Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last week that might welcome back
Speaker 1: guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my name
Speaker 1: is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get
Speaker 1: all the inside goss on the popular TV shows that
Speaker 1: you may be watching from around the world. Underniably, our
Speaker 1: TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment,
Speaker 1: and yet very little is known about how our favorite
Speaker 1: shows get made. So each episode I've been finding the
Speaker 1: guests that want to dive just that little bit deeper
Speaker 1: into the shows that they are currently making so that
Speaker 1: you can hear all their exclusive stories and gain access
Speaker 1: to the biggest names in Australian television. I want to
Speaker 1: thank you for downloading or subscribing to this podcast however
Speaker 1: you found me. I love hearing your feedback, so make
Speaker 1: sure you leave a review or a comment on your
Speaker 1: chosen podcast platform. On today's podcast, I have Sonya Krueger
Speaker 1: who is back on the podcast to talk about Big
Speaker 1: Brother Australia for twenty twenty three, which is starting its
Speaker 1: fifteenth season on Channel seven this Monday night at seven thirty. However,
Speaker 1: all is not what it seems with a spicy twist
Speaker 1: to this year a house full of single and ready
Speaker 1: to mingle housemates all looking for love, which coincides with
Speaker 1: the return of Big Brother Uncut. Let me tell you
Speaker 1: you have to actually watch that series to believe it.
Speaker 1: Will Big Brother play Cupid with the housemates? Will he
Speaker 1: mess with their relationships? Big Brother himself is very unpredictable
Speaker 1: at the best of times, and this series is going
Speaker 1: to offer something that has never been done in any
Speaker 1: series around the world. God Log You winner Sonya Krueger
Speaker 1: is more involved this time than ever before. Audiences will
Speaker 1: see Sonya Krueger entering the Big Brother House to evict
Speaker 1: the housemates this year, and that in itself is something
Speaker 1: of a game changing moment that really works this series
Speaker 1: on so many levels. We will talk about the housemates
Speaker 1: and how the twenty twenty three series focus on love
Speaker 1: will affect their gameplay all as Sonya something I've been
Speaker 1: wanting to ask for a while, and that is if
Speaker 1: she would let her own daughter enter the Big Brother
Speaker 1: House when she turns eighteen. Sonya will also share why
Speaker 1: entering into the Big Brother House in the morning can
Speaker 1: sometimes be a little bit awkward for some of those
Speaker 1: male Housemates, Plus, we will get plenty of exclusives from
Speaker 1: behind the scenes of Big Brother Australia, which relaunches Monday
Speaker 1: night at seven thirty on Channel seven, and then we'll
Speaker 1: be screened four times a week at that same time
Speaker 1: slot with Big Brother Uncut available on seven Plus. Anyway, guys,
Speaker 1: let's bring Sonya into the podcast and I really do
Speaker 1: hope you enjoy this catch up with the Queen of
Speaker 1: Channel seven.
Speaker 2: Benjamin, Hi, Sonya, I think I did.
Speaker 1: I'm good. I'm good. I think accidentally said that like
Speaker 1: Big Brother. Hello, Sonya, you did.
Speaker 2: Actually he sounded just like you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, my whole life, I've wanted to sound masculine. Anyway,
Speaker 1: good to chat to you, although I did try and
Speaker 1: call you back last.
Speaker 2: Week, Oh what is going on?
Speaker 1: I just thought it was really funny because I think
Speaker 1: I wrote back to you and said I think I
Speaker 1: knew it was probably a pocketile at that point, and
Speaker 1: I said, well, when the Queen calls, you have to answer.
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, which made me laugh.
Speaker 1: Oh Ben, Oh my god, that's just so funny. But
Speaker 1: it's kind of fine though, because we've now paid each
Speaker 1: other back because I pocket doled you once at four
Speaker 1: in the morning, and so Matt right right exactly, we're
Speaker 1: kind of even a.
Speaker 2: Much more civilized hour for Pokada someone.
Speaker 1: Still to this day. I mean, I've told that story
Speaker 1: to TV executives and they go white when they hear
Speaker 1: that story. Anyway, Buddy, I want to say to you,
Speaker 1: though I've spoken to you before many many seasons of
Speaker 1: Big Brother, but I've just realized something this morning, and
Speaker 1: that you've now beaten Gretel Colleen's hosting record this year
Speaker 1: this season, because you've now up to like eight.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's well, but I know I'm eight. I didn't
Speaker 2: realize that was over Gretel's record.
Speaker 1: Well, she did seven and now you've done eight, so
Speaker 1: you're the winner.
Speaker 2: What Oh gosh, I feel like I don't know why
Speaker 2: we feel like Gretel. I think because she was the
Speaker 2: first host, she will always kind of be the you know,
Speaker 2: the queen of Big Brother. In my mind she still is,
Speaker 2: and I think it's one of those things that you
Speaker 2: never really you never really you're just kind of a
Speaker 2: caretaker for these shows, you know. And so like Big Brother,
Speaker 2: which has been going for so long now since to
Speaker 2: WAT two thousands, what year did start? Two thousand and one?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, two.
Speaker 2: Thousand and one, so that's twenty two years. They did
Speaker 2: have a little rest, had a little lie down at
Speaker 2: some point, but shows do that too, and I think,
Speaker 2: but I think a show that goes for so long,
Speaker 2: you're kind of a caretaker of it for a while,
Speaker 2: and it's just lovely to have that experience.
Speaker 1: But none of these housemates that you've got this year
Speaker 1: would probably even know who grettl Colleen is.
Speaker 2: Well this is you know what? Then you met the
Speaker 2: points because they were when they first got into the house.
Speaker 2: I could hear them talking about things like the fact
Speaker 2: that they were even born when Big Brothers started, or
Speaker 2: you know that they have never seen the only the
Speaker 2: only reference they had the Big Brother were the shows
Speaker 2: that I'd posted, because that was there when they were
Speaker 2: come growing up as teenagers. That was what they were watching.
Speaker 2: So they had never experienced the early days Big Brother.
Speaker 2: They'd only experienced the reincarnation of it. And it's an
Speaker 2: interesting thing, isn't it, Because the evolution of Big Brother
Speaker 2: is something that in equal parts I think fascinates and
Speaker 2: also riles up the fans a little bit, because you know,
Speaker 2: they're a purists, you know, BB purists who want it
Speaker 2: to be, you know, exactly as it was kind of
Speaker 2: from gay Dots. And then there are others I think
Speaker 2: who like the changes and are fascinated by the changes,
Speaker 2: and really to survive in television, you kind of need
Speaker 2: to keep evolving. I think it's a species we need
Speaker 2: to keep evolving. So, of course isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Speaker 1: I just think, you know, can you imagine, because we
Speaker 1: all remember sitting in front of our television if you're
Speaker 1: old enough to do so, to watch that first episode
Speaker 1: of Big Brother and meeting all these people, could you
Speaker 1: imagine a tiktoking female farmer from Bendigo going into the
Speaker 1: show twenty years ago?
Speaker 2: Well, no, because there was no TikTok and just so
Speaker 2: many different social media platforms now that they still who
Speaker 2: went in initially, like you know that Sarah, Marie Fidell and
Speaker 2: Pep and Reggie. They didn't have Twitter, they didn't have Instagram,
Speaker 2: they didn't have they probably barely had a mobile phone.
Speaker 2: So you know, there wasn't a lot to kind of
Speaker 2: take away from people, was there. But now their entire
Speaker 2: kind of communications structure is gone and they only have
Speaker 2: each other, and it's really, I mean interesting it's always
Speaker 2: interesting to see the dynamic and write from the get
Speaker 2: go of this series. Have you seen anything?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm up episode four and I've watched an episode
Speaker 1: of Love the first week. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I love the arrivals. I love the choices that have
Speaker 2: to be made at arrivals. I love the fact there's
Speaker 2: a curveball kind of right off the top, you know.
Speaker 1: Can I just say my favorite thing about watching our
Speaker 1: launch episode of Big Brother is you. They say that
Speaker 1: with singing shows like The Voice and things like that,
Speaker 1: people turn in for the judges. They don't turn in
Speaker 1: for the stars. I mean, you know, for the contestants.
Speaker 1: I feel like I turn up for you to watch
Speaker 1: your comedic talent in a live environment.
Speaker 2: Please, Like Glee, it's worting. It's just having to make
Speaker 2: a decision and I know one outcome is going to
Speaker 2: be great and the other outcome not so much. Yeah.
Speaker 2: I know it's terrible that to their sense of pleasure.
Speaker 2: I get out of it, but I do.
Speaker 1: Of course, you do it. Of course you can see
Speaker 1: it all over your face.
Speaker 2: Yeah, when they sign up for Big Brother, he's going
Speaker 2: to play trick. He's going to mess with your mind.
Speaker 2: He's going to do all that stuff, So yeah, I'm
Speaker 2: there for it.
Speaker 1: Well, the housemates are looking for love this time, which
Speaker 1: is really unusual for Big Brother. You know, we've heard
Speaker 1: all the headlines. You know, it's like love Island in
Speaker 1: a warehouse kind of thing. But do you think the
Speaker 1: Big Brother is fit to play Kupid for a whole season?
Speaker 2: Ah, well, you do really play stupid, although he don't.
Speaker 2: I mean they can't. They don't need any help finding
Speaker 2: love in the house if you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Benning put into that place. They're all just going for
Speaker 1: makes a.
Speaker 2: Pretty good at finding it for themselves. And I was
Speaker 2: saying the other day, you know how you know, Big
Speaker 2: Brother evolved and it became very strategic, and these guys
Speaker 2: they've got games, but it's not strategy. It's not a
Speaker 2: strategic game. It's just game in the kind of dating world.
Speaker 2: And and you can see, you know, the relationships forming
Speaker 2: very early on in the piece. I was just really
Speaker 2: surprised at how quickly, you know, certain people kind of
Speaker 2: you know, fell for each other, and then how others
Speaker 2: there would be that like there's a bit of a
Speaker 2: love triangle that kind of goes on. At one point,
Speaker 2: there's there's a fair bit of jealousy that occurs. I
Speaker 2: don't know, if you're up to that city.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I mean, this is just what happens
Speaker 1: when you put a whole bunch of people like this
Speaker 1: in there, that you know, that are single and looking forward. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean there's going to be some swapping around.
Speaker 1: You know, maybe this person this week, maybe someone else
Speaker 1: the next.
Speaker 2: You know, did you say flopping? Interesting slapping?
Speaker 1: Some of them might be slapping, sonya.
Speaker 2: Some of them might be flopping.
Speaker 1: It's kind of racy. I keep thinking of you and like,
Speaker 1: you know, you've got so many double entendres on dancing
Speaker 1: with the stars, but I always related to you in
Speaker 1: the times that I've spent you. I kind of feel
Speaker 1: like we're a bit prutish sometimes, So I wonder, are
Speaker 1: you blushing? Are you blushing watching these people?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, world things prude. It's terrible. And that's
Speaker 2: what happened to me. What a likely looking at they're kissing.
Speaker 2: Oh god, they're kissing like they're really CUsing. Yeah, so
Speaker 2: I don't know. I think maybe mother now and I'm like,
Speaker 2: oh god, that could be my daughter. But you know,
Speaker 2: young lup, what can you What can you do when
Speaker 2: when somebody's you know, early twenty years and they're you know,
Speaker 2: they are all so excited to get into the house
Speaker 2: and to meet each other and to make friends, and
Speaker 2: you know, you can't you can't really blame them. It's
Speaker 2: it is. It is quite spicy.
Speaker 1: They're just doing what twenty year olds do, though, like
Speaker 1: you know, you're going to put a whole bunch of
Speaker 1: twenty year olds inside a house like that, and then
Speaker 1: you know, even big brother packs they closed away at
Speaker 1: one point. I mean, you kind of that.
Speaker 2: I was trying to mention it because I just thought
Speaker 2: the promo for that and I didn't know if we
Speaker 2: could talk about it, whether it would be a bit
Speaker 2: of a spoiler. But the fact, I think it was
Speaker 2: one of the first addictions. They confiscate the house. Think,
Speaker 2: rather confiscate the house, they close And I didn't find
Speaker 2: out until I was just about to walk into the room.
Speaker 2: And it's all new to me because normally I've talked
Speaker 2: to them through a camera, I am not in the room,
Speaker 2: and now I'm in the room and they're essentially native,
Speaker 2: you know, So that was that was interesting. I mean
Speaker 2: it and I really didn't know, look.
Speaker 1: I don't know what to look either. And one of
Speaker 1: the boys, because he was sort of covering himself up
Speaker 1: and he was just wearing speeders, it kind of looked
Speaker 1: like he was nude, like completely.
Speaker 2: New exactly exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know why I'm laughing at this, just like
Speaker 1: seems so ridiculous. I love the idea though, that you
Speaker 1: get to go into the house. If you're in the
Speaker 1: house more than any other series of Big Brother that
Speaker 1: you've ever been involved in before. Did it feel like
Speaker 1: going into a zoo like as in I can imagine.
Speaker 2: It's so weird. It's such a weird feeling. First time
Speaker 2: I went into the eviction, it was I felt really
Speaker 2: kind of nervous because I was right there in front
Speaker 2: of them, and they were even more nervous because all
Speaker 2: of a sudden, when I was talking to them through
Speaker 2: a camera, I couldn't kind of keep eyes on everybody.
Speaker 2: So when you're sitting in front of them, you can
Speaker 2: see in parishal vision if someone is talking to somebody else,
Speaker 2: someone's rolling their eyes, or you know, there's reaction going
Speaker 2: on around the room. You're much more present, and so
Speaker 2: you're much more involved in the the The word for it,
Speaker 2: you know, the unpacking of everything that's gone on.
Speaker 1: Well, yeah, and you're a very good observer. You're always
Speaker 1: absorbing and watching and you're sort of evolving your opinions.
Speaker 1: And then I think it's the best thing about this
Speaker 1: new series. And I'm surprised we have taken so long
Speaker 1: to get to it, you know, we're up to season sixteen.
Speaker 1: I think it is for the host to be inside
Speaker 1: the house watching them, and it's really worked for you. Like,
Speaker 1: I think that whole what do they call it, whether
Speaker 1: they're doing the where they sort of have to plead,
Speaker 1: what's that room called the not the King and Queen, No, no, no,
Speaker 1: no, no no, the room where they deal with the evictions.
Speaker 1: What's that the eviction room or whatever it is, the
Speaker 1: fiction room. Yeah, that all works much better than it's
Speaker 1: ever worked before this season with you being in there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is kind of I mean I found it
Speaker 2: really right up until the point where I say it's
Speaker 2: time to go, because there are three people, say in
Speaker 2: the hot seats, and I found I had to look
Speaker 2: above them. I couldn't look at them because if I
Speaker 2: look at them while I was saying those words, it
Speaker 2: was like me, she's looking at me, you know what
Speaker 2: I mean, really not to actually make eye contact with
Speaker 2: anyone as I was saying those words it's time to go.
Speaker 2: So it was really it was a learning curve for
Speaker 2: me as well, because you know, there moments where things
Speaker 2: get really hated, you know, and there are must where
Speaker 2: there's a lot of emotions, you know, somebody upset or
Speaker 2: there's you know, or it just gets completely out of
Speaker 2: control and someone's yelling at somebody else, and you know.
Speaker 1: You know what I thought was really funny was that
Speaker 1: I remember you saying in my series of Big Brother,
Speaker 1: which now is eleven years ago. So in twenty twelve,
Speaker 1: you made this comment Josh, and you said, I've got
Speaker 1: He flirted with you on camera and it was live
Speaker 1: and this is where Brugs you do the best work
Speaker 1: is when you're live and off the cuff. And you
Speaker 1: said to him, mate, I've got t shirts older than you.
Speaker 2: I've eaten cheese just to show like it's just so good,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 1: Anyway, it was gorgeous.
Speaker 2: He was really like, yeah, really harsh.
Speaker 1: But over the years, contestants have flirted with you on camera.
Speaker 1: Can you remember a contestant that's flirted with you? The hardest.
Speaker 2: Wow, that's a really good question. Do you know the
Speaker 2: time I'm oblivious to it, I think, and the other
Speaker 2: housemates pick up on it. Somebody throws something out that
Speaker 2: is a bit clotatious. I kind of end up just
Speaker 2: carrying on, but the other housemates will definitely clock it.
Speaker 2: And it's sort of like stopped sucking up the son
Speaker 2: stopped trying to be the piece's pets, you know. I
Speaker 2: think that's really really funny. It's like, most of the time,
Speaker 2: it goes straight over the top of my head.
Speaker 1: No, it's true though, because I think that there was
Speaker 1: oh I don't know, there was probably like eight men
Speaker 1: in my series, and my admiration through you was different
Speaker 1: because you've got the wrong plumbing for me. But I
Speaker 1: just remember that all the boys were obsessed with you.
Speaker 1: They were like, which, who do you think Sonya would
Speaker 1: be with that of all of us, and they almost
Speaker 1: got into a fight over it.
Speaker 2: That's funny because they're having series where I can't remember
Speaker 2: which one was exactly, but I could hear the housemates.
Speaker 2: A couple of the guys actually because I've taken them
Speaker 2: to task over some behavior and they really did didn't
Speaker 2: like it. And I could hear them really having a
Speaker 2: bit of a moan about me after the show, because
Speaker 2: I was back in my dressing room and it was
Speaker 2: quite funny sitting there listening to the speech about you,
Speaker 2: and you can hear them. But that's the whole thing
Speaker 2: about Big Brother, you know, when you know we would record,
Speaker 2: we would play back and said the last supper sample
Speaker 2: and here's what everybody said about you through the series,
Speaker 2: and there was some really you know, it's a bit
Speaker 2: of an eye opener. All it does to me is
Speaker 2: it just reinforces that idea what other people think of
Speaker 2: me is none of my business.
Speaker 1: Yeah, very true. But I mean it's also the very
Speaker 1: essence of this show. You know. We love to be
Speaker 1: a fly on the wall. We love to hear the
Speaker 1: things that people would say when they think that people
Speaker 1: are not listening, do you know what I mean. I
Speaker 1: think it's kind of the minutial that's Big Brothers. Why
Speaker 1: it's been so successful globally, you know, yep.
Speaker 2: Exactly in the UK have just they've just come back
Speaker 2: with Big Brother too, and it's it's interesting. I did
Speaker 2: see an article we have that I don't know, I
Speaker 2: don't know, I don't know what the future is the
Speaker 2: big but it did reference sort of going back to
Speaker 2: that live environment and it's really interesting to see whether,
Speaker 2: you know, we ever would find ourselves doing evictions live again,
Speaker 2: you know, because there is something in the I don't know,
Speaker 2: it's the electricity of the moment.
Speaker 1: It has public lists come out. I think that's actually
Speaker 1: And also the programming Department have actually referenced the fact
Speaker 1: that whilst Big Brother UK is on, they've got eyeballs
Speaker 1: on it to see how it goes and how that
Speaker 1: how that exists and whether we could do it. And
Speaker 1: I think, you know, producers have also said for many
Speaker 1: years you kind of Australia watches, America and the UK
Speaker 1: have got more money to try these things again and
Speaker 1: see if they work and if it does work in
Speaker 1: the UK, which I'm watching it by the way, it's
Speaker 1: it's like being in a time machine because you know
Speaker 1: it is it does have all of these elements of
Speaker 1: Big Brother. That's that was from twenty years ago, and
Speaker 1: right it's just fascinating. So look, I mean I hope,
Speaker 1: I hope that they both can exist in a weird way,
Speaker 1: you know, because.
Speaker 2: That's that's I think I think they can coexist. I
Speaker 2: think you can. You can cut together a great show,
Speaker 2: which is essentially what used to happen back when Big
Speaker 2: Brothers started. Anyway, the daily show was cut from the
Speaker 2: day before. It turned around really quickly. That's right. So
Speaker 2: I'm sure there is a way we can we can
Speaker 2: sign to make those two things coexist. So and again,
Speaker 2: it just gets back to the evolution, doesn't it of
Speaker 2: the show? Any show? I think, you know, most shows
Speaker 2: change a little bit, you know, year and year out.
Speaker 1: Like if you look at art even and you look
Speaker 1: at the way and we're culture and trends, we circle
Speaker 1: back fashion, you know, absolutely we circle back.
Speaker 2: So fashion, I'm not actually son, you.
Speaker 1: Can wear a garbage bag. I don't know what you're
Speaker 1: talking about. Where anything any fashion came back. High stockings,
Speaker 1: low stockings, nose stockings, it's all happening. It's fine.
Speaker 2: Stocking, do you do it?
Speaker 1: Shoulder pads, working girl, It's fine. But I think with
Speaker 1: this new series, and I know a lot of people
Speaker 1: talk about, oh, it's dating now, but what I find
Speaker 1: Big brother also really works with relationships on these shows
Speaker 1: and watching young people. For me, now I sound so
Speaker 1: old watching young people dating as me and my forties
Speaker 1: is actually really fascinating to see whether men are chivalrous
Speaker 1: anymore or do girls want them, you know, the doors
Speaker 1: to be open for them. You know, how does all
Speaker 1: of this work these days? That's what this series is
Speaker 1: doing really well.
Speaker 2: Now, Yeah, what's changed and what hasn't. I mean, at
Speaker 2: the heart of it, you know, chemistry and attraction and
Speaker 2: those kinds of things. They're unquantifiable and you don't know
Speaker 2: how it's going to happen, who it's going to happen with.
Speaker 2: It just happens. But how people operate and exist in
Speaker 2: those relationships is definitely has definitely changed. I would say,
Speaker 2: you know, the girls at one point, I think you
Speaker 2: see the girls who are kind of like band together,
Speaker 2: and that's an interesting dynamic in itself because there's a
Speaker 2: bit of a girl power moment in there. You know,
Speaker 2: we can't really say which way it goes because that
Speaker 2: gives the game away, but just the cohabitation I think of, Yeah,
Speaker 2: the guys and the girls and how society is evolving.
Speaker 2: There's that word again. It's so weird, isn't it. It's
Speaker 2: about yeah, And I think that's the thing I think people,
Speaker 2: you know, it's big brother twenty years ago. There were
Speaker 2: a lot of things that happened that would not happen today.
Speaker 2: You know, a lot of things have probably said that
Speaker 2: would not be said today. So these are all things
Speaker 2: that are reflected. And I guess that's the thing. It's
Speaker 2: a big mirror, isn't it. The show. It's just a
Speaker 2: giant mirror, and we're looking at ourselves on television.
Speaker 1: It's so it's so interesting because we've seen so many
Speaker 1: love stories play out over the seasons of Big Brother,
Speaker 1: and it's kind of been like a touch point of
Speaker 1: the series that's, you know, someone there's a love story
Speaker 1: that we always follow. And what I find interesting about
Speaker 1: this as well is that we're following multiple love stories.
Speaker 1: You know. The fascinating insight to me is the different
Speaker 1: dynamics in ways in which relationships work. And in the
Speaker 1: first week that a boy and a girl who almost
Speaker 1: have like a a brother sister type friendship but that
Speaker 1: could almost be a romance like and then too quickly
Speaker 1: get into bed together, which is you know, that's also
Speaker 1: very different. We're watching multiple versions stacked on each other,
Speaker 1: which makes it really fascinating to see how people enter relationships.
Speaker 2: Yeah, how people enter them and then how they exit them,
Speaker 2: because not only do we have the hookups, there are
Speaker 2: also a couple of breakups in there too. It's really
Speaker 2: interesting and betrayal and the betrayal thing is big for me.
Speaker 2: I always think, wow, you know, if you were put
Speaker 2: in this situation and you had to choose the person
Speaker 2: you've fallen in love with in the house or continuing
Speaker 2: in the game, what would you do? You know? And
Speaker 2: so it poses those kinds of moral questions as well.
Speaker 2: It's great to see. I'm really fascinated to see how
Speaker 2: this series goes and whether people really embrace it. When
Speaker 2: Big Brother, I think, you know, on free to air
Speaker 2: it still does good numbers by free to air standards,
Speaker 2: but it's catch up where it does massive figures. People
Speaker 2: who get on their iPad at night and go to
Speaker 2: seven plus and watch Big Brother on catch up, which
Speaker 2: is frantically That's how I would do it too now
Speaker 2: because I want to watch TV when I want to
Speaker 2: watch it. So when we add those figures in, it's
Speaker 2: still a million people watching the show. So that's a
Speaker 2: massive number.
Speaker 1: It's huge. It's huge to see these people coming in.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's how people are watching television these days,
Speaker 1: people are catching up. If you look at the numbers
Speaker 1: on a lot of these shows that are having on
Speaker 1: that secondary channel like seven plus, you know you are
Speaker 1: getting a lot of people watching it in their own time.
Speaker 1: And that's how people want to watch television.
Speaker 2: But these guys who are coming through, they probably don't
Speaker 2: even own a TV. People in the South, and maybe
Speaker 2: people under the age of forty even bother buying television.
Speaker 2: They just watch on their laptop. They watch on their iPad.
Speaker 2: I mean I watch most of my television now on
Speaker 2: an iPad. Yeah, And I think a lot of people
Speaker 2: are doing that. So you know, come as long as
Speaker 2: they come and watch it, who's amazing.
Speaker 1: Well, who cares? But you know, leaning into just really
Speaker 1: quickly what you were saying about breaking up with someone,
Speaker 1: I've studied Big Brother, and I studied it for years
Speaker 1: before I did it myself, and maybe that's probably how
Speaker 1: I did so well. But I remember one of the
Speaker 1: female contestants, Leilah Sabritski, she entered into a relationship with
Speaker 1: George really early on, and she said to me, I
Speaker 1: sall Leila, and she entered in this relationship and she
Speaker 1: then fell in love with the intruder that came in
Speaker 1: while she was still with George, and I remember she
Speaker 1: had a very clear conversation with me, which was if
Speaker 1: I and she was a Big Brother officionado from the
Speaker 1: UK and so she watched it as well, and she
Speaker 1: said to me, Ben, I er, if I leave George
Speaker 1: to be with Sam, Australia will hate me, because that's
Speaker 1: what happens in Big Brother. You can't swap a relationship
Speaker 1: without the audience turning on you. So this will be
Speaker 1: really interesting about how they swap relationships and whether that
Speaker 1: impacts the way in which audiences will vote for them
Speaker 1: in that final degree. You know, yeah, exactly will you
Speaker 1: vote for someone who cheated on their partner in the show?
Speaker 1: You know what I mean? Like, it's fascinating, is the question.
Speaker 2: This is what I can't wait to find out. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: because I have you have your views, and it's an
Speaker 2: Australian and I'll be fascinated to see which way it goes.
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously I know he gets to the end,
Speaker 2: but I don't know what the outcome is. We won't
Speaker 2: know until it goes to end. So it'll be just
Speaker 2: really interesting to find out how it plays out with
Speaker 2: the public.
Speaker 1: Well, absolutely. And you know, those people have been waiting
Speaker 1: for a long time to find out, Sonny. They want
Speaker 1: to know. I don't where are they? Do they have fingernails?
Speaker 1: Theft are they are? Okay? Now, yeah, before you guys
Speaker 1: going to ask you. It was interesting. I was listening
Speaker 1: to Kylie Minogue we can call it just Kylie, but
Speaker 1: listening to her on an interview the other day and
Speaker 1: they asked her about her albums. They said, you know what,
Speaker 1: how do you describe your albums? And she referred to
Speaker 1: them as drinks? And I want to ask you about
Speaker 1: the shows that you've got on seven. If Dancing with
Speaker 1: the Stars is Champagne, what is the Voice? And what
Speaker 1: is Big Brother? Because I feel like we're right. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's an obvious one to say that Dancing with the
Speaker 1: Stars is Champagne, but what are the others?
Speaker 2: Well? Oh gosh, I mean you know what, I ah,
Speaker 2: this is really tricky. I think I think Big Grub
Speaker 2: is definitely a margarita.
Speaker 1: Yeah me, yeah, spicy mark last season, Sonya.
Speaker 2: I think it's a bit of a spiky Marky season.
Speaker 2: If I would say, I would actually say that the
Speaker 2: voice is Champagne and Dancy was the thousand of the
Speaker 2: dirty Martini, just a little dirty, little dirty.
Speaker 1: You'll need a couple of shots after being with Doctor
Speaker 1: Chris next year. I can't wait to see that, Like,
Speaker 1: oh me too.
Speaker 2: I'm so I'm so excited. I think it's just going
Speaker 2: to be the most fun ever.
Speaker 1: I watched the intro to the logis of you two
Speaker 1: doing the red carpet and I was like, this is magic,
Speaker 1: This is magic. They need to do more together, like
Speaker 1: it's it's just going to be so funny. Congratulations on
Speaker 1: the Gold Logo win, by the way, because you know
Speaker 1: we talked about you winning a Gold LOGI because I
Speaker 1: told you that you were going to win one three
Speaker 1: years ago on this podcast and you laughed and said
Speaker 1: it's never going to happen, never.
Speaker 2: Going to friends. Well, and still I still can't quite
Speaker 2: believe that it did happen. It still feels so surreal.
Speaker 2: It's weird. I was talking to Hamish afterwards, yeah, and
Speaker 2: he said to me, I don't said, I don't think
Speaker 2: anyone really understands how surreal that moment is. And it's
Speaker 2: just it's it's it is quite extraordinary. But you know,
Speaker 2: it's lovely to be part of that club. Because I
Speaker 2: don't think over the course of the sixty years of
Speaker 2: the logis, I think there's only something like fourteen women.
Speaker 1: Got twice, which is like and I think she was
Speaker 1: the last person to oh, yeah, that's right, we can.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: That's a small audience though, because the men have got
Speaker 1: these gold lokis for so long. So I was crying.
Speaker 2: And it's funny because my little girl goes to a girls' school,
Speaker 2: and it was kind of like the mums all rallied
Speaker 2: and they were like, well, we want you to win.
Speaker 2: We want the girls to see that women can succeed
Speaker 2: in their profession and that they can they can, they
Speaker 2: can win because they always had to go to the guys.
Speaker 2: So I think that was really tweet. It meant a
Speaker 2: lot to Maggie for me happy Just the thing that
Speaker 2: made me most happy was seeing her face when I
Speaker 2: brought that gold trophy home. She was really so proud.
Speaker 1: I had tears and mise because I thought of all
Speaker 1: of that. I thought of Craig, I mean, your partner,
Speaker 1: I thought of I thought of all of those things,
Speaker 1: and I've just thought of how iconic it was and
Speaker 1: also just how humble you've been with your career and
Speaker 1: the fact that you'd said that's not on the cards
Speaker 1: for me. You know, I've got I've got the goosebumps
Speaker 1: now thinking about it. But you know, is Maddie like
Speaker 1: eight years old?
Speaker 2: Now, yes, she is eighty eight, she's eight. And you
Speaker 2: mentioned Craig. But the hilarious thing was the next morning
Speaker 2: when they replay that moment, you know, like on Sunrise
Speaker 2: with the news, and I didn't realize the people had
Speaker 2: been texting me going, how cute was Craig patting you
Speaker 2: on the head? So I got to hug h he
Speaker 2: passed me on the head, like as all, what are
Speaker 2: you patting me on the head? What do you do?
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't think that because that's real moments.
Speaker 1: So like you do the most strangest things, you know,
Speaker 1: when something real like that happens, like that's it happened.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And because the moment you won big brother, can
Speaker 2: you can you remember any of that?
Speaker 1: Have you watched that? I feel bad for you. So
Speaker 1: I still feel bad to you to this day because
Speaker 1: the memory I do have a view was that you
Speaker 1: were incredibly supportive. I think you were very aware that
Speaker 1: there was going to be an engagement, so you were
Speaker 1: trying to work out how that was all going to
Speaker 1: play out.
Speaker 2: I think, yeah, my fingers crossed.
Speaker 1: I think you were trying to like but I just
Speaker 1: remember being so electric, fired, electrocuted that I actually watching
Speaker 1: it back. I felt dangerous standing next to you, like
Speaker 1: I was going to explode or spin around and knock you.
Speaker 1: But I felt bad for you. I was like this
Speaker 1: poor professional TV producer having to stand next to you, know,
Speaker 1: a nobody who auditions for Big Brother that's just lost
Speaker 1: their mind, you know, for you.
Speaker 2: Myself, it's such a great moment. I mean, I love
Speaker 2: seeing people win things I do. I do like we
Speaker 2: were talking about, they go into the house and I
Speaker 2: love I love watching Big Brother Victom. I also love
Speaker 2: some people win and should be and Eve it's great,
Speaker 2: it's great, and that's why that's what keeps us coming back.
Speaker 2: You know, we want to see who's going to win,
Speaker 2: who's going to win this year?
Speaker 1: Well, I have no idea looking at all these people
Speaker 1: at this point of this game, I'm like, I've got
Speaker 1: no idea. But you know, the point I was going
Speaker 1: to make to you about Maddie is that in ten
Speaker 1: years time, when she's eighteen, would you let her go
Speaker 1: into the Big Brother House.
Speaker 2: Oh you know what was get adult and free to
Speaker 2: make her own choices. I think at that point, what
Speaker 2: I would you know, what if I had to assu
Speaker 2: I should we did some singing lessons, maybe you know
Speaker 2: the voice. I'd love to hear from the voice. But again,
Speaker 2: you know, I don't know if she's probably inherited my
Speaker 2: singing talent, which is zero. So whereas I do think
Speaker 2: she do well in the Big Brotherhouse because she's essentially
Speaker 2: a bit of an only child, so she would kind
Speaker 2: of I think she makes friends really easily and that
Speaker 2: she has to, you know, so she probably went.
Speaker 1: Imagine that you're hosting it in ten years time and
Speaker 1: your daughter's in the sheld. She's one. It's rigged. So
Speaker 1: I have to let you go because this has been
Speaker 1: a little bit longer than we expected. But I always
Speaker 1: love talking to you. How I finished the podcast every time,
Speaker 1: and this is your fifth So you and Alex Mevodika
Speaker 1: is now tie on the most amount of time. Oh
Speaker 1: Abby Chatfield as well, tie all three of you with
Speaker 1: being on the podcast the most. What is something from
Speaker 1: behind the scenes of this new season of Big Brother
Speaker 1: not like peeling back down in or revealing too much,
Speaker 1: but maybe something funny from yourself, maybe a funny anecdote
Speaker 1: of something that went down while you were filming this one.
Speaker 2: Ah gee, well you did you know how I did
Speaker 2: that early morning eviction wake up call?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I don't know where this is going, but
Speaker 1: I'm already.
Speaker 2: Well, let's say that's an interesting environment walk.
Speaker 1: No mol sonya, I don't think that. Yeah, we don't
Speaker 1: need to. It'll be on the young cut anyway. Sonia,
Speaker 1: you are honestly one of my favorite people on television,
Speaker 1: have been before i'd even met you. I am so
Speaker 1: elated that you're still making the show and making it
Speaker 1: sing as well as you do. I can't wait to
Speaker 1: be on this journey with the rest of the Australia
Speaker 1: and watch it all. And yeah, thank you for your
Speaker 1: generosity with your time. Yeah, for sure every year the
Speaker 1: rest of my life.