSION: Make-up artist
FROM: Wolverhampton
TELL US AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: ‘People are always surprised when I say I got married at 43. Or also that I’m an ex-holiday rep in Gran Canaria and Menorca.’
HALLIE
AGE: 18
PROFESSION: Youth worker
FROM: London
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘Being lazy and having an opinion. I’m quite opinionated, I like speaking my mind and not many people like that. I’m quite real.’
YINRUN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Customer support agent
FROM: Harrogate
WHAT PART OF THE EXPERIENCE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? ‘I’m most excited about being surrounded by so many people from different walks of life. I don’t think I will ever live in a house again with so many different kinds of people. I’m from China and I think it will help me be more immersed in British culture.’
CHANELLE
AGE: 29
PROFESSION: Dental therapist
FROM: Llanelli
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO BE NOMINATED FOR? ‘Probably just for being annoying. In Wales, we have this sayingm “I’ll do it now in a minute.” So like, if I went to make food and I left a dish on the side, I have all good intentions of washing it but I’d be like, “I’ll do it now in a minute,” and it might be three hours later before I do it. So probably for silly stuff like that.’
ZAK
AGE: 28
PROFESSION: Model
FROM: Manchester
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE PRIZE MONEY IF YOU WON? ‘Pay off my debts and help my family out. I’ve also been saving up to build a park in my village back at home in Thailand because where I grew up, there’s no parks or playgrounds.’
MATTY
AGE: 24
PROFESSION: Doctor
FROM: Isle Of Man
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY DESCRIBE YOU? ‘They would say I’m quite like a lucky person or someone who really wants to experience life to its fullest and do everything that it has to offer. Someone who is kind and fun and doesn’t take life too seriously.’
HENRY
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Food writer
FROM: Cotswolds
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY DESCRIBE YOU? ‘I think they would say I’m particularly sociable and very chatty. I mean, I’ll be honest, my parents would definitely say I’m a bit of a snob but I take it as a compliment. I think it means you’ve got high standards and good taste. They’d say I was quite a peculiar child.’
KERRY
AGE: 40
PROFESSION: NHS manager
FROM: Essex
WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO BE A BIG BROTHER HOUSEMATE? ‘I love the programme. It is, for me, the ultimate reality TV show ever. I’ve got multiple sclerosis and so the reason why I never applied before is because I always saw those whacking great big stairs to get into the house. It just felt a little bit unachievable because for the first three years of my illness I was in a wheelchair. When I saw it was coming back and searching for real people from all walks of life, I thought, this is my year.’
