Ben From Brisbane launches new show after Big Brother re-entry

Back by popular social media demand, Big Brother 2013 housemate, affectionately known as ‘Ben From Brisbane’, will return to the Big Brother house for a 4-day stint as a celebrity guest starting tomorrow (Tuesday).

Then in a comedy exposé on life after reality TV, Ben will launch his new show, Ben From Brisbane: A Quiet Night In, as part of Brisbane Powerhouse’s Wonderland Festival from 7th December.

Australia fell in love with the antique loving, tea drinking, snort laughing, Ben Zabel during his time in the Big Brother house last year and since his eviction, he has been continually swamped with the most bizarre questions and daily requests for selfies with fans.

Dressed in his comfy pyjamas, Ben will give an honest account of life before, during, and after Big Brother with, “the good, the bad, the ugly, the highs, the lows, the best, the worst – in equal amounts.”

Before re-entering the Big Brother house tomorrow, Aussie Theatre’s Queensland correspondent Bobbi-Lea, got a chance to catch up with Ben to ask a few questions of her own.

When asked what the audience is to expect from the show, Ben is quick to clarify that the show is not a ‘show’ as such. He explains, “When I got evicted, people weren’t expecting it, so there wasn’t a proper eviction show with insightful questions.” Ben explains that the show will be more like an extended eviction party where the audience will get to ask all the questions they want, to “get it out of our system,” but feels it will probably be more like therapy.

Questions like, “When are you and Tim going to Graceland?” and, “Do you keep in touch with Bert and Pattie?”, will be answered amongst others. A few were even answered during this interview.

When asked how a shy reclusive flight attendant has coped with his growth in celebrity status, Ben’s charmingly self-effacing response was, “I don’t. I’m highly medicated.” He added, “Before I went into the house, I had to do mindfulness therapy for a month.”

Ben also added that housemates were offered therapy upon eviction of the Big Brother house, but surprisingly, he didn’t take them up on it, “I didn’t need the therapy when I came out because I came out to love and acceptance and kindness. But I’ll have to say in the last year that there’s been ups and downs and round-a-bouts but I have my inner circle for that.”

Being a tea lover, another obvious question was his favourite cup of tea, “I don’t drink regular tea, only herbal, whereas my mum calls it whoopie tea. My mum drinks cranberry and raspberry, but to me a fruit herbal tea is an infusion – it’s like drinking fruit salad. I’ve always drunk dandelion tea, but I drank chamomile in the house – it was on the shopping list, but I always had to hide it from the other housemates.”

For this and more on the life of a former reality TV contestant, come armed with questions to Ben’s intimate pyjama party at the Brisbane Powerhouse – BYO PJ’s.

Ben From Brisbane: A Quiet Night In (presented by Sam Klingner Entertainment and Christopher Wayne), will run from 7-11 December as part of the Powerhouse’s inaugural Wonderland Festival. For the die-hard fans, you can even book in a celebrity meet and greet with Ben.

For more details visit the Brisbane Powerhouse Website: Ben From Brisbane: A Quiet Night In.