Celebrity Big Brother set for swansong
The final series of Celebrity Big Brother is due to kick off on Sunday night - with the identities of the housemates being kept a closely guarded secret. Speculation has been mounting in the press as to who the ten celebrity housemates will be, with Baywatch star Pamela Anderson, actress Stephanie Beacham, actor Stephen Baldwin and pop star Dane Bowers all tipped to be taking part. Former footballer turned actor Vinnie Jones and Katie Price's on-off boyfriend Alex Reid are also among those rumoured to have signed up for a spell in the house. Sparks could fly if both Reid and Bowers are in the house, after reports that the pair clashed at Price's New Year's Eve party. Bowers was reportedly attacked by Reid after he became verbally abusive at the fancy dress bash, sustaining bruises in the incident. Meanwhile new rules mean that the celebrities will for the first time have no restriction on how much luggage they can take into the house. And the series theme of "hell lies in others" is reflected in the decor of the house, which is decked out in luxury red velvet furnishings, fiery frescoes on the walls and skull motifs. The Diary Room has also had a makeover, with a chair modelled on the carriage in a fairground waltzer. "The diary room chair has taken on many guises over the different series but this one is the most spectacular yet," said a show spokesman. "It is really in keeping with the show's feel that nothing is what it seems." The action kicks off at 9pm on Channel 4.
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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.
An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.