What are their secrets?

We’re worried Sonia Kruger may develop a permanent duck face with all this SSHHHH’ing she’s doing for the “every housemate has a secret” promo, so it’s our duty to get to the bottom of what these secrets are before she’s permanently disfigured.

Contrary to earlier predictions the show will be based on the French ‘Secret Story’ (housemates try to keep their secrets for the duration of the season), the first week of episode scheduling reveals that housemates will likely know the premise as soon as they go in to the house, and most if not all secrets will be revealed by Wednesday 15 August.

But what are the secrets? Here’s a breakdown of the most likely scenarios:

• The gay housemate who appears straight – now a casting staple in the reality TV world, Big Brother Australia first touched on this concept in 2006 with David the gay farmer. We’ve heard whispers that Channel Nine specifically requested a gay male housemate be cast to soften the ‘blow’ in premiering their new drama House Husbands, which includes two gay dads raising a child.
• Family members – highly likely that two housemates will be related, and possibly not even aware of it. Overseas versions of Big Brother have included long-lost half siblings who didn’t know each other until the secret was revealed. In one season of US Big Brother the entire house consisted only of secret couples. While we don’t give the Australian show producers that much credit, accounts from auditions show they were actively trying to get family connections. Behind Big Brother user kxk writes:

  I entered my 18 year old nephew [into auditions], he refused to do it. But anyway, he hadn’t signed the application or anything. Day before auditions [the producers] rang him and asked him to come.

  So what’s interesting about him that I put on the form? He has never met his father – drug addict/deported to the UK; he has 2 half brothers he’s never met, one is in Australia. They asked him about this on the phone.

• Asylum seekers – on the fringe of conventional TV secrets, some have predicted one housemate will have come to Australia as a refugee (and would have been legally accepted, of course). Attitudes towards asylum seekers and “boat people” were key questions during the audition process. This could indeed play a role in creating discussion and conflict if one housemate is against asylum immigration, while another is revealed as a real refugee.
• An unconventional job – an easy one for a PG timeslot, one housemate could be coy about how they really earn their income. Although considering this season is meant to be “family friendly”, we’re not so sure they would go to the extreme of casting sex workers.
• Fake couples – an idea used in the French ‘Secret Story’, relative strangers pretend they are in a relationship as their key secret.

What ideas do you think will be used as housemate secrets? Leave a comment below or discuss Big Brother in our unofficial, uncensored forums!