Everything You Need To Know About The Iconic Housemates Returning To ‘Big Brother’
Following a lacklustre celebrity version, Big Brother is back with a season pitting some of the reality show’s most iconic housemates against newbies — and we couldn’t be anymore excited.
The line-up is stacked! We’re talking true legends of the game like winners Reggie Bird, Trevor Butler, and Tim Dormer, along with drama magnets Estelle Landry, Tully Smyth, and Anthony Drew. Thankfully, there’s also returnees to bring the good vibes like charming Brit Layla Subritzky and Australia’s most famous ‘gay farmer’ David Graham.
WE CAN’T WAIT!!
For people that haven’t watched every season of Big Brother, or simply can’t remember housemates who competed over a decade ago, here’s a recap of who these people are and why they’re absolute icons.
Everything you need to know about the housemates returning to Big Brother on the upcoming season:
Reggie Bird, Season 3 Winner
Reggie is hands-down one of the most legendary contestants to ever grace Australian reality TV. She was unapologetically herself: just a simple gal from Tassie who owned a fish and chip shop with her then-husband. Reggie told it like it is, winning over a legion of fans in the process. She won against the nation’s sweetheart Chrissie Swan, which speaks to just how wildly popular she was in 2003.
In the years since her win, Reggie has had a rough time. A year after being crowned the winner, she was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition leaving her legally blind, before suffering a stroke in 2017. Reggie was also scammed out of a portion of her $250k prize money by a man pretending to be a TV producer who pitched the idea for her to host a travel show.
In short, Reggie is more than deserving to win this year’s Big Brother.
Trevor Butler, Season 4 Winner
Trevor won the highest prize fund ever offered by Big Brother: a whopping $1 million. He also featured on arguably the show’s best season, introducing Australia to the likes of Bree Amer, Merlin Luck (of ‘Free The Refugees’ fame) and Ryan Fitzgerald, but it was Trevor who won the hearts of the nation for his hilarious antics and easygoing nature.
After winning Season 4, Trevor proposed to his longtime girlfriend Breea Forrest live on stage — and (luckily) she said ‘yes’. The couple are still together to this day and spent the past decade raising two sons. Trevor went on to have a successful career working in radio for the Gold Coast’s Hot Tomato 102.9, along with doing occasional MC gigs. Speaking to Punkee in 2019, Trevor told us he “bought a house and invested,” with his sizeable prize money.
David Graham, Season 6 Housemate
Sold as the season’s “gay farmer”, David made headlines when he revealed to his fellow housemates that he was gay. This shouldn’t be anything particularly newsworthy, but back in 2006 when queer people were still seldom seen on reality TV, this was something to celebrate — making David a truly unforgettable housemate.
While Dave quickly found a huge following among fans, he wasn’t always popular in the house. He got into arguments with his fellow housemates and in one truly loose moment, he threatened to leave the house after being accused of being strategic. David did form a sweet bond with queer hairdresser Rob Rigley, along with a tumultuous friendship with Camilla Severi.
David came third in the Big Brother finale and in the years since has found a new career path as a dog trainer and become a father to three daughters.
Layla Subritzky, Season 9 Runner-Up
If you have never sang to yourself “Oats ala Layla, oats oats ala Layla,” then you simply can’t call yourself a true Big Brother stan. The song was a goddamn banger, taking inspiration from Layla’s penchant for cooking the housemates oats every morning. Other than inspiring surprise pop hits, Layla is most remembered for her charming British accent, on/off friendship with Angie Murray, and providing fans with a Big Brother romance when she started to date intruder Sam Wallace in the house.
Layla came runner-up behind Benjamin Norris and went on to star in the following season of Celebrity Apprentice. Layla’s brother, David, recently found reality TV fame after he starred on this year’s I’m A Celebrity as the first non-celebrity ever cast.
Estelle Landy, Season 9 Housemate
Estelle was a skater girl/law student who struggled during her time in the house, finding herself alienated by most of the 2012 housemates. She even holds the record for the most nomination points received in a single round, and in one particularly savage twist, Estelle watched her fellow housemates nominate her, overhearing one say that “everyone hates” her.
While Estelle struggled to make allies in the house, it was a different story among viewers watching at home: Estelle found a cult following. Referring to themselves as the ‘Stellahood’, Estelle’s stans rallied around the quirky contestant, ensuring that each week she was nominated (and she was nominated eight times) she would be saved.
Estelle eventually placed third in the Big Brother finale behind Layla and Ben. In the years since her BB debut, Estelle became a horse riding coach, and according to her Instagram she’s still an avid skateboarder.
Tim Dormer, Season 10 Winner
Tim was one of the most entertaining housemates of all time and while his antics in the house infuriated his costars, Australia couldn’t get enough of him. It started with a task where Big Brother gave Tim a decision: to return the women’s hair straighteners, or for Tim to be rewarded with a tub of his favourite ice cream. Night after night, Tim chose Ben and Jerry’s, giggling to himself as he scoffed his face.
Tim got the house offside again when he told them it was his birthday and Big Brother would be throwing them a party. As the housemates waited expectantly in the Diary Room for party supplies to arrive, Big Brother told them that it was not Tim’s birthday to the annoyance of everyone but Tim. Very funny! Tim did have one supporter in the house, Drew, and the two became the house ‘misfits’, who took on the role of pranking everyone and generally causing chaos.
Considering how much screen time Tim stole during his BB stint, it came as no surprise when he was crowned the winner. Since winning the show, Tim went on to star in Canada’s Big Brother in 2016 where he managed to place third. He now works as a support worker and is an avid traveller, posting loads of travel inspo with his partner.
Anthony Drew, Season 10 Housemate
Be still my beating heart, Drew was a goddamn dreamboat. Between his grungy fashion sense, nose ring, and perfect face, Drew ignited Australia’s thirst when he arrived in the house on the 2013 season. But he did not arrive alone, Drew was dropped in alongside Jade Albany, with the two strangers tasked with convincing the other housemates they were married.
Drew and Jade were not meant to be and it was another housemate who caught Drew’s eye: Tully Smyth. The only problem? Tully had a girlfriend. However, this did not stop Drew and Tully from starting a scandalous affair. If you want to know all about Drew and Tully’s cheating scandal, we’ve done an explainer here.
Oddly enough, the controversy didn’t seem to hurt Drew’s popularity, as he ended up placing fourth in the finale. He and Tully dated for a short time, before breaking up after only a few months.
In the years since, Drew has dated a string of influencers and reality stars, including Ruby Bellinger and allegedly The Bachelor’s Leah Costa, who teased that she was engaged to Drew, but he denied their relationship was anything more than a “casual” fling. Leah later described posting an engagement ring as a “hoax” intended to be a “social experiment”. Sure, sis!
These days, Drew runs a bar in Melbourne.
Tully Smyth, Season 10 Housemate
Find a more divisive housemate in the history of Big Brother, I’ll wait. Even before Drully sent fans into a state of fury, Tully was a reality character who viewers loved to hate. She was often only shown in two modes: high energy and bubbly, or moping around the house, crying, and hating life.
Tully’s ever-changing moods meant she was the target of nominations, leaving her up for eviction four out of the eight weeks she was in the house. Tully’s eviction became one of the most-watched episodes, drawing in a mammoth 1.2 million viewers.
While Tully didn’t win too many fans during her stint on the reality show, jokes on y’all as she managed to become one of the series’ most successful stars. In the vein of Abbie Chatfield, Tully ran with her status as reality TV villain, starting podcast Too Much Tully and leveraging her newfound fame to build a career as an influencer and model.
After a string of rumoured flings with reality stars ranging from The Bachelor’s Richie Strahan to The Bachelorette’s Ciarran Stott, Tully is currently dating Daniel Parisi.
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