The Valleys star of the last series of Big Brother has said that being on the notorious reality show helped prepare him for life in Covid lockdown. Rhondda's Akeem Griffiths claimed the months he spent in the BB house, isolated from the rest of the world with only a handful of others for company, acted as an invaluable "practice run" for the strict social restrictions brought in during the pandemic.
He also credited the long-running show with helping him meet the "love of his life" with whom he recently celebrated the birth of their baby daughter. Akeem, who hails from Treorchy in Rhondda Cynon Taf, was runner-up in the final of the long-running series in 2018 shortly before it was finally axed from the UK's airwaves.
"Having been in an artificially sealed environment like that, cut off from friends and family ,would prove really beneficial for me come Covid," said the 30-year-old, who was in the BB house for a total of 53 days. "When lockdown hit it was just like deja vu – I felt like I was right back on the programme.
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"I recognised the feeling of claustrophobia and knew immediately how to cope with it. Not that it was a walk in the park by any means but being on Big Brother did stand me in a lot better stead than the majority of the country when it came to keeping positive and motivated."
Akeem added that he moved from Wales to be with his girlfriend at her place in Kent shortly before the coronavirus travel clampdown kicked in. "After BB ended my previous relationship broke up. There were no hard feelings – we just realised we wanted different things.
"I also found myself getting quite a bit of work off the back of the show and ended up going to Canterbury one weekend to do a photoshoot. There I met my now-partner Kristina while on a night out." The couple became first-time parents in May this year.
"I've been blessed with everything that's happened to me since being on BB and wouldn't change a minute of it," said the former training consultant who initially applied to be on the show after finding out he's just been made redundant. "In fact if someone were to ask me to swap what I have for the £100k I would have received had I won I'd choose my life now without any hesitation."
Now a high-profile charity ambassador helping to raise awareness and funds for the likes of Macmillan Cancer Support and mental health group Mind, Akeem said he's excited to hear that Big Brother is set to return to our screens in 2023. Having started life on Channel Four in 2000 the show switched to Channel 5 in 2011 and will next be seen resurrected and revamped by ITV.
"But it's important that prospective contestants realise what they're getting into and do it for the right reasons," said Akeem. "My biggest piece of advice is to be genuine and don't try to be someone you're not or else the audience at home will suss you out straight away."
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