Big Brother Australia : November 2013

29-year-old Sydneysider Tim Dormer was the favourite to win Big Brother 2013 from the get-go. His larger-than-life personality and willingness to cause havoc at first put many people off — but by the time Wednesday night's finale came around, it was clear his infectious personality had won Australia over. We spoke to a very happy and chatty Tim yesterday, while he was shopping along Bondi beach with fellow housemate Anthony "Drew" Drew. He excitedly spilled all the beans on his time in the house, and revealed some interesting developments. Read our interview with Tim to find out who's hooking up with who, which contestants aren't speaking, and if the housemates really did go hungry during staples week.

An Interview with Popsugar

POPSUGAR: Congratulations!
Tim Dormer: Thank you!

PS: How are you feeling, has it sunk in yet?
TD: It hasn't sunk in yet, it's crazy! I feel like I'm. . . Like, the dream's over, I'm out of the Big Brother house and I'm slowly getting back to normality and getting back on social media and checking my iPhone and shopping. . . I'm with Drew right now, we're shopping at Bondi Beach. I'm still pinching myself, did it actually really happen?

PS: How have the last two days been for you?
TD: I didn't sleep the first night, the night I won. We had a big party but I just had waters because I knew the next morning I had to be up at 4am to start doing radio interviews. It's been good having all the other housemates all together, but it's strange because some of them aren't talking to each other and there are fights and arguments, and there have been new hook-ups after the show and I'm just like, "Ahh! I'm just getting used to it all!".

For more Big Brother details from Tim — including who's hooking up, who isn't, and who isn't talking, keep reading. . .

PS: Who's hooking up now?
TD: Um, Caleb and Madaline! They're getting cosy, yeah. Caleb is not speaking to Matt anymore, we're just waiting for the Ed and Jade train to crash [laughs]. And Tully and Drew, they're still going fine.

PS: So they're both on-board?
TD: I'm mates with both of them and all I can say is I hate being the third wheel — they definitely do really care about each other and it's really nice to see tht outside the house they are. . . They're doing it properly. Whereas I don't think Jade and Ed are for real.

PS: Are you friends with Ed?
TD: We talk, but we're just such different people. He wants to be someone that he's not and I don't ever hide who I am [laughs], I think it's the total opposite, we just come from different mentalities. He plays by the rules, he's a footy player, he's got his team mates that have got his back, he's a twin. Whereas I'm on my own, an individual. I hate being part of a group and I like to push the rules. I like to break the rules, so. . . We just clashed.

PS: I think that's why you won, people loved your honesty.
TD: Yeeeeah! I'm glad that they finally fell in love with me. Apparently I was voted most annoying housemate ever in the first week! There were a few [media] people out there who were cranky that I was in there.

PS: Were you very strategic?
TD: I've been given a lot of compliments from people saying how strategic I was, and that I was the puppetmaster and that I controlled the game. . . but I wasn't that good! I was just flying by the seat of my pants, just doing random stuff that paid off. I was as surprised as you guys were that the people I would nominate would always go home week after week. I was surprised that little stirs of the pot, just a little jab here would create a huge argument that would be someone's downfall. I never tried to stir the pot to make people look bad, I was just of the opinion that if you're on the eviction bench, it's you're week to shine — that's when Australia's going to say, "Do I want to save them or not?". An argument puts the spotlight on you. If you can't beat me in an argument that's your problem, not mine.

PS: Did you ever doubt yourself?
TD: Yeah, I did — when I put myself up for eviction one week, it was just such a crazy move and it was so calculated and I knew that I wanted to do it to throw the other housemates. I didn't care whether I was up for eviction or not, so in essence I was taking away their control over me, I was saying that I control my own fate. But when I was sitting on the bench next to Caleb, who everyone thought could win the game, I just didn't know if I'd pushed it too far and that maybe I was going home. It was crazy.

PS: Ed seemed to think you had a nasty motive behind your strategy, but you didn't come across on TV as a nasty person.
TD: No, I'm not! I'm really kind-hearted and I just have a very different way of dealing with conflict and issues. I'm of the persuasion that you bring it out in the open and you deal with it. You sort it out — whereas Ed was always about sweeping it under the carpet, talking about it behind people's backs, changing peoples' opinion of others. I just wanted it out in the open, deal with it, move on. And that's what I thought people watching wanted as well! They want to see issues being dealt with. They're not there to ask the questions themselves so if I was the one that brought it out for them to see. . . That's what I was doing it for! To be entertaining and keep you watching.

PS: You made it a great psychological test.
TD: It was very psychological! I think I sent the other housemates insane [laughs]. I knew that if Australia had to live with me, I would never have lasted a single week — but all they had to do was watch me, the housemates were the ones that were stuck with me 24/7 [laughs].

PS: So — Caleb and Matt aren't talking?
TD: They're just not the bromance that they were in the house, they're not the mates they were. Caleb's living it up, loving it and partying it up and Matt's a good guy, he's a genuine guy and he cares about his girlfriend. It's really interesting to see how some people change slightly from when they were in the house, and I am proud that when people on the street see me, they go "Oh my gosh, you are what we saw on TV". That's what I'm most proud of, that I was rewarded for actually being myself . . . Even though a lot of people would have questioned me along the way because I am such an oddball.

PS: So were you guys ever really hungry? [Housemates had to live on staples for a few weeks after failing tasks.]
TD: Sometimes! On staples week it was hell! There's only so many ways you can dress up a bowl of baked beans. We literally would've had baked beans, lentils, powdered eggs, plain rice. . . Nutritionally it's enough to survive on, but mentally it's so boring, you are so starved of stimulation in the house, and to have boring, bland food. . . It wears you down! The weeks we were on staples, they were my worst weeks. They were the weeks I usually had a crash and burn, a Timmy tantrum.

PS: Was there anough alcohol to actually get drunk?
TD: Some nights we usually had a bottle of champagne, but surprisingly there were a lot of people who didn't drink in the house so that was quite refreshing. And Big Brother's always watching, he was never going to let us do anything stupid or go too far. It was all very well-controlled by Big Brother.

PS: When [second runner-up] Tahan came out, she said Jade was hiding her personality in order to get a career out of the experience. . .
TD: Yes, she did! We saw her say that. All I cared about was that Jade knew that I was real. From the beginning she was a big supporter of me. It was her downfall that she played with her heart, she didn't think with her head, and I think that's why she's with Ed! She stuck with him and I think she was a bit love-blind. She was genuine in that she was playing from her heart the whole time, she wasn't strategic. But it was her downfall. She let herself get too upset when people did play with their heads. She is a very lovely person and I was proud to be with her on the last night.

PS: So you and Drew are obviously still friends — but you went off him for a while.
TD: Drew will always love having a little sidekick on his arm and he was the one constant throughout the whole game for me. Ben was the other, but he left, so to have Drew until that final week meant the world to me. And we're going to be mates, we're going to South America together. We're literally standing on Bondi Beach together now, I'm showing him my favourite place in the world; he's never been here! We're really good mates, I really love Drew.

PS: Is anything happening with Boog?
TD: Nope! If she was interested, I definitely would've been up for the ride! She stands for everything that I believe in — not caring what other people think about you, not caring about the frills of being a girl and she doesn't come along with all this baggage that a lot of girls do. I just love a girl who's able to laugh at herself.

PS: Are you single?
TD: Definitely! I am very single. I kind of think that I've definitely shown everyone who I really am on Big Brother, and if you can't handle me after watching that — or actually, if you canhandle me, come on over!

PS: Is there anyone you don't think you'll be friends with?
TD: Yeah, I guess there's a few people that I just clashed with, we're just different people. Ed for instance, I don't think you'd ever catch Ed and me sitting down and having a beer together. But I think he's a great guy, and if I had any advice for him it'd be, "Actually grow some balls and start having the guts to say what you really want to do". Yeah, I don't know. It was weird, he became obsessed with me in the game — if he didn't he wouldnt have wasted so much time talking about me and putting so much attention on me. He made himself look bad by trying to make me look bad.

PS: You always looked like you were having the best time.
TD: Oh, I loved it! If Big Brother wanted to substitute the $250,000 [Tim's cash prize] to be able to stay in the Big Brother house for the whole year, I would've chosen that. It's the ultimate existence, I loved it.

PS: So where will we see you next? I heard you're taking Ben to Graceland?
TD: Yes, Benny to Graceland, Drew to South America, and then who knows! I need a job, I don't have one and I've still got to finish off my uni degree that I've been chipping away at for 10 years. I'm going to do it online. I'd love —— Wow, I just saw a girl wearing a skeleton onesie!

PS: Are there fans following you in Bondi?
TD: Yeah, I've left Drew with a whole crowd of girls, he's waving at me [laughs]. He's being mobbed!

PS: So you're looking for a job?
TD: Yeah, I'd love to stay on TV if you guys will keep watching me, so my hand's up! If anyone wants to give me a gig. . . [laughs].

PS: We'll put the word out for you!
TD: Thank you!

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