Big Brother contestant reveals brutal reality

Gretel would never have allowed this. Big Brother’s latest evictee reveals exactly what happens when the contestants leave the house.

Big Brother contestants booted from the house during the show’s original run could at least dull their pain with one final moment in the spotlight.

Sure, your fellow competitors had nominated you for eviction and the general public had dutifully voted you out, but your walk of shame didn’t last long: You emerged from the house to hundreds of screaming fans as host Gretel Kileen swept you up in a comforting hug.

Gretel then sat you down for full post-house debrief live on TV where you could settle old scores, analyse what went wrong or even stage a one-person protest.

Onya Merlin. Picture: Queensland / Demonstration

Not so, Big Brother 2020. Seven’s reboot of the classic reality franchise – controversially filmed months in advance, rather than live — doesn’t offer evicted contestants the same moment of glory.

This season’s second booted contestant, Allan Liang, confessed to news.com.au his exit was so swift and unceremonious he assumed it must’ve been a fake out. Not even host Sonia Kruger, who’d just announced his eviction via video link, was there to wave him off as he left the Big Brother house at North Head, Manly.

“I walked out the door and into a car. I was expecting Sonia to be outside, but … not with the new format. It all happened so quickly that I truly thought it was a fake eviction, I didn’t think it was real,” he said.

A dark, lonely drive away from the Big Brother house.

“It was only once the car dropped me off at the hotel that I realised, ‘Oh s**t … there’s no more.’ The producers told me ‘Oh Allan, you were so calm when you were evicted!’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, because I thought it was fake!’ If I didn’t think I was going back in 15 minutes later I wouldn’t have hugged everyone.”

Allan’s insistence that he was being pranked by Big Brother was not helped by the fact his housemates had spent the day convincing him they were all voting for Kieren. In the end, only Allan voted for Kieran, copping 12 out of the 14 possible votes himself.

“I was so calm the whole day, relaxing by the pool. I felt so relaxed because I was convinced I was staying in the house and Kieran was going home. I had no idea that Garth had a full campaign to get me out,” he said.

Sonia called his name …

… and Allan was hustled into a waiting car.

“So I thought it was all fake … it was only when I got back to the hotel that I thought, ‘Of course, it’s a blindside. I’m one of the strongest players.’ Even in episode one: Laura didn’t leave because she was an introvert who didn’t connect with anyone. She left because she was one of the strongest players.”

Allan had a brief but lively tenure in the Big Brother house, giving an excess of energy from the moment he entered. He admitted it had been “confronting” watching the episodes back and realising his behaviour had rankled with his fellow housemates — like former footy player Daniel, who murmered on night one that he wanted to throw him over the fence.

“I remember that exact moment, I was having so much fun. To see Daniel say a comment like that … it was very confronting,” said Allan.

“You really never know what people are saying behind your back.”