Big Brother says NO to Michaella despite bikini pics
Drug mule is back in the limelight ... but reality show is not interested
SHE recently relaunched herself into the public eye courtesy of some snaps on the beach in Spain, and ever since speculation has mounted that convicted drug smuggler Michaella McCollum is poised to enter the Big Brother House this summer.
However, the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal that she will not be making an appearance on the reality show – because ‘nobody knows who she is’.
A senior source at the hit reality TV show has debunked reports that she will be one of the housemates in the upcoming series of the longrunning programme.
‘No, [she is not lined up]. And she won’t be. Nobody [in the UK] knows who she is,’ said a well-placed source.
Since her release from a Peru prison before Christmas, Tyrone native Michaella has been making the most of her notoriety.
She was pictured in a bikini on a beach in Marbella last month, fuelling speculation that she was set to capitalise on her notoriety.
And she did little to defuse reports that she was gearing up for some television role.
Last week she posted a picture to her Instagram page of her getting her hair and make-up done in a salon in London.
She accompanied the picture with an emoji of a camera and clapper board, making a tacit announcement that she was about to embark on some sort of filming. She has also been working out with gusto and maintaining her glamorous appearance since she returned home to Ireland.
The Tyrone party girl and her friend Melissa Reid made headlines in August 2013 when they were apprehended trying to smuggle 11kg of cocaine, worth €2million, from Peru to Madrid.
But since their release the young women have taken very different approaches to freedom.
Sources have said that Michaella has made no secret of her dream to become a reality TV star.
‘She’s spent the last six months trying to build up her profile and her image,’ sources told The Sun.
But reports that she was destined for a lucrative spell in the Big Brother house are unfounded.
This series of Big Brother is understood to be a ‘pairs theme’ and initial reports suggested that Michaella would enter with her Scottish drug courier counterpart Melissa Reid.
However, in stark contrast to Michaella’s obvious desire for fame Melissa has kept a relatively low profile since returning to Scotland.
She doesn’t appear to have a social media presence and doesn’t seem to seek media attention.
In an interview with the Daily Mail upon her release Melissa appeared very remorseful of her crime. ‘No one forced me,’ she admitted. She said she didn’t consider the consequences of her actions at the time but now took ‘full responsibility’. She said: ‘I did an awful thing and paid the price.’
Dubbed the Peru Two, Melissa and Reid shared a cell in the notorious Ancon 2 Prison for two-and-ahalf years before they were granted early parole.
They had been sentenced to six years and eight months in jail for attempting to smuggle over €2million worth of drugs from the South American country.
But while they shared a cell they will not be sharing digs in the Big Brother house.
‘Nobody knows who she is’ ‘Spent six months building up her profile’