She Missed The BB House By A Whisker
SHE came close, very close, to being the Ugandan housemate in the Big Brother Africa house...
She came close, very close, to being the Ugandan housemate in the Big Brother Africa house...
There, on the screens of our television sets she would have been, mixing it up with Sammi and Stefan or arguing it out with Warona and Abby. Maybe she would have been the one to go the UK and get all the English tabloids writing about her, instead of Gaetano ‘Super Fly’ Kaggwa.
But unfortunately for Zam Zam Gaina, 24, former television presenter and budding journalist, it was not to be. But it was very close.
According to M-Net’s Megan Wilson, who was reluctant to talk about it, it was touch and go for the selection panel when it came to choosing who among the last three would be the Ugandan in the house.
Together with Gaetano Kaggwa, Zam Zam and Diana Mbabazi, a model with Ziper Models, were the top three people in the Uganda Big Brother selection. After sifting through more than 500 applications over a period of three months, after dozens of tests, it all came down to those three.
It could have been any of them, Wilson said, they all had what the panelists were looking for. That mysterious quality referred to as the ‘X-Factor,’ the one that makes one girl a Naomi Campbell and another just plain old Jane next door.
They all had it, but in the end it was Gaetano who entered the house, and is now arguably Uganda’s biggest celebrity. Zama Zam was left pondering and answering questions of why it was not her.
“Up to now I don’t really know what it is that Gaetano had that I did not,†Zam Zam told Weekend Vision, while sipping on a Fanta in one of the numerous cafés in Kabalagala. “We were all together before the final selection, and I saw him before he entered the house. I see him everyday on TV, but still I cannot put my finger to it.â€
Could it have been that she is a woman, and maybe they wanted a certain gender mix in the house and so choose a guy instead? She certainly thinks so, and insists it is the most likely reason.
But it does not upset her, although when she watches the programme on TV, she cannot help but think that but for a small matter of gender, she could be there in the house, and that her life would be completely different now.
But why did she apply in the first place? What makes a person want to do that kind of thing?
“For almost all of my life, ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be on TV,†she said. “That has been my driving force in what I do, and that is why I took journalism, and that is why for a time I was a presenter on UTV. Hey, Big Brother is the ultimate TV experience.â€
To Zam Zam, taking part in the whole BBA process was not about money, although it would have been good to win the US $100,000 (sh200m) at the end. Even though she knows that some people might not believe her, she insists it was more of playing the game than the thought of winning the money.
“It wouldn’t have mattered whether the first prize was a bicycle or a camera, I would still have played the game. It’s the game that matters, playing by the rules and besting the others. And of course if you are playing the game, you might as well play to win,†she said.
So, what kind of character would she have brought to the house?
“I’m an open person, and not afraid to let my feelings show. If I liked somebody I would tell them so. If I were in the house, you never know, maybe something would have started between Sammi and me. I think he is a kind, sweet and loving person.â€
What does she think about the other housemates?
“Abby and Gaetano are playing the game, and playing it well. I don’t think their relationship is a genuine one, they are just playing the game. Bayo is just an average guy, and there is very little to Stefan apart from his guitar. Alex might have a good body, but his mind is still very young. There is also very little to Cherise, but Warona has a very mature mind, and is very intelligent. I think I’m more like Tapuwa.â€
Would she do the ‘shower hour,’ and what about the ‘bouncing blankets’ thing?
“I’ve got no problem with showering naked, I like my body, and don’t mind showing it. About sex in the house, I don’t know. I can’t say never, because you never know what can happen when two people get excited. But I wouldn’t fake it. If I had to fake it then I would rather go the whole way and do it. After all people will still think you did it.â€
All the time she was talking, a wistful look played on her face. She was obviously thinking that but for the small fact of probably being the wrong sex, she would have been the one in the Big Brother house. But for now, Zam Zam will have to watch Big Brother on television, along with the other estimated 30 million people across Africa.
Ends
There, on the screens of our television sets she would have been, mixing it up with Sammi and Stefan or arguing it out with Warona and Abby. Maybe she would have been the one to go the UK and get all the English tabloids writing about her, instead of Gaetano ‘Super Fly’ Kaggwa.
But unfortunately for Zam Zam Gaina, 24, former television presenter and budding journalist, it was not to be. But it was very close.
According to M-Net’s Megan Wilson, who was reluctant to talk about it, it was touch and go for the selection panel when it came to choosing who among the last three would be the Ugandan in the house.
Together with Gaetano Kaggwa, Zam Zam and Diana Mbabazi, a model with Ziper Models, were the top three people in the Uganda Big Brother selection. After sifting through more than 500 applications over a period of three months, after dozens of tests, it all came down to those three.
It could have been any of them, Wilson said, they all had what the panelists were looking for. That mysterious quality referred to as the ‘X-Factor,’ the one that makes one girl a Naomi Campbell and another just plain old Jane next door.
They all had it, but in the end it was Gaetano who entered the house, and is now arguably Uganda’s biggest celebrity. Zama Zam was left pondering and answering questions of why it was not her.
“Up to now I don’t really know what it is that Gaetano had that I did not,†Zam Zam told Weekend Vision, while sipping on a Fanta in one of the numerous cafés in Kabalagala. “We were all together before the final selection, and I saw him before he entered the house. I see him everyday on TV, but still I cannot put my finger to it.â€
Could it have been that she is a woman, and maybe they wanted a certain gender mix in the house and so choose a guy instead? She certainly thinks so, and insists it is the most likely reason.
But it does not upset her, although when she watches the programme on TV, she cannot help but think that but for a small matter of gender, she could be there in the house, and that her life would be completely different now.
But why did she apply in the first place? What makes a person want to do that kind of thing?
“For almost all of my life, ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be on TV,†she said. “That has been my driving force in what I do, and that is why I took journalism, and that is why for a time I was a presenter on UTV. Hey, Big Brother is the ultimate TV experience.â€
To Zam Zam, taking part in the whole BBA process was not about money, although it would have been good to win the US $100,000 (sh200m) at the end. Even though she knows that some people might not believe her, she insists it was more of playing the game than the thought of winning the money.
“It wouldn’t have mattered whether the first prize was a bicycle or a camera, I would still have played the game. It’s the game that matters, playing by the rules and besting the others. And of course if you are playing the game, you might as well play to win,†she said.
So, what kind of character would she have brought to the house?
“I’m an open person, and not afraid to let my feelings show. If I liked somebody I would tell them so. If I were in the house, you never know, maybe something would have started between Sammi and me. I think he is a kind, sweet and loving person.â€
What does she think about the other housemates?
“Abby and Gaetano are playing the game, and playing it well. I don’t think their relationship is a genuine one, they are just playing the game. Bayo is just an average guy, and there is very little to Stefan apart from his guitar. Alex might have a good body, but his mind is still very young. There is also very little to Cherise, but Warona has a very mature mind, and is very intelligent. I think I’m more like Tapuwa.â€
Would she do the ‘shower hour,’ and what about the ‘bouncing blankets’ thing?
“I’ve got no problem with showering naked, I like my body, and don’t mind showing it. About sex in the house, I don’t know. I can’t say never, because you never know what can happen when two people get excited. But I wouldn’t fake it. If I had to fake it then I would rather go the whole way and do it. After all people will still think you did it.â€
All the time she was talking, a wistful look played on her face. She was obviously thinking that but for the small fact of probably being the wrong sex, she would have been the one in the Big Brother house. But for now, Zam Zam will have to watch Big Brother on television, along with the other estimated 30 million people across Africa.
Ends