How have people been reacting to you since you’ve been out of the house?
Pretty good so far. I’ve had heaps of people wanting to talk about animals with me, from little kids who want to know about handling the big cats to their mums who always say, “I wish I’d done something like that.” I haven’t copped much flak so I guess I’ve been lucky.
You said something at the start of the show about preferring the company of animals to people – is that still the case?
Yes and no. Being human I still love to interact with people and have fun, and it was good to meet all sorts of people through this show. That’s why I went on
Big Brother, because I knew it would take me out of my comfort zone.
BB housemates are quickly forgotten these days. Do you care about any of that or are you just trying to promote the things close to your
heart?
That’s what I asked myself close to the end – what can I get out of this? It is only five minutes of fame but I realised how few people get the opportunity to use that five minutes. I’m not interested in fame and fortune but I want to utilise it as much as I can to promote animal causes and conservation. Look at Dr Harry and Steve Irwin – they had the media behind them to make their voice heard.
BB copped a lot of shit from people this year – what’s your take on the show now?
We were lucky in that being the sixth series we knew what to expect. I never got into reality TV that much myself but my view is that, if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. It’s just like the news. Besides, Big Brother has become that show that some people just love to hate.
Have you discovered the storm created by the now infamous turkey-slapping incident?
At the time it absolutely destroyed me to hear they were being removed because I love those boys – John is here now with Jamie, Dino and me at my father’s ski lodge. They broke the rules and they were punished and that was the right thing, but I haven’t read any reports because the whole thing was blown out of proportion.
You didn’t hook up in the house – was that a conscious decision?
No, I just didn’t. Being single you’re open to any opportunity that might come along but as I said to my mum in lock-down, whether it’s showering or falling in love in there, I’ll being doing it in the right way, same as I would in the real world. And in the end I just got preoccupied and became friends with them. I got close to Ash, for example, but he ended up being like a brother.
How about now that you’re out doing appearances?
I’m just being me. I was never one to get 100 guys’ numbers anyway. I’m still having fun but I’m just being me.
What about when you and Krystal led Danielle on by making up sexual stuff you’d done – could you believe her naivete?
It was Krystal who was mucking around and I just played along with it. We were talking about chickens and toes and carrots and all sorts of things. When we’d finished I rolled over and asked, “Do you think we should tell her we were joking?” I couldn’t believe she still believed us in the morning.
Is it fair to say that your breasts developed a personality of their own in the house?
(Laughs) Well, I certainly know that they’re there. And they’re natural, so because a couple of the other girls in the house had boob jobs, they kept comparing mine with theirs. I’ve had some bizarre comments. At this shopping centre appearance a woman said to me, “My husband says you have the hottest naturals he’s ever seen.”
And it was the chicks in the house who seemed to comment on them more than the guys.
Krystal was blown away. She kept going, “How come I paid eight grand for mine and you paid nothing?”
So is it back to the big cats or does a telly career await?
I’m going to be proactive with my five minutes, whether that be making docos or maybe doing something like
Totally Wild. I want to get back into the jungle!
Michael Pickering
RALPH is looking for the most creative and funniest comment left in the
Babes,
News to Us, Big Stories or
RALPH Mouth sections. For your chance to win,
jump onto our competition page now!
Are these the hottest "naturals" you've ever seen?Leave your comment below.
