Katie Hopkins has reportedly been paid out $200,000 by Big Brother after being sent home. Photo / AP
Katie Hopkins has reportedly been paid out $200,000 by Big Brother after being sent home. Photo / AP
The idea to cast right-wing British tabloid troll Katie Hopkins on the upcoming series of Channel 7's Big Brother VIP is despicable, outrageous, reprehensib-
Oh wait. That's everything we want from reality TV.
The fact that Hopkins got fired, fined and deported this week for flouting quarantine rules makes her the perfect candidate for a show featuring low-tier media personalities.
Her behaviour and mere presence in the country outraged social media. Channel 7 and Endemol Shine – the production company behind the series – also copped it for basically trying to troll the nation with a troll.
The most shocking thing about the drama is that people were actually surprised by any of this. Social media users sharpened their hashtags and tried to expose the TV network's reckless attempts to grab headlines and attract viewers by stunt casting someone so controversial.
Obviously that's why producers recruited Hopkins. That's not a secret. The crazy thing is, she didn't even make it to day one of filming but everyone's rage-tweeting boosted her profile anyway.
Caitlyn Jenner has also flown into the country along with Meghan Markle's estranged half-brother to reportedly appear on the series.
A conservative British tabloid troll getting in a bitch fight with Caitlyn Jenner and Meghan Markle's weird brother is ratings gold. Viewers have become tired of the same old shows.
Channel 10's latest series of The Bachelor launched to its lowest ratings ever this week, with just 482,000 metro viewers tuning in. Clearly we are not in the mood for love.
We want obscure tabloid personalities misbehaving and talking about their past scandals. Channel 7 discovered this winning formula last year with SAS Australia.
Last series we watched as former Iron Woman Candice Warner was publicly interrogated several times about the infamous toilet tryst scandal with Sonny Bill Williams. Schapelle Corby was also there, spilling on what life was like inside Kerobokan.
We can look forward to a similar calibre of contestants on the upcoming season of SAS Australia that's set to air in a few months. Controversial ex footy star Sam Burgess has signed up, fresh off the back of several trips to court and a drug-driving charge. Just this week it came out that one of the other stars "urinated on herself involuntarily" during a tear gas stunt. Let's face it: this is the gold standard of reality television.
Katie Hopkins took to Instagram after her deportation. Photo / Instagram
Obviously Seven is trying to replicate this success with the addition of Big Brother VIP to its end-of-year schedule. It's a winning strategy. Give the people what we want. Particularly while we suffer through the latest wave of the pandemic. The most exciting thing I did this week was driving to three different supermarkets in search of mint choc cookie Connoisseur ice-creams while listening to an old Dido CD. I wanna see Meghan Markle's weird brother exposing sensationalist information about the sister he hasn't had any contact with for many years.
This is the same guy who sent a letter to Prince Harry and implored him to cancel the wedding because Meghan "is obviously not the right woman for you" and that she would be "the biggest mistake in royal wedding history". Seven should just keep the weird brother around to replace Kochie.
Do producers now need to find a last-minute replacement for Katie Hopkins? That older, less successful Hemsworth brother's probably available. And that Byron Bay waitress who Zac Efron dumped.
A dark horse could be Australian Olympic Committee boss John Coates who found accidental fame this week after rousing on Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for sneaking out with her friends on a school night and flunking her chemistry exam. He can just walk around the Big Brother house, mansplaining things and rousing on the other celebrities for not doing as they're told.
It'd be great to get someone topical – like, anyone even remotely associated with Britney Spears. Her controlling dad or stage mum or younger sister Jamie Lynn.
Or that random guy from her 2003 video clip for the song Toxic. He was tracked down by a media outlet this week and asked to provide quotes about Britney's ongoing conservatorship debacle, even though he only met her one time a million years ago.
The #FreeBritney saga is such a hot topic that we're now accepting insight from anyone who has ever had even a minor interaction with the singer. Do you live in LA and work at a petrol station that Britney went to one time? Then you're the perfect celebrity candidate for Big Brother VIP.
