Once again, Big Brother is slapping us so hard and it hurts so good. So much so, that it's back to being our entire personalities for the foreseeable, and as ever, that's down to Big Brother 2024's exceptionally eclectic housemates and their romances, (persistent) rule breaks and general raucousness. Cue, a deep dive into one of the most Marmite housemates of all time, Lily Benson...
We were a fan of Lily the moment she whacked on that thirsty wig and sang Bad Romance (in full) at the top of her teeny lungs while in storage, and then we fell in love with her when she started exhibiting her vulnerability and loving nature as she settled in as a housemate.
Naturally, not all housemates, fans or journalists have warmed to Lily, and that's primarily down to her persistent screaming, which we've learned helps Lily release her immense energy; but at the end of the day, are still really f*cking loud screams.
It's tricky, even for us – her loyal fans – to watch the persistent screaming on screen and sometimes we are left thinking, 'Is this for real?'
As it turns out, not only is it 100 per cent our Lily, but there's far more more to this onion of a housemate than we're necessarily seeing on screen.
In an exclusive interview with recently evicted housemate Daze Aghaji, the Big Brother queen opened up to heatworld about her friend's 'serious, deep and vulnerable' side, a side that the public are not necessarily seeing right now.
Daze explained, '[Lily] also has this serious side to her, and I think that's the thing, she keeps the joy, but she also has serious side to her, and a deep side, and a vulnerable side that I think will come out throughout the weeks. She's very multi-faceted.'
When asked whether Lily showed this more vulnerable side to her in the house, Daze responded, 'Lily had been such support [to me], because I found this whole situation to be quite mentally draining, and yeah, Lily helped me through all of that, emotionally and as a friend. We had such intimate conversations about the way we perceive ourselves, and how we deal with issues. Also, she just wanted to learn so much, as well. And that part of her, if you haven't seen it, I hope we see more of that side of Lily.'
Us too; if not to give our poor ears some momentary respite.
Addressing Lily's notorious screeching, Daze added, 'This is the thing I love the most about her - she is who she is, regardless of how people interact with her. And that kind of authenticity is so hard to come by in general; someone who doesn't feel like they have to contort themselves to be accepted. I think it's so beautiful and so honourable at such a young age.
'I feel like people don't often give her credit for being who she is, like, fearlessly. I feel like that's one of the things that I learned from Lily - you know, I should be more myself, I shouldn't have to make myself small to be loved. She doesn't do that and that's why I fell in love with her.
'In actuality, if you'd have described Lily to me when I first went in the house, I would probably be like, "Oh my God, I live by myself, I like that quiet...", she probably would've been like the worst person to be around. In actuality, she was the person I loved the most. And that was quite surprising.
'Also, when she screams, it just makes you want to scream. It makes you want to be able to have fun and dance around and not care. It felt really amazing to just see someone so themselves. It just makes you want to be so much more of yourself, too.'
No, this friendship is pure goals.
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Ben Pulsford is a digital writer for Bauer Media, writing for both Closer online and heatworld. When he's not getting paid to gossip about Big Brother, Love Island, and The Real Housewives of Cheshire, he's storming the London LGBTQ+ scene as drag queen, Beary Poppins. Both Ben and Beary are awaiting an invite to join The Real Housewives of Cheshire for series 18. The budget's not there, but the drama is 💅.