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But as Jan Goodey discovers,
Big Brother's first ejectee Sada wouldn't present one now for
all the tea in, er, Bhutan....
It would be easy to pillory
Sada, the first contestant to be unceremoniously slung out of
Channel 4's Big Brother. I can see you scratching your head -
Sada? Who's Sada? Well, at the risk of resurrecting a memory
long consigned to a far corner of your mind, she was widely
portrayed as the dippy hippy, token New-Ager into yoga,
meditation and all things Eastern. You know, the good looking
one, high cheek bones, blond locks, svelte figure, all that.
I'd say Sloane Ranger, but she's actually more Wandsworth
Bridge Road. Anyhow, to the point, Sada Walkington, 29, a
postgraduate in Oriental and African Art, a bright friendly
woman, is determined, confident and a newly published author
to boot.
I chatted to her on her mobile
as she dashed into a cab on her way to yet another media
love-in. Chatted is the right word as we were constantly
interrupted by a string of waiting callers who she just had to
talk to.
At first I felt like calling it
a day, but then being told it was fellow BB's Mel or Caggy aka
Catherine, on the line, (wanting to know if she could crash at
Sada's for a few days if you're at all interested) didn't make
me feel quite so unwanted. And being called darling
periodically - "Hold on darling, I'll be with you in one
sec" - made me laugh, it could have been Sophia Loren.
So what's been the fall-out
from Big Brother? "It is really stressful, having done a
show in which you're propelled to some magnitude of fame. I
think one has to be really careful about it, how to judge
fame, I think a lot of it is very pseudo, very hollow. I
certainly don't see myself as being very famous. I'm someone
who's remotely recognisable as being on a show, but still you
have to be very in control of things." Who does she keep
in touch with then? "Caroline and Nicola. Nicola's in
Bolton and Caroline in Birmingham so we see other when we're
free."
"But everyone keeps in
touch with each other, sometimes we do jobs together. We're
not false about it, the programme joins you closer together,
it's important to talk about the experience. We've got things
in common and get on well, otherwise I wouldn't have gone this
far down the line keeping in touch." The only others to
get a mention here though are Darren and Anna. "I love
those two, but Darren's so busy at the moment you can't get
hold of him." He's probably on the phone Sada, to Caggy,
or Mel...
I'm interested to know who she sees riding out the current
bubble of fame? "I'm hoping it will be me." That's
not very Zen. She's supposed to be the spiritual one, the one
who took Buddhist vows not too long ago, the one who changed
her name to the Sanskrit Sada, meaning 'holding spiritual
resonance'.
I think I might've stumbled
upon the central contradiction in her character - courting
things which don't seem to fit with a spiritual outlook.
"I didn't do the show for those reasons," she
counters, "but I'd like to initiate and present
alternative programmes, something nice, not The Price Is
Right. I'd like to write about alternative lifestyles, promote
yoga and ayurveda, the underground club scene, dance, music,
world issues."
"There are special places
I've travelled to like Ladakh and Bhutan, which I'd love to
photograph and make beautiful books on. I'd also like to
create a sculpture park and even go to India and be filmed as
a practitioner with an amazing yoga guru and give something
back." Take it easy girl, you'll be wanting Clive James's
job next. As it is she may just have to stick with the writing
because there have been no TV offers, since a brief spot on
the Big Breakfast.
Her book The Babes' Bible was
published in October and is "a thinking woman's love
guide, helping women to recognise the various types of men out
there". Written jointly with her landlady and friend
Elizabeth Hearn, look out for it in the bestseller lists.
Hip and frothy is in and Sada's
riding the crest of a wave at the moment, "Peace and good
wishes to everybody," her final words to me.
Sada will be signing copies
of The Babe's Bible at Borders on Thursday Nov 30.
copyright New Insight 2000
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