An Oxford undergraduate has found fame this summer as a contestant on the reality television show Big Brother.
Edmonds, a 19-year old Mathematics student at St Anne’s, entered the Big Brother house as a “halfway housemate” on July 10th along with two other new contestants.
Edmonds is backed by bookmakers as one of the favourites to win and become the show’s 11th champion. He is well liked by his fellow housemates and was one of the only two contestants not to receive any nominations for eviction this week.
So far during the series Edmonds has cooked a liver and custard pie, stripped naked with another contestant when trying out fake tan spray, and taught his housemates how to play Sudoku. On Friday night, he and fellow housemate Corin, 29, faced another task where they had to sing the Dirty Dancing duet Time Of My Life in front of the Big Brother crowds.
He told friends at Oxford that he wanted to apply for the show because it would be a good life experience. Once he reached the final audition stages Andrew was forbidden from talking about the show with others, and his entry into the Big Brother house was a surprise to family and friends.
His college wife, Jenny Cearns, commented, “The whole situation is bizarre. But I’m really looking forward to writing to our college kids now.”
Edmonds received his prelim results from Big Brother this week, and was ecstatic about his pass mark of 69.2. He passed Maths A-level at the age of 13 and is hailed as a “genius” by the other housemates.
But his College wife says there is more to this mathematician than meets the eye.
“Within a week of me meeting him, he ran across Oxford stark naked, with some gaffa tape wrapped around himself, which only just covered his modesty,” said Cerns.
“I chased him across Oxford trying to get him back, and when I caught up with him I found him trying to order a kebab and being turned away from the van.”
Robin McGhee, a History student at St Anne’s, said, “I lived next door to Andy last year. He was always one for a banter, which, let’s face it, he has rather lived up to on Big Brother.
“He recommended me the excellent film Good Will Hunting, which is about a maths student who takes over the world. Freud would have a field day with that one.”
Edmonds has already been added to the St Anne’s notable alumni list on Wikipedia.
To watch Andrew’s audition video, click on the link below:
http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother/video/2010/Jul/9/andrew-s-profile/play.c4
