Life thru a lens

Dr Lloyd-Elliott points out that although the financial stakes and the chances for eviction are evenly spread, some personality types are better equipped to cope with the house environment than others. ‘People who are more introverted and self-reliant may be able to cope better than bubbly personalities who may react badly if they do not always get all the attention they crave,’ he says.

But do the show's bosses have a responsibility to make sure contestants don't suffer in the surreal world they have created? Big Brother hired psychiatrists to be on hand for the past housemates with the promise that nothing they revealed would be broadcast, but Dr Lloyd-Elliott believes the buck ultimately stops with the contestant.He says: ‘The shows have potential to be dangerous for people if they are handled badly by unscrupulous programme makers. But ultimately we are all responsible for our actions whatever the environment.Most of the people who go in for Big Brother know what they are letting themselves in for. To some extent you make your own bed – and you lie in it.’