A Sneak Peak Inside the Big Brother House

• Feb 6, 2008 03:00 AM ET
• by Kimberly Caldwell

Kimberly Caldwell, TV Guide Network

I'm not just a huge fan of Big Brother — I'm a huge psycho fan! So when I was asked to live in the house, I was like, "Wow, OK, cool!" Then I got scared. Twelve hours? Who are they gonna put me with? What's gonna happen to me? I mean, I really like watching the show, but I don't want to be one of those people! Do I?

But I got it together and went and, naturally, over­packed. I've seen those challenges where you end up getting soaked in butter, so I brought a huge duffel bag like I was moving in. Step­ping into the house, which for Season 9 they've done up like a win­ter log cabin, is very surreal. Little cameras are everywhere except in the 2-by-2 toilet, where they have a microphone dropped down from above. I was a little pee-shy, I have to say. But eventually my bladder and I worked it out.

The producers wanted us to do the equivalent of a full week of BB, so we had the Head of Household and Power of Veto (POV) competitions, and an evic­tion. I even tasted slop, which is just like vomit. When we saw the photo wall, I was like, "Oh, my god! This is the worst picture of me ever! My life is totally over!" And I broke into tears. I don't think anybody understood I was imitating Jen from BB 8. Oh, well.

For the POV competi­tion, they filled the backyard with haystacks, and we had to find these giant pieces of eggshell and put together a puzzle. Mark Long, from Fox Reality's Reality Remix, and I kicked ass and won, but all of a sudden I felt like there was a bowling ball on my chest. I couldn't breathe! Then Josh Rubenstein from KCAL goes, "My wedding ring! I lost it in the hay!" So, even though I was dying, I helped look for the ring, because I didn't want to be that kind of houseguest. You know, the drama queen? Once back inside, my attack subsided. I guess I'm allergic to hay. And I'm from Texas! Who knew?

Cheryl Woodcock from The Insider and Erik Oginski from KCBS.com in San Francisco were put on the block, and Cheryl was really freaking out. And I'm like, "Oh, my god, whatever! I'll put myself on the block. Who cares?" But Erik's like, "I wanna be the first and only one voted out of BB 8 1/2!" So we evicted him, and he left to go see Julie Chen, but not the real one.

The whole time in the house, I'm thinking, I could never do this for real for three months. But when they finally let us out, I looked at the producers and said, "If you guys ever do 'Celebrity Big Brother,' call me!" I would definitely 100 percent do it again. Only without the hay.

See more of Kimberly's Big house visit on TV Guide Network's Reality Chat, airing Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 8 pm.

For even more on Big Brother 9:
• Preview: This season's twist is revealed!
• Photo gallery: Meet the 16 housemates
• Photo gallery: Take a tour of the new house!

For more features, news and inside scoop, check out the latest issue of TV Guide, with the women of House talking about why their cranky doc is so sexy! Plus: Our tribute to Heath Ledger. Try four risk-free issues of TV Guide now!

Send your comments on this feature to letters@tvguide.com.