It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload the podcast last week that night. Welcome back to TV Reload. My name's Benjamin Norris, and on this podcast, I go behind the scenes with the biggest players in television. Each episode you will get a front row seat with content makers like executive producers, writers, editors, and casting agents,
plus the talent that we see on our screens. TV Reload reloads the shows that you are currently watching and gives you a better insight at our television industry and streaming services today. On the podcast, I have my mate and old housemate, Layla Sabritski, who is back in the Big Brother House now on Channel seven. Leila is one of the two returning housemates from the twenty twelve season, and who better to represent that season of Big Brother
than oats Alah Layla herself. Layla has been one of the most memorable housemates of all time, and she is joining the ogs like Tim Dormer and Reggie Byrd. In a twenty first libration of the Mother of All Reality TV Shows, Layla talks about why she returned, how she nearly said no, and the evolution of her relationship with social media. That has allowed her to have some perspective on who she wants to be in that public space.
There's no denying that Layla and I love a laugh, and we really have been fortunate enough to keep in touch through the good times and the bad. This chat is super close to my heart and I'm thrilled to have you listen in to what I call a forever conversation between two friends. So, without further ado, I'd like to welcome Layla Sabritski to TV Reload.
I think that I have got good game this year.
It's my twenty first birthday.
I always felt like it was part of my story that I was going to become a housemate, and.
I'd invited housemates both new and legendary.
Big personalities can always tend to clash here in there.
Experience be enough to take on the next generation of housemaids.
Everyone has a choice, and I don't want to be an influence within that and the.
New contenders out with Big Brother Royalty.
Shake it off, laugh, just tough fun. I think that's the superpower, is just being able to move off from things.
This is big Brother high lay Love. How are you.
Hi, Benjamin, I'm great, Thank you how.
Are you so strange because I'm talking to you, but I have to say, welcome back to Big Brother. Can you believe that this is happening again?
Thank you? No, I still you know, I just can't believe it's happening again. It's crazy.
I want to start this by saying something really important and right off the top. You are one of the most delicious friends that I have.
Well, we have had some glorious terms to together. It's actually really interesting to do this with you now because I'm trying to not go off on a tangent on all things like personal things. You know.
Well, usually when we get together and it's usually let's meet for a drink, and then we're still together, you know, twelve hours later.
Sometimes you just can't get rid of me. Ben, you can't get rid of me.
You and I spoke the night that Big Brother finished filming, and you basically didn't talk to me about Big Brother at all. I told you about what had happened in my life with the loss of a family member at one o'clock in the morning, and you stayed on the phone to me till dawn, making sure that I was okay.
But you know there's more important things in the world sometimes and that was one of them.
So that's true friendship though. I mean, you know, you had come off the back of this amazing experience of revisiting Big Brother and you know straight away you parked it all And I think that's true friendship.
Well, you know, Ben, I have so much time for you. We've been through the craziest of days and you know, the funny, old, weird life things that we did ten years ago. We were so young, so much younger then. And I heard you say with Sonya, it's like a sibling sibling relationship, and that's exactly what it is. There's a time and a place for things, and you have to make time for those people because you're going to be in my life forever.
I think it's a good point to make because I mean, you and I you know, we've clashed with things at certain points at certain times, and at times we've sort of been like, oh, it's so weird no matter what has happened. You know, when we're together, it's like we are the bestest friends in the whole world. No matter what has happened. It sort of gets put to the side.
Absolutely, And I think big personalities no matter in no matter what's setting, big personalities can always tend to clash here and there, and like this time is where we've like you said, with Sonya sibling relationship, we annoy each other, we get jealous of each other, we do these crazy things, but then when we come back, it regrounds and makes us realize that that person is going to be around for a long long time. And that's the person I
do want to share these crazy secrets with. Or you know, I need their support sometimes because they'll tell me the truth or they'll listen. And that's so important because you know these people from our season A Big Brother that I just want them to be around. I want them to know everything. I want to touch base even if it's six months, who cares, It's still six months worth of catching up to do. And we have the best
fond that's the main, most important thing. We have the best vond when we're together.
So yeah, well let's talk about that phone call. So when Big Brother came knocking? Who called? And what did they say to you?
Lisa called and she said I need to talk to you about a show. I was like, wow, a show? Hey? I thought I'm such old news. And she I was out having coffee with my mom and dad and I'd wandered off to take the phone call, and she just I could hear on the other end of the phone she was smiling and she was like, it's big brother. And I was like, oh, oh, oh, what was completely
not expecting it to be big brother. So I had to have a sit down on the bench and really take it all in because I was like, wanted to know more, but obviously certain things you can't know. And it was a funny time because you know, with the Rohans, with the Rona, like everything was all up in the air. You know, there's not really anything like set plans or dates and things. So I think it was all a lot to take in. I had to make a decision.
So you go back to the table and Dawn and Peter there, your mum and dad, and you uh to tell them because obviously you know they're your people, so you're probably not allowed to tell anyone, but you'd obviously tell Dawn and Pete. What was their reaction?
They just started laughing, you know what My mom and dad are like, They're just like, oh my gosh.
Dawn's like, I'll have a I need a cocktail. I need a cocktail.
It was out cock in the morning. She's on the Chilli margs.
As you should be. And you know, did you feel like that you could say no? Or is the power of big brother? You know, that power of the pool of big brother too strong?
It was an internal battle. I really had to sit and think about it, just because I have so much going on in my life, like it can't even make time for coffee with friends at some points. You know, I really have so much going on, and that would have just completely flipped everything upside down. And I think, after ten years, I've finally got into a space where I am settled and I am in a consistent day to day routine, which has taken bloody forever. Then you
know what it's like, it takes a long time. So I really did have a lot to think about. But then I thought, how can you just not like but you just think, how can you not do it? But at first, I'll be honest, it was more and no, just because of the girls that I look after, and they need routine and they need consistency.
I mean, we should talk about what you do for work these days. I mean, you have been on a journey with your career since the show finished, as anyone is in their twenties to their thirties, and then come on, but you know, we should talk about what it is that you've been doing, like what sort of work is that. Who are the girls that you're looking after?
So I do community and social support for young adults with disabilities. So I have two girls that I work with, and I've worked with one nearly three years and the other nearly two years, and a lot of my goals with the girls are really to try and create that routine, find stability, and we've really managed to do that through sport, community voluntary work, things like that. So we've managed to get that routine going. So I think that was where
my gray area was with leave In. That was the tricky part for me because we've nailed all those goals, but it's taken years to get there, and I didn't want it on do that in a short space of time.
And so you decided to, over the last three years with these women try and create stability, and then you went to the most unstable situation for yourself in the world, which is Big Brother.
Exactly, Ben, And you know me just because I'm creating stability for someone else doesn't mean necessarily that I am in my own life. Yeah, so I had to really sit down and think about it. It wasn't just a phone call yes no, yes see you then can't do it kind of situation.
Yeah. Yeah, And I wondered because I mean, I can only imagine what it would be like to be in your shoes. Did you worry that this experience could affect the existing relationship that you you had with big brother? I mean, did you worry that a new experience would take your twenty twelve experience?
Yeah? Absolutely, that was huge for me. I thought about it quite a bit. We had such a great experience, the best, you know, and I thought to myself, what if I do this then again and don't have such a great experience. That scared me really because you know, firsthand, people know you for this show. You know, you got really far, you won then amazing I came second, you know, and then if you didn't have just as much fun, where would that leave you in the in you know,
people's eyes as such, like followers or fans' eyes. Yeah, that was nerve wracking, And I think it's such a different environment going from a bunch of people that don't know each other that I've never done the experience before, to then a bunch of people that have done the experience before had their own little process for the journey as such, to and especially new Housemaids, well completely different,
different kettlefish. To be honest, Ben, I thought I was gonna I thought you were going to walk through the door. I do have a little bit of redemption in me with coming second. I think there's still a part of me that's, like, you know what, I could seriously win being on the show, Being in the Big Brother House before I do this is one of the advantages. I know there's always things coming. It's probably my only chance
at staying one step ahead of Big Brother. So I'll be expecting whatever comes my way.
And are these housemaids now, like you know, you've this experience is so vastly different. But are these housemates vastly different from the style of housemaids that we came to know in twenty twelve?
A million percent? A million percent. I couldn't say it enough. It's so different. Just we were like a bunch of students sharing student lodging, you know it, noodles out of a topperware container with water we'd boiled, not from a kettle, bought pat you know, with those types of housemates who you know necessarily didn't brush their hair. You know, it's just so different. Now everything's more groomed and there's a bit more higher expectation of where the future goes. I
think we just had no expectations. We were just like Nollion, what we're doing. But that's where the magic happened. That was where the sweet spot was because there was no expectation. It's just really really raw.
And being that the show is so much about strategy these days, does that impact the way in which you're able to build relationships with your housemates.
Yes, I remember saying to Zoe in twenty twelve outside on the chairs, I just want to spend as much time as I can getting to know all these aspects. I need to know everything about them because this isn't gonna last forever, and I want to have met some amazing friends. Now it's a little bit more there's intention behind conversation. It's not tell me more about your favorite colors and what do you do as a hobby. You know, it is more structure to conversations and I'm like sat
there thinking, do you actually want to know me? Or it was a bit more what's the word you just said?
The word You're worried about ulterior motives? I think, you know, I think motive?
That was it.
You know, And for you, you're so genuine and you gravitate towards genuosity as well as a person. I mean I know that about you so and it's almost your kryptonite. It's almost your achilles heel is people who are not being honest. You've always struggled with that because you kind of demand that as as a friendship because they're the
values that you have. So I can imagine I mean I haven't seen it all, but I can imagine that would be really stressful for you in the way in which you build relationships with these people, because I can imagine that would stress you out a little bit.
Yeah, it was very stressful actually in the beginning trying to create any sort of relationship because I was like, and it made me second question myself. I'm like, oh my gosh, Like, how do I level up to this? There's no way I think that I have got a good game. But when it goes to the grudge. I'm like, really, I go off my heart. My heart makes all the decision. So that was one of the struggles.
Another thing was that you're back as an All Star, You're back as a royalty, and rightfully so, you are actually in real life related to Royalty if I remember correctly, from your Secret and the first Big Brother. But you know, you were not in the country when Farmer Dave or Reggie was on Big Brother. You know, but did it feel like you were amongst Big Brother Royalty? I mean, what sort of impression did you get from those two without seeing their series.
Yeah, there's a certain sort of presence in the air, without even having to have watched the shows that they or their seasons, there's a presence. It's like just a knowing. It's so hard to explain, but there was a clear divide between that old feeling of so Wise as such, sat back so Wise. No, no, no, no, no, we should do it this way. Listen, absolutely listen to these you know, legends of the game. They know. It's not trying to,
you know, be patronizing, it's just knowing. It's just a knowing. Yeah, it's crazy. I did try on YouTube as much as I could before we went. In twenty twelve, yeah, I did try and watch a few clips just to get a better understanding of the game of Australia because it's so different in the UK, so different, but.
You wouldn't have known who was going to being there. It's not like you could be like, right, farmer Dave will be there, So I'm going to watch endless footage.
No, no, it's twenty twelve. In twenty twelve, I tried to watch YouTube of the Australian Big Brother and then I saw clips of these people, so I saw, you know, little bits of backstory on Australian housemates. So I did see Reggie Sarah Marie with a bomb dance. I think that was the top search on YouTube. FITZI, so FITZI people like that. So just to gain a better understanding because I didn't know what to expect. I was twenty three turning twenty four. That's so boody young.
But you know, it's so strange, and I don't know if this is even in the Zeigeist. I don't know if people know this because you told me this when we were in Big Brother, but you know you'd been asked to do the English version of Big Brother, which is the that is the pinnacle of Big Brother of the world. I mean, people celebrate that show probably more than any other series of the show. Australia probably second
and then maybe Canada these days. But you know, you'd already been asked to be in the English version, you know.
So I was in a beta and I got a call back. So I auditioned for the show, and my boyfriend at the time really didn't want me to do it. But anyway, I ended up just being like I couldn't do it because we've been together for a few years and we were living in a beetha and living at large. But yeah I got a call back, and yeah, I just chose not too. But it's funny how the universe works. I always felt like it was part of my story
that I was going to become a housematee. I just never knew, never in a million years thought it was going to be Australia. But how lucky am I? So lucky?
Right? Yeah? Well, yeah, what can I say? They need you, they love you, you know, the Australian audience has absolutely loved you. But another good question to ask you is do you think that you know, returning housemates, these people like yourself, tried to improve their game this time around, or do you think that they and yourself tried to stick to what worked last time?
Yeah? Good question. And then I think a few of the returning housemates really tried to up the game because, like Sonya said, it's always evolving. The game is always evolving. It's not going to be necessarily the same as ten years ago. Myself struggled with that concept because I'm such an old school format girl. You know, it's what I fell in love with when I was ten. That confused me. It was a bit confusing because I'm like, oh gosh, like, you know, need to holp the game. But they want
to see the game. The fans want to see people play the game. I know that, but it's a tricky one to sort of evolve with it when you are so much the old school ways. And I mean that's where I, like you say, with my personality type, that's where I would fit in better, Like it's a bit hard for me to be sneaky or malicious or it is what it is. The game evolves, and you've got to have gameplay. You do, you really do?
And interesting enough because you're in the house with someone who you'd have been in Big Brother with before being a Stelle. Do you think that you and Estelle had realized how different you are now ten years later, or did you guys sort of fall back into where it was, you know, in twenty twelve.
I can't really speak for Estelle. I think she probably had her own plan. I can only really go off my speak for myself, but there was a time in the house that I really just was like, I wish this was live, you know, I remember thinking it so many times, But not to take away from what it is now the show, but I think I just so heavily relied on as we all did in twenty twelve. We lost complete control of our positions in the house,
and it was kind of the beauty of it. Big Brother said to me one time in the diary room, just let girl, like this is awesome that you don't have to make the decisions like stop asking this kind of thing, stop trying to control it. And I did, and that's when the film started.
One of the most iconic Big Brother moments in the world is the song Oats Oats Ala Laila. You know, and very few people who've been on the show has their own theme song, which I think you and Josh and Stacey created one day in the backyard while having your breakfast. Because you made everyone oats every day, I think everyone in Australia wants to know, are we going to get to hear Oats Ala Leila again?
Well, you know, this is one thing I'm not going to give you the answer to. You have to watch it. You have to watch. Yeah, this is the one thing I'm just yeah, just going to have to watch and see.
I still do day ten years later, have people come up and sing me Oats Sala Leila. And it's just so funny that that's in the zeigeist that you know, it's just a part of the DNA of Big Brother.
Because if you hashtag because someone said, have you hashtagged the Oats song yet? Do it? Man? It's hellarious?
Is it? Oh? God?
Actually, don't do it. You're gonna be like, can't get rid of, can't get rid of from the house, can't get rid of for from the drums.
I loved it. Although you know it's a funny story. Is that because Big Brother was live and because we're in a pig pen that was next to dream World. I don't know if Australia knows this, but we could hear the people in the theme park, if you remember, singing oats a la leila back to us. So it was so surreal. You'd hear people go up on the giant drop I think we called it legs or whatever,
and we would hear them singing oats salalela. So we knew that the Australian audiences were, you know, were loving it. And I remember because also it's a competition, so I'm obviously very competitive. I remember holding my oats one day and heard people singing oats a la leila, and I quickly threw my oats away and was like, you know, get rid of the oats. It's a thing. You know,
she's got a theme song. She's going to destroy us all, you know, stopped singing the song and you know, and then it was like the next day they made a whole day out of it, and we filmed that very iconic scene in the kitchen where we made a music video for it. And at that point I just realized this was such an amazing thing and it needed to be celebrated. And Ben Norris stopped being so fucking competitive and just enjoy it for what it is, you know.
But you know, in the house, that would be a feeling like I was normal, wiser. I'm like, I didn't think about it as an end, but it would like if I was in this new house right now twenty twenty two and everyone was singing I don't know, Reggiana fish and chips, Reggia layla.
We just we just worked out that maybe you did not help write that song, you know, Jash and Stacy, thank you very much, well done.
Josh. No, but you know what I mean, Like if you hear that constantly and then it's live and you hear people outside seeing it, it would be a bit like, oh gosh, because, like we say, we have no idea, and having those people shout things over the fence or from the giant drop gave us a little bit of insight, even though we had to pretend we couldn't hear them. Blah blah blah blahlah.
We'll take this out of the take me out of the equation with this. But when you were asked to come back to the show, and you just assumed that there'd be people coming back, and now people that didn't come back. Are there people in the Big Brother experience that you've watched over the years that you think deserve to have a bit of a reboot, a bit of a glow up, a bit of a refresh as to where they are now.
I'm not just being biased, but there was plenty of awesomeness come from our year. There was. It was so effortless, it was just complete entertainment. And it was like your josh Is, You're Michaels, you Stacy, you know, it's just your gold entertainment that people from eight years old to twenty eight years old, thirty eight fort year everyone could relate and laugh at Bradley.
You know it needs to come back.
There is a housemate actually reminds me so much of Bradley in the New In.
The New One, Yeah, oh wow, knowing you as well as I do, did you accidentally call him Bradley?
But I just I kept saying, you remind me so much of someone that I know. I couldn't believe. Yeah, I didn't tell him who, but yeah, I'm going to tell him. I will have to lame that he.
Probably he probably already knows because I looked at that person and thought straight away, is that Bradley is Bradley back? What did I miss the press release?
Like it's so I But on his Instagram page he's wearing a full salad thing and he's doing a salad song, Caesus this salad.
I'm like, what, Leila, have we ever thought about the fact that it could be Bradley, Like we haven't seen Bradley in a long time. Maybe maybe that's maybe he was there.
Pretending didn't know me.
What a new name. You know, you were the queen of social media back in the day, Like people got followings out of being on Big Brother in twenty twelve, but you know, it was so new, but you had so many people and you were you were at the very foundation of influences and Instagram and and it was
so new and you adopted to it so quickly. So I think, I want to know what's different about social media in twenty twenty two, and how has that world changed since you know, you did have this this huge following. You know, how has that world changed?
Oh? You know, I don't even feel like I actually did it up twelve to social media. I felt a little bit out of my dad with it. It was such a big world out there, and we didn't really have the get go like you know, some of the newer house members did after us. That's when it really started to hit the ground running. But I think at the time I really thought, you know, this is great. I'm just going to keep going with it. I'll keep doing my post, engaging with the audience, the fans of
Big Brother. But I got to a point that I just got so overwhelmed by it and I just completely stopped posting. I just stopped. I didn't know what to do with it. You really have to create a job out of it. It's full time thing, and I think even more so now it's ever changing social media is evolving. It's like a full time commitment to have to learn about the socials and stuff. And I think the newer housemates, the newer generation of housemates, they were a bit more
ahead on that sort of thing. We were so behind when it came to the socials. We got out and were like, oh my gosh. But remember when I had a dream that I didn't get in the twenty twelve house, I had a dream one night, really randomly that I didn't get. I only got like two Twitter followers. Well, the next day I was crying, I think seeing I don't know, I think I only got two followers if I got out the house, I've only got two followers. That means no one liked me.
And then you had like it was like everyone got like twenty thousand or whatever, and I think you had like one hundred and fifty thousand, like so quickly. And you know, and I remember having a conversation with you as you decided to sort of take a step back from that, which I thought was really interesting because you
were talking about that position. You didn't want to be in that space where you were selling things to younger people, younger women, and you know that pressure of being, you know, someone for these younger women to look up to you. I mean you yourself were like, who am I to do this? And I thought that was a really interesting intersection of your time to then step away, you know, like what happened there.
I just I have a young girl that's followed me from the show and had like, you know, a page she won't mind me talking about her, Kayla, And she had a page Kayla looks Leila, and she was at school at the time, and she had posters on a wall, and you know that's And I just remember one day being like, I have so many young girls that follow me. Our demographic of people were, you know, high school, our time at the show, and I just remember feeling like,
who am I to promote certain things? I thought that generation are so easily influenced, because I know I was so easily influenced when it comes to things like diets, and I don't know, just the way that people go on about the body image that stressed me out. I felt the pressure of that, and people were constantly commenting on my body and I thought, why is everyone just going on about this? Why is it a thing? Why
can't we just move on from it? They'd be like, oh my gosh, you look so amazing, you've lost weight. I'm like, oh my gosh, so did I look crap before? Like, you know, it was just this real toxic environment. And I could see where social media was about to go. I could see it. It had already started, and it was just the groundworks were being put in place, and now it has gone exactly where I knew it was. Filtered, faces changed, bodies edited, smoothed to the death. You know,
there's this app that changes your whole face. Like that's so sad to me because you look at a girl's face and you're like, gosh, she's so beautiful and young, and you know your youth is where you're just glowing, and they're covering that youth with this fake face, and it makes me sad. I feel like I'm so passionate about this. I'm talking about it really passionately now because I just feel sad for young people and you know, the pressures of society. I was, obviously in the last
Big Brother a bit bigger. You know, I was carrying more weight. I feel like there was so much pressure then going out of the house, not knowing where to be and where I fit in. Now it's great because you know, younger girls are being more open about body image to a certain extent, but it still brings it
back to this toxic sort of audience. I don't know, it just I just didn't want to be a part of that, and I didn't want to tell people, oh my gosh, you know, I've just gotten three millers of fillers or boatox, and look how good before and after is? That's toxic to me. If I want to go and get fillers or botox. I'll do it, but everyone has a choice, and I don't want to be an influence within that.
I thought you were. I thought you were Beyonce. I'm sure you remember me saying this to you. I remember the second day I was in the house with you in twenty twelve. I slipped into the water and I was conscious about my body and my appearance, and I slipped into the water and you were sort of coming along behind me. We were trying to join up with everyone else. At that time. It's very loud and it was very hard to get involved, but you and I were sort of slowly trying to get into the core
group that was sort of happening. And I looked back at you and I was like, oh my god, you're beautiful, like you're Beyonce, and you were like, no, I'm not. And then when you turn up on this new series, straight away Johnson's like, oh my god, you're You're beautiful.
And I guess this is a strange thing to say and a strange typrope to walk, because I don't want to get into trouble with it, but I do think that you were just as beautiful then with that and I think it's baby, you know, it's like puppy fat in a way. Like I felt like you were so beautiful then, and yes you are beautiful now and you've done it in the most healthiest way possible. Like that weight loss that you did eventually have came down to, you know, drink less and what food am I putting
in my body? And I remember one time he said to me, I've changed my diet and I'm eating everything I want to eat, like I'm eating so much and I'm not putting the weight on because I now know what my body needs. And I think that is something that we should and you should, as a woman in media at the moment, work with and you know, put out into the universe because I think it's important. And I guess that sort of lends me to that question of you know, how are you going to work social
media this time around? Are you going to be on social media? And how is it going to be different.
I definitely will utilize my social media for the best. Like we're talking about now, I think a lot of your health or where you want to be if you do have weight loss goals, that's fine. Everyone is entailed to want to be who you want to be. But I think a lot of it has to do with your mental health, like waking up early, seizing the day, going on walks, not focusing on specifically weight loss, not being stressed, not causing your body stress, because that is
a big part of it. If you forget about losing weight and you just concentrate on being happy, it's amazing what happens, because I think that's what it was. It's like this eighty twenty Friday. I make sure I wake up for sunrises. I make sure I take the dog for a walk. I make sure I get all my steps in. I eat super clean foods because it fuels me with goodness. I have more energy. I enjoy your coffee. I might fancy a cake. Who cares. But it's just
feeling good and concentrating on those feel good things. I think that's probably one thing that I would tell women, like, what's the point of focusing on all of these things to try and make you feel good if you're not living the day to day routine of feeling good, like meditation, just sitting and being present with yourself. Even if sometimes my brain is like I just go from one thing to another, I'm so fast. Sometimes I have to really
sit down and concentrate. But giving myself one hour of a day or half an hour just to be present and mindful. I've started making pottery. Oh my gosh, this is so round. But just these little things like being creative, making pottery, sitting there on my own with clay, oh my gosh, just changes everything mine. I think it's mindful. Yeah, And if you can create those little things for yourself and live a bit more wholesome and less fast, and live for yourself and not for other people, don't do
things for other people. Don't try and make a decision based on what it's going to make you look like two other people, because no one cares. Nobody really cares. It's only you that has to wake up and go to bed and be wholesome during the day. So I think that's probably where I can share those little things only because it's worked for me. I can share those little things with people, and you are in control of
your social media. This is one thing I learned, and it's taken me ten years to learn, just because I didn't want to do posts and stuff and be part of this online influencer type personality. Doesn't mean, I can't work with brands that do align with me. I just completely shut off. I was like, no, you can't do it. But really, there's people out there that are on the same mission as me, that are women empowerment and want that wholesome living sort of lifestyle, that have ethnical workplaces
for the people that work for the company. So work with people. It's just finding those companies that we can collaborate with.
I said this to you when I mean, as you know from listening to my chat with Sonya, I've watched the first few episodes of the show, and you know obviously you are a very dear friend of mine, so I can't really we have to sort of be very careful and what we can communicate back and forward from what your experience was to what I can see because
of that relationship. But I did say to you, how beautiful, Like I was like, Leila, you look so beautiful in these pieces to camera, And I'm not just saying that to blow smoke up your ass. But I think the interesting thing about that is that you've got a lot of older fans that have been around for a very long time, which I can imagine popping out of the woodworks. But I think it's amazing for those older fans to turn up and see how far you've come and to
see where you're at now. And I guess that's why they're doing it. I think that's why they're bringing Big Brother back this way and bringing back such iconic players so Australia can see where you've been and where you've been. Laila has been really fascinating. It's very interesting and I think it's important for these types of conversations that we're having now to be out there.
Yeah you know, oh thanks Ben, Yeah, No, that means a lot. We both have older followers because they've all left school ten years ago so now so now they're in the twenties. But you know what I mean, like that it's changed, it has evolved.
I did hear a rumor that one of the housemates said to you that they were like fifteen or something when they when you were in the show. They were like, I was a fan of yours, you know, like I can't remember who told me that. I've got to be really careful, but I can't remember who told me that. But they were like someone went up to Laila and was like maybe they weren't fifteen? Were they twelve? I don't know, is this a real story. Did someone come up to you and say they were a teenager or
something one of the new housemates. Did one of the new housemates come up and say they were a teenager?
Twelve? I think, and I thought, oh gosh, this is all I'm all, I'm officially old.
What about this time around? What is your biggest strength in this new format? Like, what do you think is Layla's superpower this time around?
I think is the ability to just laugh, shake it off, laugh, just tough on. I think that's the superpower, is just being able to move on from things.
I think this time around, from what I've seen so far, is your ability to connect with people and to listen to people and even if they've got a difference of an opinion. I think you're a deep thinker and I think that you're offering that back to them, and whether or not they're willing to listen, you know, that's up to them. But I think your superpower is your ability to relate to other people and to communicate.
And you know what, like everyone needs to it needs to be fun. It needs to be fun and lighthearted because that's who we work is full and lighthearted. Do you have to be a little bit of the old back with a little bit of the new stir it in the part and what do we do? You know? But how good would it have been to have Josh back, Like just going back to the housemates situation, we had like a heavy two thousand and thirty team housemate energy
happening in the house. I think it would have been so nice to have a couple more from each of the series, you know, back in the day, it would have been nice just to see how they have evolved and such a core group of people like awesome, I kind of loved us in Josh. Just to make some more.
Well, Sonya thinks we'll do another one, so you know that.
There's oh yeah, yeah, I heard the podcast.
I need there to be another three though, because I was talking about this with Sonya and Ben's a belle. Ben from Brisbane is one of the most iconic Big Brother players, So if they were to do another one, they have to put Ben in next time round. So I've got a few I've got a few more series that I've got to wait before I can can make my way there.
No, but you know, but no, you might have to go in with Ben. With Ben, but even people like Angie.
Angie was such a big character in our season, like the sky Wheatley is completely different but also a huge character as part of the seasons.
You know, so many people I could honestly, it's actually not a bad idea to do this concept a few more times. There's so many people out there.
But you know the reason why they have to do it with the fans versus favorites, you know, the newbies versus the ogs, is because if you put just OG's in there, it would be a Big brother retirement village because most of the people are so old now and they're like and the twist of Big Brothers. This time everyone is over the age of forty.
But there's just one thing right and you know, it's like it's all been a glow up, Like if you look at the old pictures of everyone, doesn't matter how old they are, right now, they have blown right up.
I have to quickly say before you finish up, congratulations on your engagement. It's been on social media everywhere and I just you know, and I've been lucky enough to meet James, and so I just think it's it's very wonderful.
I never thought it was going to happen, to be honest, I thought I was engagementable. Is that a word?
Well, you know I love it, and you know I love a proposal, so I'm here for it.
You do, I think you. I don't think anyone can beat that kind of proposal. Real high, then, real high.
I'm still not married. I'm still not married. So married, I don't think I'm what did you just say, I'm unengageable, I'm unweitable. Apparently I proposed he said yes, but then he was like, oh, I don't know. He's still here, he's in the next room. So I always say to people when they asked me on the street, they're like, why did when did you get why did you get married? And I'm like, isn't it okay that I'm still with him?
Like you, I think that's the best thing, that we're actually still together, you know, not that we got married back in the day and got divorced.
You know, yeah, yeah, exactly, that's something to celebrate. It's been many many years, you know. I think it's just the same, Samesy like, it doesn't feel too much different in actual fact, it's better that I'm engaged right now. So I'm happy for this long engagement because it's been so nice, Like it's just been so much calm. I feel both feel settled. Well, we've had more and more breakups and get back together than the Spies girls.
So is that well, see if you can beat me, my friend, See if you can beat me You've got ten years to stay engaged for without ever having a.
Wedding challenge accepted, Ben.
Well, My last question to ask you, which is something I ask everyone that joins the podcast, is you know what is something from behind the scenes that we're as an audience would love to know that we won't see on Big Brother this year. A bit of a behind the scenes you know from the twenty twenty two Big Brother experience.
I don't know what no one's going to see. Yeah, I don't know what no one's going to be, do you know what I mean? The bruises that I sustained on my rear end, we're awful from the challenges. No one's going to see that, I'm guessing.
So that's where those Maxi dresses come in handy. You know, there's beautiful dresses. Is not for the aesthetic, but just to cover up the fact that Big Brother is abusive these days and you've been been from head to time.
And brses. But I think no one's going to see my rear riend with the bruises. But other than that, I don't know what anyone's not going to see it. We'll have to touch base again so I can be actually this happened. Well.
Sonya already wants to come back from mid season catchup. She's like, I want to come back to the podcast and we need to do a mid season catchup, so we should do it together, and we should back with Sony because I know how much Sonya has shares so much time for you and loves you. So yeah, so we'll have to do it. We'll do it free way.
Yeah, we'll do it our first three way with Sonya, is it? I mean when we were in the garden, me and Sonya.
Was on the screen, You're a you've both got the wrong plumbing for me, So it'll be a fairly it'll be a geer rated freeway anyway.
I love you.
I love you so much as you know, as as your friend and you know now as a viewer of you on Big Brother being in the audience. I have you back, and I love you and I just can't wait to watch it.
All unfold and I love you too. Thanks. Honestly, I've had the best time chatting to you today. Then,