Sonia Kruger says Big Brother’s first night is unique on TV
HOST Sonia Kruger says the launch night of the new series of Big Brother hasn’t been done in 63 territories across the world.
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EVERY year, Big Brother puts a gag order on his live host, Sonia Kruger.
She can’t talk much about the house, his plans for the new crop of housemates on the reality show, the surprises in store for the new season. He calls the shots and keeps the secrets.
This year, 49-year-old Sonia Kruger turned the tables.
With the announcement a fortnight ago that she is expecting a baby, a glowing Kruger became the one springing the surprises.
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With a single tweet on a Saturday afternoon, a delighted Kruger revealed she was expecting a baby girl. And surprised a lot of people — including Big Brother — in the process.
Kruger’s tweet, accompanied by a picture of her designer heels beside a pair of kitten print baby socks read: “Hey everyone. Here’s a fun fact ... I’m having a baby! #overjoyed #newhousemate.”, confirming it had been ‘a long road for her and her TV producer partner Craig McPherson.
Kruger is adamant Big Brother found out about the same time as the bulk of Australia about her news via that tweet.
“I’m really good at keeping secrets — he should know that,” she laughs.
“How did he react? I think he was a bit disturbed.
“He feels he now has to cancel the highwire act he had planned. I said ‘it can’t go at the end because I’ll be about 30 weeks by then, and I won’t be looking so good in a leotard that’s for sure.”
Of stealing the limelight ahead of the launch of the eleventh season of Big Brother in Australia, and her third as host since the franchise was revived by Channel Nine, Kruger is sure Big Brother doesn’t mind.
“I think he’ll indulge it, spend his time knitting booties, and bide his time until September 8 (tomorrow, when the show launches).
“He’ll give me time to enjoy it, then say ‘that’s enough now’, and it will all be about him again.”
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Kruger confesses it’s been a whirlwind couple of months holding her pregnancy secret close, fearful, after several years of trying to conceive, that she would suffer the devastation of miscarrying again.
She’ll again split her time between Big Brother on the Gold Coast and Sydney for Mornings, but is mindful of taking care of herself.
“The Mornings EP has said ‘if you feel like it’s getting too much and you need to have a couple of days off and stay on the Gold Coast you can do that’,” Kruger says.
“That’s a load off my mind because it’s hard to get through that entire run (of BB) without having some sort of head cold or something that happens along the way.”
Amid the reception to her baby news, Kruger took a week to ‘get my BB head back on’.
But the thrill of live television and new directions in the show mean it won’t take long to get back into the swing of life under Big Brother.
On night one, the new housemates will have to make a snap decision that will affect the rest of their time in the house.
“The show stays fresh because network schedules are pretty much structured around those big global franchise programs which are pretty structured in terms of format, but BB is the only one that you have complete creative freedom with,” Kruger says.
“What we are doing on that launch night hasn’t been done in 63 territories around the world where BB runs.
“Today, thanks to apps like Tinder in real life people have to make instant decisions.
“The housemates will have to make an instant decision about someone. And that decision, unfortunately for the housemates, will have far-reaching consequences.
“The bits Alex (Mavroidakis, BB executive producer) tells me — because we have a similar wicked sense of humour — are hilarious.
“Sometimes I think ‘can we do that to these poor people?’
“But they sign up to be in the house. They know that anything can happen. It can be psychologically or physically testing, but it’s nothing that’s going to do them long term damage.
“They’ve never floated anything that I’ve thought ‘it’s too much’. If anything I want to go further.”
BIG BROTHER 2014: WHAT WE KNOW
• SONIA will be 35 weeks pregnant at the Big Brother finale
• 2014 housemates include a midwife, radiographer, estate agent, hairdresser, budding magician and a wannabe rock star. Two are no Australian born and bred. 13,0000 people registered to be part of this season
• THE house is based around ‘old-school Miami cool with a touch of Hollywood glamour. “Think of the mansion from Scarface, or a place The Sopranos would be happy to live,” says Kruger
• 2014 is the year of power. Every week a new power will be introduced, and a new housemate will hold the power. Money will play a major part.
• AT one point happiness will become a necessity, not an option
• A NEW show, Big Brother Live will be filmed in front of a studio audience, hosted by Sonia with special guests, and occur each Monday
• A LATE-NIGHT show will air on Sundays.
• 50 cameras permanently monitor the house. There are 92 microphones, including the ones carried by housemates.
• In 2013, 24 series of BB aired in 68 countries
• A FINAL warning: Beware of the Parrot
BIG BROTHER, MONDAY, 8.40PM, NINE
Originally published as Sonia Kruger says Big Brother’s first night is unique on TV
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