Disappointed fans were quick to complain about the reinvention via social media.
“Don’t think anyone wanted a Love Island/Big Brother mash-up,” wrote one. “The best thing about the original #BBAU was the diverse cast: age, race, interests,” said another.
Father-of-two Trevor adds, “It has changed so much from when it was just people reacting with each other. We live in an age where everyone is immersed in social media. Why wouldn’t they just take advantage of people-watching 24/7?”
Next year will mark two decades since Trevor, a popular housemate from Broken Hill in New South Wales, won Big Brother Australia’s biggest-ever prize.
“No-one in the house knew it was $1 million,” he says with a smile. “We all thought we were going in to try to win $250,000!”
For Trevor, the best reward was proposing to girlfriend Breea Forrest live on the eviction stage.
“I had this poem in my head and practised on a couple of girls in the house,” he recalls. “They started crying, so I thought it would work. I was quite confident about asking Breea to marry me on air. But if she said ‘no’ I don’t know what I would have done!”
Still happily married and now living in Tweed Heads, Queensland, Trevor, 50, has managed to tick another goal off his long lifetime bucket list.
“I worked in Hot Tomato radio promotions for quite a few years, but I wanted to have my own show and be on billboards and buses,” he tells us.
“I finally got my chance to co-host alongside Moyra Major and two years in, we are doing really well.
“We’ve been number one on the Gold Coast in our time-slot for about
18 months now.”
His next ambitions are to purchase a ’67 Ford Mustang, write a children’s book and appear on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
“Some people say that I’ve been kissed on the a--e by a fairy,” he says with a grin. “I think that it’s just good luck.”
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