Big Brother’s Yinrun and Henry open up on life after finale: ‘It does feel like everyone’s put their qualms aside’
Exclusive: “There’s 3am voice notes… we've all got withdrawal symptoms”
Big Brother fans saw Henry and Yinrun make it all the way to the final last week, with Jordan eventually winning the show.
The duo became very close in the house, and have left as firm friends.
Now away from the madness, Henry and Yinrun sat down to chat with Attitude, on everything from their bond with Jordan, to AJ’s after party antics and whether Paul really was topless all the time.
Yinrun, [Henry is in an Uber at this point, muted with a camera off], how was it coming out of the house and getting such a positive reception?
Yinrun: [The finale] was the first time I received the chanting because that was like my first eviction night. I didn’t even expect to have so many people shouting my name; it felt amazing and unbelievable. I’m so grateful. I saw the banners, ‘Yinrun for Winrun’. It just felt like such an honour and privilege. I’m so grateful that so many people are interested in me and found me funny!
There were even people dressing up as your Big Wigs’ costume for Halloween!
Yinrun: Yeah I saw them! They were so funny. The sunglasses as well
Henry: Oh my god. Tia Kofi looked amazing.
Yinrun, at one point, you worried you weren’t being nominated because no one was noticing you, when it was the opposite!
Yinrun: When I was in the house, I felt like, especially in the first two weeks, I was more of an outsider. I had fewer similarities compared to other housemates, as well as the language barrier. It was hardest for me to get involved, and I was always worried about being banded into the background. However, when I left the house, I saw people appreciating the silly things I do, singing songs, dancing around. I just feel oh, I’m very grateful. It’s unbelievable. I’m so happy people enjoyed watching that!
You struggled getting on with some of the housemates because they thought you weren’t being genuine, especially Jenkin and Tom, but Jordan was able to share how they felt after spending more time with them – how did that make you feel?
Yinrun: Jordan directly relayed the dialogues Jenkin and Tom had in that spare room. I was feeling really relieved, because finally I knew the reason why I felt like I couldn’t get to know them more.. At that point, I was relieved. I haven’t watched a lot of the show yet, so I don’t know if it has been aired or not, but I said to Jordan I would have preferred it if they could’ve spoken to me about how they felt about me in the previous weeks, so I would’ve known, ‘Okay, this is how you feel, I know we can work on that and talk more about it’. Jordan is always very rational and objective when he describes things to me. We bonded with each other very early as well. So, Jordan was one of my best friends in the Big Brother house.
[Henry properly joins the call] Hi Henry, lovely to see you, are you in a bar?
Henry: No, this is my flat! There’s a lot of alcohol, there’s no food in the fridge but there’s plenty of booze.
We love no food in the fridge. How are you, and how’s it been since coming out of the house?
Henry: Honestly, it was so unbelievably surreal. I never expected in a million years that I’d even get that far. I thought I was going in that second week when I was up for eviction with Zak! But to get to the final was unfathomable.
You formed a very close bond with Jordan. What was it like to see him win?
Henry: To have met someone like Jordan, I never expected that from the process. I thought I was going to be there and learn a lot about different people from all walks of life. I’ve come out with this super strong sort of connection. I’m seeing him tonight after this call and taking a bottle of wine over. I’m really excited to see him, we’ve missed each other.
Yinrun: Awwww!
Can you tell us anything about what’s next for you guys, and how it was to see the reaction from fans?
Henry: I mean, it’s bonkers. I just couldn’t believe it. When I turned my phone on and saw all of the ‘Jenry’ discourse it was like, ‘Oh my gosh’. I can’t even open my phone without seeing these edits of us in the hot tub and various other places. It’s so surreal and hilarious. We’ve definitely got a super strong bond and connection. I’m just excited to see how it goes now we’re out. We’ve got quite a few plans sort of lined up, so watch this space. We shall see. He’s great, I love him to bits.
Yinrun: You look great right now, ready for the date you’re going to have tonight!
Henry: On the train I was on, the ticket lady was fangirling. She just asked me for my ticket and started fangirling over the big wigs.
What was it like getting to know everyone else in the house?
Henry: Weirdly, I’ve been a bit of a bubble for most of my life, from the way I’ve been brought up and went to boarding school. I thought boarding school would have prepared me for this because I was basically thrown into a house full of boisterous characters. This was very different, meeting people with such a range of different backgrounds and life experiences. The main thing I took away was learning so much about so many different types of people in society. I do feel I’ve left a better person than I went in, and a more informed and rounded person. It was great for me.
Yinrun: Yes, this was a very great opportunity for me, an experience for me to know different people from all walks of life. I met so many people that I would never make friends with in my normal life, and I got the chance to know them, and bond with them. I’m very grateful for this opportunity, and all those housemates also helped me to know myself better. I feel like I have grown a lot during the whole process, and I came out as a more confident and wise person. So I’m very happy. This experience helped me so much to grow.
We saw you both form close friendships with Matty, Jordan and Trish, but will you stay in touch with everyone else?
Yinrun: We already have a WhatsApp group chat, and almost everyone’s in it. Henry and I joined in quite recently, and once everything has settled down, I think everyone will join, chat. In that group chat, dialogue just flows and flows and flows. I’m very glad to see the friendships stay active after we left the show. So definitely, I would like to meet every one of them after the show. I would definitely like to talk to them about it.
Henry: I mean, I don’t know if this is just like a short lived thing, but it does feel like everyone’s put their qualms aside. Everyone seems to be quite civil and getting on. Last night, there were 3am voice notes, because we’re all missing each other. It felt weird going to sleep without having Paul climbing around the room or Olivia dancing or something. I think we’ve all got withdrawal symptoms.
I feel like viewers at home were just wondering why Paul was topless all the time?
Henry: [Laughs] He did own clothes!
What are both of your plans now you’re out of the house?
Yinrun: Because Big Brother is very big, it’s been a huge adventure for me. I’m very glad I had this opportunity, it’s literally been the best time of my life. It’s still overwhelming, all of the very positive comments about us online. I definitely look forward to another adventure hopefully coming soon. But we will see. It’s just everything’s unknown, but everything’s exciting as well!
Henry – I mean, I’m quite similar. I’m still such a foodie and a restaurant guy, so I would still love to keep doing things in that line, but I’m really open to anything. This was all very unprecedented. It might sound naive, but when I came out, I just was not expecting the level of positive sort of feedback. I’m very grateful for that.
We have to talk about AJ Odudu and Will Best too, what were they like?
Henry – I remember on the launch night, I was absolutely terrified, I was clinging on to Will for dear life. This kind of transformation or whatever I had in there, it was strange, because when I left, I felt so much more confident and I felt it was great. [AJ and Will] were so supportive, and really ready to hold our hands when we were a bit nervous about the crowds and everything. They were wonderful.
Yinrun: AJ and Will were the last two people I talked to before I entered the house. They’re the icons, the symbol for me for the start of the Big Brother journey. They were the first people I spoke to when I came out as well, it’s like a full circle. I was very glad when I left the house and I saw Will and AJ. I thought, ‘Ahh! I’m back to the real world now’. [Puts on AJ’s accent] ‘Please do not Swuuuur!’ Every time we sat on a settee, we were like, AJ’s voice is going to go, ‘Do not swear, housemates!’
Henry: She was slaying on that dance floor at that wrap party as well. On that dance floor. It was great to see.