Larging it on Big Brother

You know it is officially summertime when Davina McCall is on the telly, bursting blood vessels shouting over the roar outside Elstree studios. Of course we can only be talking about the one, the only, Big Brother. With the final series of Britain's original reality television show underway, Cathy Reay explores the representation of disability through the Big Brother lens

Originally hailed as a breakthrough in television programming, Big Brother has seen a huge decline in popularity in recent years and is now in its very last run.

Unlike before, housemates in series 11 were chosen by Big Brother from a pool of hopefuls that waited eagerly outside the house during the live opening ceremony of the programme. Steve Gill was one of the three visibly disabled people in waiting, positioned at the front of the crowd. As he couldn't ascend the steps leading into the house, many viewers suspected that his inclusion was not a surprise, despite the programme's insistence none of the entries were pre-planned.

Having lost both legs and an eye fighting in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, Steve returned to Leicester to start a family and now has eight children with his second wife. He is also a transatlantic yacht racer.

Thanks to the sailor's positive, can-do outlook, bookies have placed him third to win the contest. While some viewers have posted comments on the Big Brother and BBC Ouch! messageboards saying that his high-achieving could make it look like he's trying to be "normal", which isn't necessarily represen­tative of all disabled people, most initial reactions seem positive.

How Steve acquits himself on the show is impossible to predict, but it isn't always so easy for disabled contestants to "just get on with it". Darnell Swallow, who appeared in the 2008 series, was often seen complaining to his housemates about the way society treated his albinism and when he left the house in fifth place he told Disability Now that housemates lied when they told him they didn't notice his pale skin (Up Close & Personal, November 2008).

Meanwhile, radio presenter Mikey Hughes came second in the same series, losing out on the cash prize by just two per cent of the vote. His cheeky witticisms, amenable manner and placid nature made him a favourite among his housemates and the voting public. Later on in the series viewers admitted to finding some of his habits annoying, such as eating with his hands. The fact that people were irritated by aspects of Mikey's personality indicated his disability had been forgotten and that they were treating him, for perhaps the first time, just like any other contestant.

In contrast with Darnell, on his exit from the show Mikey said that blind viewers thanked him for "showing that blind people are normal". "It was visionary thinking to let me go on and not some stereotypical blind person. Channel 4 [said] I've put blindness decades forward. For too long, disability has been segregated," he told Disability Now (Mikey: I'm a national hero, Oct 08).

Meanwhile, on Celebrity BB, short-statured actor Verne Troyer entered the house. Famous for playing "Mini-Me" in the Austin Powers films, Verne divided public opinion. Some of his housemates and the show's fans described the 2'8" actor as "cute" and "cuddly" but others said he shouldn't get "special attention" because of his short-stature. Though the favourite to win the series, Verne came in fourth place.

And how can anyone forget the incredibly likeable singer Pete Bennett, the first disabled housemate to enter the Big Brother house in 2007? Pete's eventual win was seen as exploitation by some disability bodies including the Tourette Syndrome Association, as many viewers appeared to vote for him because they found him endearing.

Through the variety of disabled contestants Big Brother has placed in the house, it seems that viewers' reactions veer from unintentionally patronising or affectionate (Verne, Pete) to critical or dismissive (Darnell, Verne) and, finally, pretty regular (Mikey, Steve?).

It could just be down to the individual's own acceptance of their condition or the reactions of their fellow housemates, but something Mikey told us recently really rang a bell: "If you win and you're disabled it's because of your disability, if you lose and you're disabled it's because of your disability. Disability is only one part of [sic] our personalities."

What is clear to us, whether Steve Gill wins or loses, is that the number of disabled contestants that have graced the Big Brother house have gone a long way to normalise disability on television. And surely that can only be a good thing.