When patience pays handsomely

Some people will do anything for money, as Channel 4’s on-going saga of experimentation with the human psyche Big Brother proves.

But while Big Brother’s participants are fighting to curry favour with viewers to compete for £70,000, other guinea pigs are prepared to sign off a period in their lives for a lesser prize.

For example, five strangers were prepared to be holed up in an Ideal Home Show house and perform stunts to try to win £10,000 in the Housemates from Hell competition, run by Heart 106.2 radio station in June.

But the contestant most prepared to go furthest for the littlest is Jean Handsome, who must have the patience of a saint. For little did the 27-year-old care assistant from South Africa know that when she stepped into a Toyota Yaris with three other contestants – each armed only with a Siemens WAP mobile phone and a spending credit of £50 – she would have to make it her home for 105 hours in order to outlast the others and win the car. There’s commitment for you.