Quiet man says intrigue drove Big Brother trip

The Big Brother house seems like the last place you might find a quiet, down-to-earth, biology-loving man from Collie, but intrigue led Ian Joass to sign up for the reality TV show, and he became a hit. Mr Joass quickly found himself living with a group of larger-than-life individuals including a male model, a professional gymnast, and a former AFL player. “It was just curiosity,” he said. “I wanted to see what was going on with the whole reality TV thing because I never really watched it growing up. What better way to get a feel for it than from the inside.” Mr Joass said his work as a waiter at a Perth restaurant helped him prepare for the big personalities he would soon find himself living with. “I have always tried to get along with people and I have learnt how to deal with big personalities and people I would not normally socialise with,” he said. He quickly struck up an unlikely friendship with former Gold Coast Suns and Carlton ruckman Daniel Gorringe, and even joked about Gorringe’s on-field ability. “Dan was one of the easier people in the house to get along with,” Mr Joass said. “I just tried to keep my head down and make myself as likeable as possible, and it seemed to work. “I played a little bit of footy for the Collie Eagles, but I was kind of like Dan in that I didn’t have any good skills. “ He just happened to get a lot further through his football career than I did. “I have some friends for life I made in there.” The housemates went into the house while the coronavirus was contained to China, but Australia was in lockdown when they left. “I came out and suddenly there was no toilet paper in the shops and everyone is hoarding hand sanitiser,” Mr Joass said. “I had so many missed messages when I came out because half my friends didn’t even know I was on the show. I had circulated a rumour I was off to Queensland to pick up fossils. “My parents knew and a couple of close friends, my co-workers and my girlfriend knew as well.”