A 1.93m-tall model with a
Higher National Diploma in Maritime Studies, Tayo, from Nigeria, certainly
stands out in a crowd. He lists his favourite foods as Eba an Okra Soup mixed
with fish stew, his favourite musicians as 2Face Idibia, Beautiful Nubia and D’Banj.
Tayo says his favourite place
in Nigeria is Oyo Town, his place of birth. ‘That’s my home, where I started
life. It reminds me of who I am now and how far I’ve come in life,’ he says. He
says the best thing about Africa is ‘culture and pride’ and that his favourite
place outside of Nigeria is South Africa, which he calls his ‘home away from
home’.
He entered Big Brother Hotshots because he believed
in himself, and was also encouraged to enter by others. ‘I like to be seen and
to be heard,’ he says. Tayo says he’s not willing to change who he is or
disgrace his family and friends to impress viewers or his fellow Housemates. If
Tayo wins the grand prize, he says he’ll, set up his life and give himself a
life of luxury.
Mozambique
Trezagah
Age: 31
Hip hop singer Trezagah
studied Civil Engineering. He doesn’t have a favourite food, because he says he
loves eating and ‘I eat everything! The classic Hardy Boys books are his
favourite, while he enjoys the Discovery and National Geographic channels on TV
because he likes to ‘watch crocodiles and sharks attacking’.
Trezagah was inspired to enter
Big Brother Hotshots by watching previous seasons. He is both happy and nervous
at the thought of having the continent’s eyes on him.He says the best thing about
Africa is ‘the culture each country preserves’ and says his favourite place in
Mozambique is Yofo Beach. He likes the Caribbean Islands because he’s a great
fan of nature.
His role model is Jay-Z,
‘because he knows how to dress, how to be on stage, how to behave and has good
business control’. His parents have played an incredibly influential role in
his life because they always showed him what was right and what was wrong.
Malawi
Sipe
Age: 24
Hairdresser Sipe is from
Lilongwe and has an MSCE and ICM Hotel and Catering Management qualification. Her
favourite foods are nshima with chicken and okra, pizza, Thai food and ‘a bit
of Indian cuisine’. Her favourite TV shows include Keeping Up With The
Kardashians, Say Yes To The Dress, How Do I Look?, Jerseylicious and Idols. Her
favourite musicians are Beyonce, Brandy, Sam Smith and Zahara and her favourite
actors are Idris Elba and Angelina Jolie.
Sipe’s favourite place in her
country is Lake Malawi, because it relaxes her. Her favourite place outside of
Malawi is Paris. ‘It’s the most beautiful place in the world and I always imagine
spending time on my honeymoon there,’ she says. ‘It’s the City of Love!’. She
says the best things about Africa are the people, the landscape and the food.
She lists Beyonce as her role
model because ‘she’s hardworking and she makes it look so easy. I’d love to be
like her’. Sipe’s Mom played a huge role in her life too. ‘She raised three
children on her own and it hasn’t been easy for her, but she managed to see us
through school. She’s a very strong woman,’ she says.
Botswana
Sheilla
Age: 21
Sheilla is a student from
Gaborone in Botswana, currently studying an AAT Diploma. She entered Big Brother Hotshots because she
believes that ‘it’s a platform for people like me who were born for the
spotlight. It puts us out there to succeed in our careers – in my case, my
music career’. She’s excited that the whole continent will be watching her: ‘it
is like interacting within the house with someone invisible, or a ghost, and
the thought of what they think just gives you an adrenaline rush’.
She says her best quality is
that she analyses things before overreacting in certain situations. She likes
people who are communicative because it helps her see what they think of her
and how she should behave around them. She dislikes bossy people and ‘people
with similar strands of personality to me’.
She likes to eat prawns and
rice, as well as pap and beef. Her favourite book is In The Meantime and her
top TV shows include Big Brother Africa, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and
How Do I look? She enjoys the music of Beyonce, K.O., AKA and Tamela Mann and
says her favourite actors are Cameron Diaz and Dwayne Johnson. Her favourite
films also include The Hunger Games, Wrong Turn, The Break of Dawn and Mean
Girls.
Sheilla’s favourite part of
Botswana is the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans and says that the best thing about
Africa is ‘the diverse but highly-principled cultures which Africans tend not
to leave behind’. She says that Las Vegas is her favourite place outside of
Africa, because ‘it is a crazy, forever jolly holiday destination.
Kenya
Sabina
Age: 28
Sabina is a TV & Media
Personality from Mombasa. She has a Degree in Finance and is working on a
post-graduate diploma in Humanitarian Studies and Diplomacy.
She says she eats everything
and ‘loves mixing stuff up and making food concoctions, she’s also a big fan of
oxtail, avocado, fish. Her favourite books include Joyce Meyer’s The Confident
Woman and Hinds Feet In High Places by Hanna Hunard. She has a long list of
favourite TV shows: UpishiXtra, Gavana, Orange Is The New Black, Smurfs,
Devious Maids, Long Island, Oprah’s Next Chapter and Masterclass.
She entered Big Brother Hotshots to win the money
and change her life, and the lives of others. ‘It’s something I’ve envisioned
for a long time and it’ll give me a chance to show Africa that I’m a star,’ she
says. ‘I can entertain, but I’m also a human with problems, just like anybody
else.
If she wins the money, she’ll
leave it alone for a month beforebuying a house, spoil her family with a
holiday, build her Grandmother a house,save towards her daughter’s education, support
her adopted charities and invest in her business.
South
Africa
Samantha
Age: 29
Self-employed former law
student Samantha is from Potchefstroom in South Africa’s North West Province.
She loves sushi and Indian food and her favourite TV shows include 2 Broke
Girls and Person of Interest, and she likes the music of Taylor Swift, Rihanna,
Davido and Drake.
Her favourite films include
Ica Age, Madagascar, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and This Is Forty, with
Angelina Jolie her favourite actor because ‘she’s strong, yet feminine and an
amazing actress’.
Her favourite place in South
Africa is Johannesburg, and she says the best thing about Africa is ‘the
diversity of the people and the cultures’. Her favourite city outside the
continent is Jerusalem, which she calls ‘a beautiful place’. Samantha says her
sister is her role model, because ‘she’s inspired me to be so much more and has
played a huge role in my life’
Samantha was inspired to
enter Big Brother Hotshots, something
she’s wanted to do for ‘a very long time’ because she finds cultures
fascinating ‘and the thought of spending time with so many people from so many
backgrounds is awesome.
If she wins the grand prize,
Samantha will help the orphanages she volunteers at and take her sisters on
holiday, before investing the rest.
She describes herself as
‘adventurous, random, witty, caring and honest’ – the final trait being her
favourite. It’s also something she values in others, despising dishonesty and
rude people.
