Big Brother’s new sister

She’s a 23-year-old investment consultant and body piercer, and we’ll be watching her every move over the coming weeks and months. Her name is Sahra, and she’s just stepped into the limelight of the Big Brother house.

This week, Sahra’s partner Charmayne told Sydney Star Observer that she believed her girlfriend stood a good chance of success in the high-rating show.

I’m thinking she will be one of the last to leave. She is absolutely fantastic and wonderful, very accepting and forgiving, a great listener and a great shoulder to cry on, Charmayne said -“ before adding that she was probably biased.

But others share the same opinion: NW magazine has given Sahra the kiss of death by awarding her the best odds of winning the show of all the housemates.

On Monday in Sydney alone, Sahra’s entry into the Big Brother house was watched by over half a million viewers. Charmayne said she was unable to be with Sahra as she departed, but they had spent the entirety of the three preceding days together.

She was pretty cool, calm and collected for someone going into such a weird circumstance, but she loved it, Charmayne said.

The couple, who will celebrate their fourth anniversary in June, have a classically modern meeting story: they met when Sahra assisted on Charmayne’s septum piercing. Seeing each other at a club a few weeks later marked the start of the relationship.

Charmayne said watching the show so far had felt very surreal, and that she started missing Sahra the minute she got on the plane from the Gold Coast (where the show is filmed).

Sahra is not the only queer house member, it seems. In a conversation captured on the Big Brother webcast yesterday, Nathan, the effervescent graphic designer from Perth, revealed to Sahra that he too had a same-sex partner.

Even before yesterday’s revelation, Nathan’s official bio would have been a give-away to many. He lists his dream job as interior decorating, and his favourite TV shows as Buffy and Charmed.

Sahra and Nathan follow in the queer footsteps of last year’s Big Brother contestant Johnnie Cass, who told the Star he also found watching the show this time around to be a strange experience.

Asked what advice he would give to this series queer contestants if given the chance, Johnnie replied: Just be yourself. Enjoy the experience, because it doesn’t last forever. Remember that people are going to judge you, but as long as you act yourself you’ll be fine.