I am probably not  doing myself any favours by admitting I have been a pretty much an avid watcher of ‘Big Brother’ ever since it started. The previous six incarnations have varied a lot in quality, with BB1 and BB5 being my personal favourites.

Before last week, I would have quoted BB3 as the worst of the bunch, but BB7 is now the front runner for this prize. My problem with this latest selection of fame seeking wannabes is that the bulk of them are too media savvy – apart from the odd housemate with a higher than average brain cell deficiency, most of them know the shows format well enough to be able to project the image they want. The bits of the programme I have seen display a lot more playing to the camera than usual, and the actions of the contestants seem to have a higher degree of calculation involved than in previous shows. All though it could be argued that this needs to happen to make it watchable, the lack of spontaneity makes for very poor viewing.

Another problem I have with this years offering is it’s treatment of disability – one of the contestants (I think it’s Pete) has Tourette's Syndrome. I can well see the producers of the show justifying his inclusion by saying that they are increasing public awareness of the condition, and giving someone with a disability a chance, but the concern is that it could easily turn into a freak show when his problems manifest themselves.

Also, Shahbaz is possibly the most irritating person ever to appear on TV.

It may all change as the contest gets going, but on the evidence so far, this may be the first series of BB that I won’t see through to the end…