Former Magpie Dayne Beams joins Big Brother VIP cast
Despite his prior struggles with mental health, former Magpie Dayne Beams is giving reality TV a crack.
Fiona Byrne
Don't miss out on the headlines from Fiona Byrne. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Former Collingwood premiership team star Dayne Beams is giving reality TV a crack and is understood to have joined the likes of Caitlyn Jenner and Thomas Markle Jnr on Big Brother VIP.
Beams, who wrapped up his 172-game AFL career with Collingwood in 2020, has been public about his long battle with mental health.
He turned to art as a therapy to help his recovery and now sells his resin creations and hosts art classes in Melbourne. He was recently in the headlines after a disagreement with a hospitality venue owner while trying to arrange a birthday party for his wife.
Channel 7 is yet to confirm the cast for the celebrity version of Big Brother, but Beams is understood to have started filming the show in Sydney at the weekend.
Other local celebrities believed to be among the housemates include Married At First Sight’s Jessika Power, Kyle Sandiland’s former girlfriend Imogen Anthony, Australian Survivor winner Luke Toki, influencer and actor Ellie Gonsalves, former rugby league player Matt Cooper, actor Bernard Curry and model Josh Carroll.
Former White House adviser to Donald Trump Omarosa Manigault Newman, who has appeared on the US version of Celebrity Apprentice and the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother, is widely rumoured to also be joining the cast.
Controversial British commentator Katie Hopkins was to have been a housemate but was dumped from the show and deported from Australia after mocking Covid quarantine security restrictions.
Seven had been searching for a high-profile former AFL player to join its Big Brother VIP house and had approached Dane Swan to join the show.
Swan, who hosts the Hump Day with Swanny and Friends podcast, declined.
While appearing at first to be a surprise choice for the show, Beams may end up the show’s surprise packet should he open up about his AFL career, the challenges he faced as his mental health deteriorated and his road to recovery.
Beams played for Collingwood from 2009 to 2014 before spending four seasons, two as captain, with the Brisbane Lions.
He returned to Collingwood at the end of 2018. His career came to an end due to injury in 2020.
Seven is expected to confirm the full cast of the show in the coming days.
Big Brother VIP will air later this year.
Pop queen Kylie Minogue to be given top honour in Melbourne
She’s Melbourne’s very own pop queen. Now, Kylie will be honoured by her hometown alongside the city’s music greats.
Did you spot these Aussie TV hosts in Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar?
Former co-hosts of The Project have made a surprise return to TV in Netflix’s hit show Apple Cider Vinegar, playing characters eerily similar to their real-life roles.