Anna Nolan

Anna Nolan
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Born:	16 October 1970
Age:	54
Hometown:	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation:	Office Manager
Big Brother 1
Entered:	Day 1
Exited:	Day 64
Status:	Runner-Up
Nomination(s) Received:	6

Anna Nolan was a housemate from Big Brother 1. She entered the house on Day 1, and come out in Day 64 as the Runner-Up.

Profile

Anna comes from a large family of five sisters and one brother. Her Mother is her hero having brought up seven children, then got her degree at the age of 59. Her mother says that in the past Anna was very non-confrontational but having lived away from home she has learned to stand up for herself in relation to work and flatmates.

She worked as an office manager for a skateboarding company, but has worked as a banker, basketball coach, novice, domestic in a maternity hospital and a helper in a female prison. Her dream job is to work in the music industry. She says "I'm an easy going gay game for a laugh ex-novice nun. Sweet, kinky, devilish and dirty deep down, gentle and kind to boot!"

She likes low-fat foods, roasts, ham, olives, gherkins, classical music, basketball, Kathy Burke, tuna, cooking, blethering, drinking, jogging, and going to the gym. She dislikes marmite, jellied eels, watery mashed potato, the tube, aubergine, going to work, cleaning, her mother worrying about her

Anna's first holiday was a trip to Southern Spain with her girlfriend and her most memorable was in Vancouver on a basketball tour. She dreams of going to China and Alaska. Music-wise she loves Jazz, Q-Tip, Classical music but hates Everything But the Girl, Vengaboys and Reggae. She is musical though and plays piano, violin, mouth organ and guitar. Anna's favourite songs are Loving you by My love is your love by Whitney Houston, Minnie Riverton, Paranoid Android by Radiohead, Hit me baby one more time by Brittany Spears/Travis and If you love me, really love me by Mary Black.

Her favourite movies are What's eating Gilbert Grape?, Cinema Paradiso, The Wizard of Oz, My life as a dog and The Colour Purple. Anna can't live without her violin, vibrator and slippers. Her friends think she's "A bit of a piss head"

Her good traits are being chatty, eccentric, bright, funny, a true performer, unpredictable, likes a drink, open about her sexuality, chilled, good listener, always buys a round, cracking sense of humour, gregarious, calm, caring and , down to earth. Her bad traits are unreliability, picking toe nails and the odd drunken fart.

She finds big egos, selfishness, superficiality, bigotry annoying in others and has a phobia of heights, crossing the road and fears traffic and losing her partner. In 10 years time she sees herself adopting children, having a nice house and hopefully still in the same relationship.

Big Brother 1

Anna was nominated in the sixth week along with Craig, Darren, and Thomas, with the latter being evicted. This was Anna's only time being nominated for eviction, and she made it to the Final Two after surviving that vote. On Day 64, she was crowned the Runner-Up of the series, receiving 49% of the final vote against Craig, who received 51%.

Nominations History

Anna's Nominations History
Week		Anna's Nominations	Nominations Against Anna
2		Andrew, Darren	–
3		Andrew, Tom	–
4		Craig, Tom	–
5		Tom, Craig	Tom
6		Craig, Tom	Craig, Tom
7	Round 1	Claire, Craig	Craig
	Round 2	Claire, Craig	Craig
8		Craig, Darren	Darren
Runner-Up, Day 64

Post-Big Brother

After leaving the House, Anna began working in television, paving the way for future Big Brother housemates who were to do the same, such as Jade Goody, Chantelle Houghton and Nikki Grahame. Nolan worked for the BBC on two series, Anna in Wonderland and Closure. She also began working for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Nolan co-presented The Afternoon Show on RTÉ One, along with Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh. She spent three years presenting this. She announced in August 2006 that she would not be renewing her contract for the third series. She was replaced with first-season host (who was not present in season 2) Sheana Keane.

Nolan has stood in for Marian Finucane on RTÉ Radio, most memorably during the Kevin Myers "bastards" controversy in 2005, with the Irish media noting the irony of Nolan being a sister-in-law of Myers.

In August 2006, Nolan was a presenter of the BBC programme Inside Out when the BBC North East and Cumbria crew filmed Anomalous Phenomena Investigations of Newcastle upon Tyne, conducting a paranormal investigation at Hurworth Grange Community Centre in Hurworth-on-Tees. The show aired on 30 October 2006. Nolan has been an occasional panelist on RTÉ Two discussion show The Panel. From 2007 to 2009 she was a reporter for the RTÉ series Would You Believe. She has cooked a meal on The Restaurant. She hosted Celebrities Go Wild with Aidan Power in October 2007. In December 2007, she presented Webs of Desire on RTÉ One, during which she investigated the sexual possibilities of the internet, attended a fetishist club to discuss bondage discipline sado-masochism (BDSM) with a male person and interviewed an anonymous man who was accompanied by the caption "Individual Addicted to Porn."

Nolan is now a television producer, and in 2011 produced the show Operation Transformation. She also produced reality show Mission Beach for RTÉ. She writes a weekly column for the Evening Herald. In 2012 she directed her first documentary "Perfect Heart", about one man's wait for a heart transplant. She is series producer of the RTE show "Room To Improve". Nolan is about the present "The Great Irish Bake Off" for TV3 and she is the new Development Executive for COCO Television.

Nolan is in a relationship with Dearbhla Walsh, an Emmy Award-winning drama director. Big Brother host Davina McCall said that Anna Nolan was the only Big Brother housemate she ever befriended and that the two remain friends today. Nolan has also maintained contact with Craig Phillips and Melanie Hill. She was also supportive of Jade Goody during her cancer battle, and met her a number of times, even though they featured in separate series of Big Brother.

Nolan, who was previously a sister in Dublin's Loreto Order, today considers herself an atheist. On 10 January 2010, she hosted a special one-off programme for RTÉ One television entitled O Sister Where Art Thou? during which she attempted to track down and interview women with whom she had shared noviciate life in the order. At the end of the programme, while in conversation with a fellow former novice, she said: "I don't believe in God. I don't think there's a Heaven or Hell. I believe in the human spirit. I think we all make choices. I think we all have fears and for some people, when they get the fears or worries, they turn to a higher power. I just kind of deal with it. And when I go, that's it; I'm gone into the ground and 'goodbye world'. Which isn't depressing; some people might find it depressing. And I might be wrong and that's the good thing because if I'm wrong I'll get into heaven(!)".

Gallery

Anna enters the Big Brother 1 House

Anna hugs Craig in the Big Brother 1 living area

Anna leaves the Big Brother 1 House

Trivia

• Anna was the first ever housemate from the Republic of Ireland.
  • Anna and Tom McDermott were the only two Big Brother 1 housemates not to be from England.
• As housemates nominated in alphabetical order in Big Brother 1, Anna was the first ever female housemate to nominate two people for eviction.
• In Big Brother 1, Anna went longer than any other housemate having not received any nominations; she did not receive any nominations until Week 5.
• Out of the nine different occasions that she nominated, Claire was the only female that Anna ever voted against.
  • In Big Brother 1, Anna was only ever nominated by other male housemates.
• Anna was the first ever runner-up of a Big Brother series.
• Anna was the first ever female housemate to reach the Final of a Big Brother series.
  • Anna was the only female Big Brother 1 housemate to reach the Final of the series.
• Anna was defeated in the Final vote of Big Brother 1 by the closest percentage margin ever; she was defeated by Craig Phillips by just under 1% of the vote.
• Anna was the last female housemate remaining in the Big Brother 1 House.
• Anna made an appearance during Ultimate Big Brother on Day 2, when she participated in the "Who Is She?" task.
  • Anna was the second former housemate to appear in Ultimate Big Brother in order to take part in a task.
  • Anna was one of the four former Big Brother 1 housemates that entered the Ultimate Big Brother House in order to take part in a task.
    • Anna and Caroline O'Shea were the only two former female Big Brother 1 housemates that entered the Ultimate Big Brother House in order to take part in a task.