Big Brother has now passed through its initial familiarisation process where the housemates develop friendships and allegiances resulting in the grouping of individuals into opposing camps with a few neutrals floating between. Big Brother betting has seen these events encouraged this year by the availability of two separate sleeping spaces, the Luxury Bedroom and the more austere, army type sleeping quarters of B Block which is furnished with harder beds and blankets rather than the sumptuous duvets available in the other boudoir.

Recent events, though, have brought about radical change. Apart from the forced departure of Alexandra and Dennis for rule breaking, Jennifer, Sylvia and, crucially, Mario, all incumbents of the Luxury Bedroom, have been evicted by public vote and the dynamics of the house now hang in the balance. Mario was regarded as a mentor figure by some housemates, particularly those in the luxury bedroom and his departure has led to a power vacuum which his disciples want quickly filled before the occupants of B Block mount a coup and attract less committed housemates over to their side. The cause of the Luxury Bedroom has not been helped by the new arrival of Belinda, Belinda, Belinda, whose extraterrestrial snoring has already caused some hasty defections.

Matters are further complicated by the election, imposed by Big Brother, of a Leader of the House. Candidates, Luke, Darnell and Dale have stood and are awaiting the results of the ballot. Each is a strong figure and all made good speeches. Curiously, two did not vote for themselves. Luke, the online bookies favourite male to win outright, is an assemblage of all that is regarded as deeply uncool and, yet, has attracted the most support from online betting fans. Dale, who is handsome, icy and detached, is way down the field. Kat still leads the field outright, on the female front, but may not maintain the pace in the final stages. Rebecca, twice a survivor of the public vote, remains the most reviled of the girls, apart from snoring Belinda, but has a curious charm, plus a bizarre relationship with Luke, that may see her hang in there for a few weeks yet.