REGGIE MAKES HER RETURN
A second stint in the Big Brother Australia house may see Reggie Bird rise to the top once more, writes siobhan duck
IN the days before social media, when reality TV was still in its infancy, a then-unknown Tasmanian fish-and-chip worker named Reggie Bird first set foot in the Big Brother Australia house. With her down-to-earth humour, strong work ethic and charming naïveté, Bird became an overnight celebrity, claiming a whopping 72 per cent of the viewer vote to win the 2003 series and pocket the $250,000 prize over runner-up Chrissie Swan. Fast forward 19 years and things are very different in the Big Brother house now, Bird says. “Oh my God, they have carpet,” she exclaims. “We only had floorboards and a trough outside to wash all our clothes and dishes. This was luxury. They even have a sandwich press!” It’s not just the house that’s changed. Since her victory, Bird has become a single mother of two. “I love Big Brother so much, but the minute they asked me [to return], the kids came into play,” she says. Reggie is mother to daughter Mia, 15, and son Lucas, 12. In particular, she was concerned that Lucas, who has cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening genetic disorder that affects the lungs and digestive system, could become sick while she was locked away filming. “But then, at the end of the day,” she reasons, “I’m like, ‘I’ve got to do this for my kids.’”
With her 2003 prize money now all gone, the prospect of a second win to shore up her family’s financial security is certainly motivation.
But more than that, Bird wants to prove that a disability doesn’t have to hold anyone back. In
2008, Bird was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition that will eventually leave her completely blind. Although she has already lost her peripheral vision and her ability to see in the dark, Bird isn’t concerned her diminished sight will hamper her in the physical challenges that now determine who stays or goes from the house.
“Watching the Paralympians do their thing made me think, ‘They can do anything, and so I can do anything, too,’” she says. “I still go to the gym. I still go for walks. I don’t let my eyesight stop me from doing anything and living my life. I just take each day as it comes and make each day count. Knowing that the game’s changed dramatically from when I was in it [didn’t put me off]. I’m up for anything.”
Season 14 of the series will see
Bird – who admits she’s not a natural strategist and won the game by simply being herself – face a new generation of camera-savvy contestants, one that has been raised on a diet of reality TV shows. She will also mix with other similarly experienced ex-housemates such as 2013 winner and unabashed gameplayer Tim Dormer, controversial ex-lovebirds Tully Smyth and Anthony Drew, and David Graham – aka Farmer Dave – who famously came out in the 2006 season.
While Bird isn’t worried about fitting in, she says her popularity makes her a “huge target,” particularly since viewers don’t get a say in voting until the final eviction. Even so, she insists the hardships she’s experienced have given her a winning edge. “I look at life in a different way. I know that sounds like a stupid thing to say when I’m going blind, but it’s true,” she laughs. “It gives you a different perspective knowing [you’re] going to wake up one day and not be able to see again. It’s the same with my son having cystic fibrosis. We don’t know how long he’s going to live, so we make the most of everything that we can.”
Big Brother AustrAliA Monday-Wednesday,
7.30pM, seVen