Linford Christie's niece, an Iranian dwarf, a female wrestler and a batch of beauty queens are among the hopefuls who are aiming to take part in the final Big Brother. They also include a one-legged author, a couple who starred in a televised naturist wedding and a Beyonce lookalike who checks herself out in the mirror 100 times a day. This year, unusually, show bosses have announced a list of 79 people who are in the running to enter the house upfront. The final line-up will be announced on Wednesday during the live launch programme. Each of the hopefuls will be present as Davina McCall hosts the launch show from Elstree Studios, the location of the 11th and last Big Brother series on Channel 4. The contestants themselves will only learn whether they have been chosen as housemates on the night. But along with the usual collection of show-offs, aspiring models and a sock fetishist, the group includes a PhD student, a former member of the Queen's staff, an architect and a choirmaster. The most high-profile of the batch announced is Christie's niece Rachel (pictured), who made headlines in 2009 when she was stripped of her Miss Great Britain title after being involved in a fight in a nightclub. The numerous beauty queens hoping to enter the house include 23-year-old Emma from Glasgow, an events manager who finished third in the same contest. Another Emma, this time a 22-year-old mother-of-one, from Morganstown, Cardiff, was Miss UK 2005. The oldest person jockeying for a place is 62-year-old Faith from Wimbledon, who is now retired but worked as a housemaid for the Queen at Windsor. She describes herself as a 'naughty Christian'.
