Farmer Dave Graham is one of Big Brother’s most iconic housemates, and now, he’s ready for more.
Rejoining the series for Big Brother Royalty Vs New Contenders, Graham said in a statement that he’s back “to play the game and have a break from my very stressful and heavy-on-responsibility life”.
Back in 2006, Graham won the hearts of his housemates, and Australians, when he came out as gay to his housemates after a week of challenges in which Big Brother wanted them to get to know one another better.
Sitting his housemates down, Graham said:
“Obviously a lot of us got to know each other fairly well, and I think that everyone’s realised when they’re getting to know me that there’s things that they don’t know about me, and that’s true — there are things about me that you don’t know.”
He continued: “I kind of came into the house thinking that this bit you don’t know about me is quite small, but being in here has made me realise that it permeates every part of myself.”
Graham went on to say that it was “really, really hard” to and that he’d “really held back” in his interactions with the housemates because he hadn’t “been able to be honest”.
“I’ve skipped questions, I’ve dodged questions, I’ve moved around questions,” he said, explaining that he wanted them to get to know him “at face value” as “just a normal guy”, before saying: “I’m the token farmer, and the token gay guy”.
Graham was met with hugs and acceptance from his housemates, and fans of the show responded well also, with Graham placing third in the 2006 season.
It’s an experience Graham remembers as “incredible”.
“I went on to create conversations and change in Australia about gay people being treated equally and without judgment,” he says. “Back then, we were heavily discriminated against. It was normal to be in the closet for fear of violence and exclusion.”
Now 42, Graham is returning to the house ready to charm his housemates, and Australia, all over again.
Graham believes that Big Brother Australia helped shape the person he is today, and once in the house, he’s adamant that he won’t lie, manipulate or backstab anyone.
Having done this all before, Graham says that the main advantage of being a returning player is that he’ll “be chilled out like I’m returning to a holiday house of my youth”.
He explained: “I reckon new housemates will be nervous and excited, whereas I feel like I’m back in an old familiar place.”
Being relaxed about the house is, of course, a double-edged sword, though, and Graham wonders if “being too chilled about things” will mean that he’s “not ready for all the twists and turns of the game”.
This time, Graham says, he wants to “play the game, get really involved in everything without the weight of a political agenda.”
Big Brother Royalty Vs New Contenders will premiere on Monday, May 9, only on Channel 7 and 7 Plus.
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