Oh Brother

SO, another star-studded contest is almost over, and here we get to see who emerges victorious after three weeks in TV land’s most famous prefab.

The action kicked off with Davina McCall braving a harsh winter’s night to reveal this year’s contestants.

Among the first few to enter the house was Verne Troyer, the 2ft 8in thesp who made his name as Mini Me in the Austin Powers movies. Within a few hours he was many viewers’ favourite participant, not least because they had actually heard of him.

By the time singer Ben Adams and politician Tommy Sheridan went into the abode, some wondered if the regular Big Brother had started early and the Celebrity part of the moniker was a mistake.

However, things looked more promising when glamour model Lucy Pinder and diva Michelle Heaton raised the temperature a few notches.

Other housemates proved controversial.

Coolio may have made his name with Nineties hit Gangstas Paradise, but with no TV, stereo or mod cons in the house, he found it all a little dull. Before long, his favourite form of entertainment was winding up the fellow contestants.

It didn’t help that he treated some rations like they were his own, and left presenter Terry Christian fuming when he started cooking a pile of chicken without asking anyone how they liked it.

As for his rapping, Ulrika Jonsson rolled her eyes every time he launched into a barrage of lyrics, and claimed his volume and massive presence can get a little bit tiring.

It’s a good job most episodes were screened after the watershed, because Shameless veteran Tina Malone would have left countless bleep machines working overtime. She racked up more uses of the f-word in one episode than many contestants manage in an entire series.

Inevitably, the shadow of Shilpagate from the previous CBB has loomed large over this year’s series.

While there have been a few minor ructions, everything seems more relaxed both outside and inside the Borehamwood set. However, there’s a good bet producers will breathe a sigh of relief if this finale goes off without incident.

The question on many fans lips is: who will follow in the footsteps of former winners Jack Dee, Mark Owen, Bez, Chantelle Houghton and Shilpa Shetty?

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (BBC1, 10.35pm)

JONATHAN ROSS, who became public enemy number one in the wake of Manuelgate, makes his return to the screen, and a record number of viewers are expected to tune in to see if the cheeky presenter is going to tone down his act, or continue doing what he does best.

After three months in the wilderness for his part in the lewd phone calls made to actor Andrew Sachs, Rossy’s suspension is over, and the man once seen as Mr BBC will soon be all over Auntie once again.

For his comeback, he’s joined by Hollywood star Tom Cruise (who’s been known to jump up and down on the sofa while on a chat show), Stephen Fry and Lee Evans.

On the music side, Franz Ferdinand perform their latest single Ulysses in the studio.

Life Spam: My Child is French (BBC3, 11pm)

WITH an impressive CV which boasts appearances in The Mighty Boosh, Star Stories, The IT Crowd and Pulling, Alice Lowe is one of the nation’s most promising female comics.

Always on song despite being limited to a number of bit-part appearances in the aforementioned shows, she takes centre stage in this spoof documentary, which she also wrote.

The half-hour programme features a woman who struggles to cope with her son’s rare and debilitating condition.

Hardly sounds like a subject to poke fun at, but we’ll see.

The programme also features the stories of a man who has 1,000 wives (how does he remember all their birthdays?), and a woman who lives in hair.