With two housemates from the county in this series of Big Brother, the Shropshire Star’s very own BB – Ben Bentley – visited Elstree Film Studios in London to watch the madness for himself.

What a difference a week makes! This time last week he went in Freddie Fisher IV, a posh boy whom nobody had heard of, and within hours he was renamed Halfwit and known by millions.

From early afternoon yesterday, outside Elstree Film Studios in North London where Big Brother is recorded, fans snaked around the block waiting to get inside as audience members and catch a glimpse of their new TV heroes and villains.

Many dramas have been filmed on the spot where the Big Brother house now stands – the first three Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones, and underwater scenes for film classics The Dam Busters and Moby Dick.

Quite how Big Brother 10 and Freddie Fisher’s 15 minutes of fame will rank alongside some of the most historic dramas ever committed to celluloid remains to be seen.

But for Freddie – sorry, Halfwit – it will certainly change his life. The Market Drayton entrepreneur will be forever linked with the moment he became known by a name normally reserved for imbeciles.

“He is a halfwit, he’s just boring,” said outspoken Celebrity Big Brother contestant and Shameless actress Tina Malone as we sat discussing the merits of the housemates on Big Brother’s Big Mouth in a studio next door to the house.

But her assertion was met with boos. The bloke behind me, Thomas Lange, from London, whispered in my ear: “Freddie is a big character, he just needs time. I think he could even win.”

For my small part behind the scenes of Big Brother last night, I saw how fans bayed, booed and cheered as Freddie went head-to-head in a scrap to save his Big Brother life.

It was not a pretty sight. TV viewers are able to suspend their disbelief as they watch the likes of “Shropshire two” Freddie and Kris Donnelly perform on the small screen in their living rooms.

But being there awakens you to the reality, as fans, family, friends and enemies are shepherded around a false world of cardboard walls and plastic vistas and encouraged to say things for the cameras.

Like millions of viewers I saw Freddie and Sophia sweat it out in what could have been their final few hours before their moment of truth when the question – will or won’t millions of strangers in the outside world love me – would finally be answered.

Being so close to all the Big Brother action, seeing fans screaming and families of those in the house being bayed at, I wondered: why?

Why do they put themselves, and everyone else, through it all? Is it insecurity in the real world? Desperation to be famous? A shortcut to a better life? One can only guess at the housemates’ motives.

When the cameras rolled, people were let loose – celebrity guests, the general public and a small group of journalists (although we appeared to be surplus to bitching requirements on the night) were encouraged to shout and bait the housemates as their images were flashed up on screen.

Let me tell you now that Freddie was cheered when his face appeared and earlier as Davina McCall whipped the crowd up into a frenzy for the umpteenth time ahead of the big eviction, Freddie got a huge ovation.

And then the public spoke. Of course, our man was up against someone with even less than half a wit – Sophia.

But in the event, Freddie got only nine per cent of the phone vote to get the boot, Sophia got 91 per cent.

Watching up close and personal, Big Brother really does seem like a cruel game, even if contestants are desperate enough to consent.

But Big Brother might have done Shropshire a bit of a favour.

It’s an accepted fact that most people haven’t a clue where our county is.

It’s like the mere mention of Shropshire turns the rest of the country into geographically challenged buffoons.

But with two county housemates in the Big Brother house – Freddie and Kris – their presence has helped to put Shropshire on the map.

In the queue of fans waiting to get into last night’s show – and I must say that all of them bar none looked like potential Big Brother housemates – I spoke to a number of Freddie fans who just a week ago had no idea who he was.

I got talking to a Freddie fan, a young lady who said her name was Annie Starstruck, who thought our man was a potential Big Brother winner.

She even carried a placard which said: “Freddie is not a Halfwit”.

She asked why I was asking her so many questions. I said I was from the Shropshire Star.

“Shropshire? Isn’t that where Freddie and Kris are from?”

I didn’t know whether saying yes was a good thing or a bad thing.