Outrage in Norfolk!

It is set to be the most unjust Big Brother eviction of the six series so far - and it features Sheringham hairdresser Craig Coates.

Either Craig, 20, who lives at Cromer, or fellow housemate Mary will be free of the grasp of Big Brother by 10pm tonight. The fact they are up for eviction at all is a serious bone of contention.

Among the disapproving mass is Katie Fuller, Craig's best friend.

She and many others feel the fact that nominations were left in the hands of one other housemate (a complicated story, but fans will understand) was devious. Few would argue. But irrespective of this, Katie, who has known Craig for eight years through school and family links, decided to speak to the EDP because she felt the picture painted so far of her friend was deeply unfair.

"If you watch the live 24-hour-a- day version of the show, you would have a completely different impression of him compared to if you had only seen the edited highlights," said Katie. "Even his promotional interview was obviously heavily edited - you could tell because his outfit kept changing - and that gave a completely false impression of him as well." Katie said the impression created was Craig was "foul mouthed and aggressive".

"But that's not him at all," she said. "He is the life and soul of the party, funny and kind, caring and energetic.

"He does anything for anyone. For instance, before he went away he was working until 10pm or 11pm at night at his hairdresser's in Sheringham, just so he could fit in some extra appointments and not leave anyone in the lurch."

Family and friends had been particularly upset by the interpretation of a comment Craig had made about people who lived in council houses. "What he said and what he was reported to have said were different things," said Katie, who is also close friends with Craig's family, including parents Johnny and Yvette.

"He wasn't talking about everyone who lived in a council house, he was talking about a few people who take advantage.

"He was brought up in a council house, for goodness sake. People have to realise that this is TV and housemates can be portrayed pretty much however the TV people want to portray them.

"To be honest we don't care what the rest of the UK think about him, but his close friends and family feel it is important people locally don't get the wrong impression of what he is like."

Katie, who will travel to the Big Brother eviction event today with members of Craig's family, said she was hoping her friend would remain in the contest for the sake of his future success, but admitted she would like to see him.

"I think he will come out different, perhaps a bit harder, but at the end of the day he is still the same Craig, whether he has been on Big Brother or not," she said.

Eastern Daily News