It’s time to go, Big Brother…

Filling the shoes of one Gretel Killeen in such a landmark show was never going to be easy. But Sonia Kruger has pulled off the near impossible.

For all the criticisms that have been levelled at Big Brother 2012 (and we’ll get to those later), Kruger has received wide support from fans and commentators for her hosting. The former Dancing with the Stars co-host made a leap of faith in quitting Seven for Nine, but it has paid off.

Last week Mornings beat The Morning Show for the very first time (boss David Gyngell sent the crew champers) and Big Brother has been a success simply by avoiding controversy, and for holding up the Demos.

“I think Nine has done a really good job of bringing the show back and giving it a completely new spirit and vibe,” Kruger agrees. “The reputation of the show had issues and I guess what they wanted to do this year was have people understood it was a different show. It’s fun, it was cast in an interesting way and it’s been a really solid performer for them, which is great, especially with the television landscape being what it is at the moment.

“We’ve seen some things absolutely tank this year. I would never have expected some of the numbers that we’ve seen for the shows that haven’t worked.

“But nobody in the television industry wanted to see that happen because these shows provide jobs for lots and lots of people.

“So it’s been great that Big Brother has come back and been very successful and there are a whole bunch of people who are working because of it.

“More and more the advertisers are looking at those Demos. They want to be targeting specific groups, so that at the end of the day is why we’re all here. We’re working for commercial networks and it’s about ratings.”

Even Gretel Killeen has made positive remarks about Kruger’s hosting.

“I’ve been a massive fan of Gretel’s ever since Big Brother started and she’s a regular on Mornings now, so I get to see her just about every week, which is fantastic. She’s been so supportive and helpful,” Kruger says.

“I did say to her, ‘When do you generally do this, or find out about that? Should I go back and look at old episodes?’ But she just said, ‘Nah don’t be ridiculous, Sonia!’ It’s live, you can never predict what’s going to happen with the show, and I do love that about it.”

The role of the BB host has always been a mix of ringmaster, traffic cop and mother hen and Kruger has been able to inject her trademark spontaneity into the tightly-formatted Sunday night eviction shows.

“Right up until that moment of ‘It’s time to go…’ I don’t know who that person is until I’m told in my ear. So I love the fact that it’s such a moveable feast a lot of the time,” she says.

“For me the first part was kind of getting to know the structure. What goes where… where we go from here… in those Sunday night evictions shows you have to get through the Daily show first in order to get to the eviction in order to get to whatever is next.

“The Nomination show has always been my favourite because there always seemed to be some bizarre twist at the end of it. Someone would be nominated and then they had the nomination superpower. So that show always kept me on my toes.

“Mathematically I’m not brilliant. I’m not great at adding up points so luckily there’s someone else there to do that.

“But the good thing is there is room to be creative with the show in terms of interaction with the housemates.

“Even the other day I was saying to one of the producers ‘What would be really funny is if each of the remaining housemates was the head of a political party. What would their party be and what would they stand for?’ And they did it on the show!”

There’s no way of rehearsing evictions with each housemate, and Kruger assists whilst hosting. Some have handled the euphoria with different coping skills.

“For someone so young Bradley was incredibly calm and relaxed in front of a huge audience. Stacey was really distracted by the audience. Sometimes they can walk out in front of that crowd and they see people waving and holding up signs. So Stacey was nervous and did get a little bit distracted on stage,” she explains.

“But for the most part they’re pretty good at handling it. I don’t know how I’d go. I think it would be quite daunting after having spent a few months locked away from the world.”

With the format now so entrenched in the minds of contestants it’s been said that housemates are far more savvy about Reality TV manipulation, and strategies they can employ. Over the years many contestants have sought post-show careers in the media.

Allowing the audience to decide between genuine contestants and cash-prize strategists has been half the fun.

“This franchise has been running for something like 15 years in the UK and is in hundreds of territories around the world and it’s a show that has longevity. So even though people know what they’re getting themselves into, I think if you can keep refreshing the show and making it entertaining like they did this year with the second house concept, then there will always be an audience,” says Kruger.

“The finale will be massive. (Producers have) been talking about what they’ve got planned. Let’s just say it involves helicopters and a bit of a live performance.

“It will be big. I think they do Event Television really well at Channel Nine.”

But whilst it has avoided “turkey-slap” headlines and kept drunken antics off our screens, Nine’s aligning of the show as PG content has not come without its criticisms. There have been no webcams for die-hard fans, and the casting has been dominated by Anglo-Saxon Aussies all under the age of 33.

Kruger admits that the casting could improve if the show is, as expected, renewed for 2013.

“Look I think they could always go a little bit older and a little bit broader. Maybe they were testing the waters with that too. Certainly they stepped away from the stereotype of the old days but I guess they wanted to make sure they didn’t go too far in the other direction either,” she concedes.

“In a way it’s sort of been a year of conservatism. They were so concerned about bringing it back and making it broad in its appeal, but I know what you’re saying. Next year I think they will probably take it that little step further.

“I have had a few people say to me they’d love to see someone in there who is a bit older.”

Storylines this year have been dominated by hooking-up various housemates, and the bullying of Estelle -it’s a storyline that has rallied a fanbase and saved her from multiple Eviction shows.

“Estelle is an interesting character and it’s really been Estelle versus the rest of the house, or perhaps the rest of the house versus Estelle,” she says.

“With the ‘hook-ups’ Josh and Ava were genuinely enamored with each other and Sam and Layla are very fond of each other. But there has been a question of ‘Is it a strategy that they’ve employed?’ and even now with Michael and Estelle –what’s going on there and why has this situation happened in the final week of the show?”

There have also been an unending array of dress-ups and antics, but as Kruger explains there is method to the madness.

“I think it’s a deliberate move because kids love the challenge within the challenge. Adults will watch the ultimate competition and social experiment but if you really want to appeal to a broad audience, and you want everyone watching, then like The Block those challenges are designed (to work).”

With its odd fantasy elements, such as a dinner date wirh Surly the fish, is Big Brother still the format as first developed by the Dutch in 1999? Is it living up to its potential of social experimentation and a snapshot of Australia, or even, young Australia?

Kruger defends the escapist elements that have dominated this year’s storylines.

“I interviewed a puffer fish the other night!” she laughs. “Things like that make me laugh and I think things like that are good for us to hang onto those child-like qualities.

“It’s great to have sophisticated humour and I’m all for it, but sometimes there is a place for sheer innocence.”

Finally, I can’t help but ask who she thinks will make it to the final two.

“I can’t create any bias in terms of the voting, so it’s a bit difficult for me to predict….

“But I would be thinking Layla and perhaps Estelle.

“We go into the Final with three and for some reason I’m imagining Layla, Estelle and Michael.

“But then, nothing would surprise me.”

 Big Brother airs 7pm Monday – Wednesday on Nine.