I was Big Brother’s first and only transgender winner – here’s why a trans person WON’T win the reboot
SHE made history as the first, and only, transgender winner of Big Brother back in 2004.
But almost twenty years later, as the iconic reality series prepares to return to our screens, Nadia Almada says a trans person would NOT win the show today.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Nadia, now 46, says: “I don't think it would be possible for a trans person to win at all in 2023. In this political climate and with the whole narrative that is associated with trans people, I can't see it. Not when you have a prime minister that says trans women are not women, and the hate crimes are so high.
“We have regressed to a very primitive, ignorant belief about what a trans person is. It's such a shame because I was the voice of a generation and still get messages from people who say: ‘You were the one who made me realise actually that I am trans.’
“Unfortunately we have gone back another couple of decades in our thinking. I look at shows like Love Island and can’t watch it because there is no one on it like me. We’ve had same-sex couples on Strictly, but where are the trans people? Show me a trans woman presenting a big tv show? There are none.”
After winning the public’s hearts almost two decades ago, Nadia experienced the true rollercoaster of reality TV fame. She enjoyed the initial flurry of glam magazine shoots, released a camp pop single, A Little Bit of Action, and even launched her own workout DVD.
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But she found herself at the centre of a media storm when her pre-fame past working as a prostitute was exposed, while a later stint on Ultimate Big Brother in 2010 backfired when she was eliminated after just one week.
In the aftermath, she was rushed to hospital after an attempted overdose.
Nadia recalls: “My mental health was really affected. People that I knew and loved for many years, they all kind of went away. At that time, there wasn’t the same duty of care from the channel that reality contestants have today. I went through it all, I was sexualised, fat-shamed, experienced transphobia and was generally vilified.
“It can be really hard going back to the real world after reality TV, even more so today. In my day you got 15 minutes of fame, these days it’s more like 15 seconds.
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"I am still in touch with people who did Big Brother who have completely changed their names and identities after the show because they needed to move on from it and have really important jobs now.”
After all the ups and downs she went through, Nadia took time out of the spotlight, retrained as a hair stylist.
“I like the quieter life away from the fame. People still recognise me as soon as I open my mouth, but I have been doing hair for the last ten years. I work exclusively with private clients and I am very happy - but, hey, if ITV called me up and asked me to go into the jungle, I wouldn’t say no!’
With the benefit of time, she has a different outlook on the highs and lows she experienced after spending time in Britain’s most famous house.
“I have no regrets,” she insists. “Big Brother is a bit like a marriage. You have the engagement, the wedding and the honeymoon period, then the divorce.”
She breaks out into her trademark cackle and shrugs. “Sometimes there is a lot of hate and anger, and then in the end you look back, make peace with it and move on.
“I’m actually really excited for Big Brother coming back. I think it’s the right time. I don’t think it will ever be as good as the original but it can be a great show again. I just hope they put real people in there, make it inclusive and diverse and avoid influencers. It has to go back to its roots with genuine people, otherwise that will be a mistake.”
As for new host AJ Odudu, she gets Nadia’s seal of approval - but with one big condition.
“I think AJ is fabulous and is the right call to host, but I have a big bone to pick with her.
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I watched her on a TV show recently and there was a segment where she had to guess the identities of five or six Big Brother legends. She didn’t know any of them!
How can you not know Glyn [Wise] or Pete Bennett? How can you not know Victor [Ebuwa]? If she is going to take on this legacy, she needs to do her homework. So AJ, if you’re reading this, I love you, but you need to call me!”
