If someone had told Deana Uppal a year ago that she would be making headline mainstream press, she probably wouldn’t have believed it. After her recent success on reality TV show Big Brother – Deana has become a headliner, and it seems months later the controversy of the show is still bringing her under the media spotlight. Staying true to herself and graceful under immense pressure Deana succeeded as one of the show’s finalists.
Ikonz Showbiz reporter Zara Amina Taswar spoke exclusively to Deana as news came out that Channel 5 had been censured by the media watchdog Ofcom over an incident involving her during this summer's series of Big Brother.
During your time in the big brother house this year, your fellow housemate Conor Mclyntre said some pretty nasty things about you. How have you been coping with the situation personally since you’ve left the Big Brother house?
I was a bit annoyed that no one told me what was said while I was in the house. It seemed like the issue was swept under the carpet and even once I had left the house and had my interview, no one told me what was said. It seemed like people wanted to just avoid it like nothing happened. Also Conor was rewarded with 50 grand, it was like he was rewarded for what he said.
Have you been in contact with Conor since you left the Big Brother house?
Yes he did tweet some horrible things about me, but I haven’t spoken to him since.
How do you feel about the way Channel 5 has dealt with the situation?
I feel like the issue was ignored and they haven’t done anything to punish him. He was laughing about it and I feel disappointed that Channel 5 didn’t show the public he was wrong! It’s like promoting a bad role model to young people!
There were a lot of complaints made about that Big Brother episode and this shows the strong fan base that you have. Has this made you feel a little bit better knowing people are supporting you?
Yes I never expected to have so many supporters and knowing that I have supporters is really nice. I am really grateful and appreciate the time they have taken out to complain about this issue. Things are only done when people stand up.
How have the public responded to the story? Have you had any comments from anyone else?
I’ve had a few racist comments thrown at me a few times when I’ve been walking down the street and that hasn’t been very nice. Apart from that everything is positive and people I’ve spoken to are supporting me. it’s been more positive than negative.
That’s good to hear! So moving on to something more positive now. What are your plans for next year?
I want to focus on my acting career and see where that takes me and I am also starting up my own clothing line. I am also working on my model workshops where I teach girls to model so, yeah I’ve got a few things going on at the moment.
Sound’s great we look forward to the clothing line! So I really have to ask, do you have any regrets of going into the Big Brother house?
No regrets! I am happy I did it! It was a good experience and I have something to tell the kids (laughs)
Interview by Zara Amina Taswar @ZaraAmina
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