Big Brother's Farida speaks out on ‘fame hungry’ claims and why oldest women faced eviction (exclusive)

First to leave Big Brother, Farida, has vowed to continue to build her celebrity profile as she brushed off claims that she is "fame hungry".

"People might say I’m fame hungry," she exclusively told Yahoo. "But I've got a business, I will continue to hustle. I've come from a very challenging background and I've beat a lot of the norms and I'm still proudly practicing my faith and a lot of people say I inspire them. I will continue to build my profile."

Also in our exclusive chat the Muslim makeup artist, 50, revealed why she thinks the two oldest women were up for eviction.

Plus she voiced her initial anxieties over whether she would be compromising her faith by taking part in a reality TV show with 24/7 cameras.

Once she burst onto our TV screens for the reboot of Big Brother, many people were quick to recognise the rising star but where from?

Eagle-eyed viewers had spotted that the Wolverhampton-based star had already been on the small screen before - including recent reality TV appearances on Blankety Blank and Come Dine With Me.

Farida: 'People might say I’m fame hungry'

But all the buzz around her doesn’t phase her and she would "never say never" to another reality TV series.

She added: "I've got sort of plans to do hairstyling and makeover training for the students. And why wouldn't I increase my profile? Because the more I increase mine, the better it is for the students that learn beneath me because then it's like, 'Wow, it's Farida that's been on those TV shows we're learning from her'. I've been in the business for 23 years. Why wouldn’t I do that? Why wouldn’t I help my TikTok shop?"

Oldest women face Big Brother vote

Friday's live eviction saw the two oldest housemates — who are both women — face the public vote for the first time this series.

The makeup mogul was first out, having gone head-to-head with 40-year-old NHS manager Kerry - who also has a background in reality TV.

Social media has been rife over whether the two oldest women in the house facing the vote was down to ageism.

However, the Big Brother contestant shrugged it off saying it was inevitable because of the social dynamics in the house. She pointed out how all the 20 to 30 year olds stuck together.

She said: "It will always be like that. It’s social dynamics if you understand behaviours. Like I said to you, my background is in health and social care behaviours, it’s something I have studied. And that was what I was trying to explain to Kerry but she just wouldn’t get it.

"Of course, you're going to look out for your own, it's like brothers and sisters. If your siblings, you look out for each other when you're in that sort of setting, that's what you do. You adapt people as your mummy or your brother or your sister.

"All the 20-30 year olds, they're all going to because they're built emotional attachments, they've built strong friendships. I didn’t feel that I had an emotional attachment with anyone in that group.

"Whereas the likes of Chanel and Matty, they're together then the likes of Paul, Tom and Jenkins. Then there's Henry and Jordan, they're together so they're gonna look out for each other, aren't they? That's what you do.

"And I’m telling you it is that or the more they learned about me, the more they wanted me out because they saw me as a threat. It's clear they could see that. I was a businesswoman. I was strategic about why I was there."

Being Muslim on TV

Ahead of the series, the Big Brother star had said she wanted to bring about change because Muslim women have been really underrepresented on TV so far.

Reflecting on her time in the house, Farida said: "I'm so pleased that I didn't compromise my faith. I was very, very blessed and very lucky because some people were really confused on social media and had written that they couldn't understand how I was gonna be able to wash my hair, brush my hair, have a wash, get changed.

"But Big Brother really did pull out: they've given me my own fridge, they've given me my own freezer. They've given me pots, pans, cups, plates. I got my own hair mat, my own Quran, my own alarm clock, which has never been heard of, I had to keep the time to myself, I wasn't allowed to share the time with the other housemates, but it's just so that I can practice my faith."

Despite her initial worries about TV, Farida was delighted to receive an overwhelming positive response to the show.

The rising star said the Muslim community were “respectful” of her appearance on the show and, she hoped, "proud" of how she came across on TV.

She told us: "I received a call from a guy, not from my background but from a different faith. And he said to me, 'Farida, it inspired my mum to apply for Big Brother.' I’ve had so many positive messages. When initially I went in, I was a little worried: am I going to be compromising my faith?

"I was a bit worried about the fact I have to sleep with a hat on because in reality I don’t have to sleep with my head covered at home. I’m more relaxed with my pajamas. I have special pajamas made that were like with my little bonnets and with my long sleeves so that my pajamas were modest.

"The Muslim community, they’ve all been really respectful and I think proud of how I came across on TV as true to myself. People that know me in real life know I’m a very loving, caring and fun person. The only thing that I've got to say that I felt didn't come out was the true fun character that I am."

Who will win Big Brother?

Having lived inside the house herself, of course Farida has a few favourite housemates.

Yinrun — who is the frontrunner according to the odds to win the show at the moment — and Zak both sprung to mind when asked who she would like to go all the way in the competition.

Revealing why, she said: "I would like Zak to win because I love Zak. Equally Yinrun. I tell you what she excelled as the wig boss. That activity she had me in stitches when I was asking her about that lovely hairstyle! She said, 'I know it’s leaning.'

"Quite often she was consoling me. She said to me, ‘You’re very, very strong for this nomination. If that’s me, I collapse.' I said, 'Yinrun you can’t do that.' She said, 'Emotionally I’m not very good for this.'

"I'd love Yinrun to win because of her humour, her character, her innocence but equally I absolutely adore Zak."

Big Brother continues at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

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