Hallie Clarke is officially the third person to be evicted from the Big Brother house. She may not have been in there long, but she's certainly made an impact. At just 18 years old, Hallie went on the revived reality show with the hope of challenging people's misconceptions of trans people and making the most of a once in a lifetime opportunity.
She made friends, broke the rules and took being evicted in her stride, and her attitude towards her housemates' curiosity, occasional ignorance and friendship was a joy to see. While Hallie's time may have been cut short, her reception since leaving the Big Brother house speaks to her resilience. She tells Grazia why she's always happy to educate people about being trans, how she'd love to be the next face of Ann Summers and why she wants to see Yinrun win....
How does it feel to be out of the house?
'It feels amazing! The love and support I have received, and the fact that I’ve made my community proud and I’ve inspired people, is so heartwarming. I’m really appreciative of it.
'Of course I was gutted when I heard my name. it’s a feeling of missing out. I built connections in there and they’re all friends for life. Each and every one of them I will stay in contact with. But when I stepped out and the doors opened, the crowd went wild and the love I felt was so empowering.
'The most important thing to me was to make my community proud and the fact I’ve done that feels like a huge accomplishment to me.'
What did you find hardest about being in the Big Brother house?
'I knew what I signed up for, but there were days when I missed my mum and my baby brother and my sister. You don’t realise how much you miss them until you cannot speak to them at all. That was very hard, however I loved the experience.
'It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m extremely grateful. These tasks they get you doing, you couldn’t even imagine it.'
Why do you think viewers voted you out?
'Olivia did mention that it could be to do with me being trans and what not, and I wouldn’t like to think that, but I’m not denying that it could have a part to play. There are people out there who have a problem with the way I live my life and me being trans.
'It’s heartbreaking to think that could be a main reason people used their votes, however, I hope the majority of votes were to do with me as a person and my personality and not me being trans. If I let my mind go tot that place, it would break my heart, so I don’t want to think like that.'
What made you want to go on the show?
'I think trans visibility is very important and I feel like me sharing my journey – and the fact that there’s a stigma around trans people in the media – just shows that we all come from the same pile of mess called life. I’m no different to you and you’re no different to me. It’s so amazing.
'And there are opportunities I want to get. For example, me on the face of any sort of brand would be so empowering for other trans women and men. Trans people aren’t shown enough in the media and we just need to show more of us. The sooner we realise that, the world will be a much better place.'
Who are your favourite housemates?
'I loved Olivia and Kerry. We were tight. Paul as well, he took a lot of time to get to know me and understand my journey and what I’ve been through.
'Every day he would remind me that I’m there for a reason and had a purpose to inspire the trans community. So he didn’t want me to make a fool of myself. It was important to him that I made people proud.'
There was some controversy around some questions Farida asked you about your identity during the first week. How did you feel about it?
'I understand there are trans people out there who don’t like questions and that’s completely understandable. However, for me, I love questions. With Farida’s question [as to whether men who fancy Hallie would consider themselves gay], it comes across as offensive but I’d known she hadn’t come from a place of hate she just was uneducated so I took her question as an opportunity to educate her.
'I could have been angry out of frustration, but I knew she wasn’t being horrible. Her intentions weren’t to hurt my feelings. The more you ask, the more you know. If someone was to ask me something out of line, I would let them know. And if I wasn’t comfortable enough to answer it, I would make that clear as well.'
Do you think any of the housemates are playing a game?
'I feel like if you’re playing a game in there then you must be stressing out 24/7, because it’s a lot. I don’t know how you’d go about being tactical. I think maybe there are people who are playing it safe and are filtering themselves, but no one has a game plan.'
Who would you like to win?
'I would like Yinrun to win because she’s so pure and she's such an angel. She hasn’t seen her family in two years since she moved to the UK. Her having the opportunity to either go back to China or fly her parents to the UK would warm my heart. I couldn’t imagine not seeing my parents face to face for two years. She’s amazing and I think she’s got this in the bag.
'I’d also like Olivia to win because she’s bat sh*t crazy and she’s brilliant. She’s so unapologetically her and I love it.'
Now that you've got a platform, what do you hope to do next now?
'I want to be the face of a few brands. Imagine me, a trans woman, as the face of Ann Summers for example or another lingerie brand. That would be so empowering for other trans women to see.
'I just hope I can put my face out there and inspire and make other trans men and women proud.'