TV HOUSE PERFECT FIT FOR NIGHTQUARTER: MP
A GOLD Coast MP wants the former Big Brother house in the city’s north to become the new location for NightQuarter.
The music and dining venue closed in February after the landlords at Helensvale looked to double rent, leaving many without work and a community without a social hub.
However, Theodore MP Mark Boothman believes it could be saved by converting the Big Brother compound in Coomera.
The forgotten pink mansion has lost its shine since dozens of people found their five minutes of fame on the reality TV show.
“(It) would be a great place,” he said. “You have loads of parking, it’s just off the highway, easy to access ... similar to how it was in Helensvale.”
The property is owned by Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).
Since the show was axed by the Nine Network in 2014, the Coomera house has been abandoned, leaving it as an open target for trespassers who have thrashed the site.
A former Big Brother contestant Skye Wheatley, 25, returned to the derelict house this month for the first time in five years. Third in the final 2014 season of the series, she uploaded a 31minute video to her YouTube channel.
“What the hell. It’s fully been vandalised. This is where the cameramen were,” she said.
“I can’t believe how sad this is. This is horrible.”
The mansion was covered in graffiti, the walls and windows smashed and the pool in the centre of the property filled with black water, furniture and debris.
QIC declined to answer questions about the property, saying: “We are considering a range of future options for the site as part of our longterm planning. The former house is enclosed within a secure, fenced perimeter.”
If the site could not be used for NightQuarter, Mr Boothman said he would like it turned into its original state to become a tourist attraction.
“Anything to give us jobs in the area and boost the tourism industry on the northern Gold Coast. That would be perfect,” he said.
“I’m disappointed that nothing happened to it.”
Eleven seasons of Big Brother was filmed inside the house between 2001 until late 2014.
NightQuarter’s website continues to say “new location coming soon”.