Originally Posted by
phil solo:
“Nicely put. This too is why I became a fan of the pint-sized one.
On her entrance to the house I really despaired, I had no time for 'that type' , you know, the apparently air-headed bimbo glamourpuss who thinks 'shocking' the audience by wearing something scanty or fetishistic (viz. Lesley and the PVC Nurses outfit in BB6) is a great way to make an entrance. I thought I'd hate Nikki from the start, and the fuss she made over her lack of suitcase and bottled water really irritated me beyond all reason. Things were not looking good.
Then, slowly, first with "Everyone's really nice.....so far!" and that wonderfully sarcastic "Ffffabulousss" when BB said they had noted her request for her stuff, I began to realise that here was a girl with a somewhat interesting and faintly mischievous outlook on life who actually didn't seem to be completely vapid and 'up herself' after all, and might be worh keeping an eye on. Big Brother's producers weren't slow to notice this either, as a cut and paste edit of Nikki's 'Suitcase' and 'Bottled Water' Diary Room rants quickly formed a large part of the first on screen promotional clips for the show.
Soon, Nikki's bubbly eccentricity grew on me and the remarkable verbal dexterity of her Diary Room discourse (even when unfeasibly drunk!) continued to impress.
What was quickly apparent to me was Nikki's total lack of interest in 'impressing' people, either her fellow housemates, or the voting public. Most BB contestants spend a lot of time ingratiating themselves with their fellow guests, forming strategic groups to avoid nomination or 'addressing the public' through the diary room camera. This is not universally successful because we can see what they are up to and if it rings false we punish them for it at the first opportunity.
Nikki did very little of this, she really did not like to 'suck a**ehole' and would fall in and out with people on a whim not caring about any 'consequences'. Her early spats with Richard and Grace are good examples of this, she'd alienate and annoy people who could be instrumental in orchestrating her ejection or survival in the house and she gave it no thought whatsoever. This of course saw her nominated on a regular basis, and had the public not taken her to their hearts in the way they did, she could have left the house much earlier.
Many housemates try to survive in Big Brother by endearing themselves to their fellow contestants, by trying to be a 'friend' of Big Brother itself, or by presenting their best side to the public through the cameras and the diary room. Doing either thing at the expense of the other two can backfire as one may be perceived either by other HM's or the public as 'fake' and suffer for it.
Actively conspiring to keep all three groups (HMs, producers, audience) 'on side' is much trickier. Nikki's approach was unusual in that she attempted neither. She was in the house, she was going to enjoy it and if she wanted to behave badly she was going to behave badly, if she wanted to rant, a-ranting she would go, and nothing else mattered.
Perhaps it's mere selfishness and arrogance epitomised in the phrase "Everybody loves me, well the odd ba**ard hates me but they're just wrong", but it served Nikki remarkably well.
As a strategy I'd applaud it as a bold and courageous tactic, to literally throw your whole self, good and bad, open to the 'mercy' of the public, were it anything like a conscious , defined plan.
But it wasn't. It was just Nikki. 
”
Great post phil solo.
I was pretty much the same when she entered the house. An empty headed WAG wannabe was all i saw.........and the bunny outfit
It took me a while to warm to her. I hated the bottled water rant and was shocked that no-one nominated her during the first nominations. I remember texting a friend saying can you believe not one person nominated the brat
I think the first time i really sat up and noticed something different was the night of beergate. I was sitting watching and cringing just knowing that she was going to kick off (which she did
) but her apology afterwards to Mikey really showed a different side to her character. She was so humble and contrite even when Mikey went on and on at her.
It wasn't long before my open mouthed horror at her antics turned to open mouthed wonder. Who is she? who is she? Where did you find her? This tiny little empty headed WAG wannabe was much more fascinating and complex than i had initially given her credit for.
Looking back now to her first nomination of Lea i find it fascinating (1m 05s - 2m 35s)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkJPw_T85ho
She isn't just saying it, she really means it. How many of us say we don't care what anyone think of us? Most of us right? How many of us, if we're honest, actually mean it?
Of course it can be seen as arrogance and selfishness, as we know from her detractors. I see it as refreshingly honest not to mention brave and it demonstrates a strength of character that is rarely acknowledged.
Nikki is a mass of contradictions and no matter what each of us say about her there is always something else to find in her. If her detractors talk about her bad behaviour there is always an opposite good behaviour trait that contradicts it and vice versa.
I think thats why, love her or hate her, so many FMs on this site just can't stop talking about her
I'm so glad that i took the time to look beneath the surface. Beyond the empty headedness, the WAG wannabe, the childish brat, the tantrum queen i discovered an extraordinary, complex individual who i hope continues to fascinate me for a long time to come
