Frankie Taber, a 23-year-old marketing manager from Eltham, is among the contestants in this year's Big Brother on ITV. He entered the house during the launch episode on September 13 and has since revealed a deeply personal reason for taking part.
Superfan fulfills childhood dream
Taber, a self-described Big Brother superfan, said he had wanted to appear on the show since he was eight years old. In a statement after entering, he explained: “I applied for this show because I've been watching it since I was young, about eight years old and I’ve always wanted to do it since around that age. I’m quite an interesting character.”
He added: “I don't think there's a lot of people like me, so I feel like it's going to cause a bit of a divide. I feel like some people will like me and some people are going to hate me.” Taber also joked about looking forward to the hot tub and said he planned to “wing it” rather than enter the house with a strategy.
Emotional coming out in the Diary Room
During an emotional Diary Room conversation last Tuesday (September 15), Taber revealed that he is bisexual. He said: “I came on this show to come out because I’m bisexual and like, I’ve been in pain for so long now probably about a year and half, two years.”
Taber spoke about the “guilt and shame” he had been carrying and said he felt as though he had “let down a lot of people”. He also said he had not told his friends and family before entering the house because of the shame he felt. Big Brother reassured him during the conversation, telling him: “Frankie, Big Brother doesn’t think you’ve let anyone down.”
Housemate reaction and ongoing tensions
Frankie’s former housemate Tays has since reacted to the moment, saying it “nearly made me cry”. Tays said he wished Frankie had told him while they were still living together, adding that he would have reassured him that he had “nothing to stress about”. Frankie and Tays had got on well during their time together in the house, with Frankie reportedly upset following Tays’ exit.
Frankie remains in the Big Brother house as the series continues, with the latest drama seeing him labelled “the biggest game-player” during a task that fuelled tensions among the housemates. Big Brother 2026 airs on ITV2 and ITVX from Sunday to Friday at 9pm.
