They were solid as a rock, but then yesterday, the rock got splintered and a little pebble went skimming out the door. So how have The Outsiders coped with their first full day without Lauren? Have they formed new bonds with The Insiders or are they mooching about on their lonesomes?

It was a mournful beginning for Adam and Luke A who took a moment on waking to discuss how tricky it would be without little laugh-bomb Lauren around. The Dilemmas task distracted everyone for most of the day but when evening came and Deana was the housemate to lose out on a letter from home, it was time once again to evaluate how The Outsiders were coping.

Adam and Luke A had a brief bout of bonding with The Insidet men, Luke S, Conor and Scott. It was strange and Adam let a laddy streak show. Is he taking Lauren’s parting advice and attempting to build bridges wherever a friendly brick is offered?

In no time at all however it was back to ye faithful trio with a make-up free Deana (sporting toothpaste on her face...cute) venting to Adam and Luke A about how tough she is finding the BB experience.

“There’s only three weeks left. Enjoy it,” said Luke A, in a bid to cheer up Miss India UK.

But the lady was not for cheering.

“There’s nothing to enjoy. I can’t stand the people,” she announced glumly.

Adam gave her a hug but then zeroed in on something on her hair.

“Do not say it’s another grey hair, everything is just going wrong!” wailed a distressed Deana.

Let’s hope Sunday brings something to lift this poor Outsider out of her funk.

Ashleigh was always going to struggle not to swear but even we did not anticipate she would drop the f-bomb within the first minute of being given the task.

Unfortunately the consequences of her actions have spilled over beyond her own reputation. She lost one housemate a letter from home and that housemate was Deana.

Our Miss India UK took the blow well and disappeared off to the bedroom for a bit of alone time rather than listen to the other housemates reading out heart-warming passages from their own correspondence.

Luke A reassured her saying, "I respect you for taking it so well. Your family will be so proud of you."

Sara also attempted to sugar-coat the pill offering to let her share her friends. Cheers Sara, not quite the same.

Ashleigh offered (in our opinion) a rather half –hearted apology before heading for the garden to lament the quality of her own letter which arrived in poem form, rather than a gushing outpouring.

She said, "I didn’t even want my letter. It meant nothing to me. Imagine it was Becky who didn’t get her letter." A touch insensitive perhaps.

She later retired to the  chaise longue for a little cry and did tell Becky - who popped her head into the bathroom to offer a few comforting words – she felt bad for Deana.  

Deana’s brave face seems to have earned her a new respect from her housemates. Caroline even cuddled up to reassure her with her slightly ‘cold’ letter from her own family.

And Luke S finally managed to drag himself away from crowing about his own correspondence to offer Ashleigh a shoulder to cry on. So all’s well that ends well. For now.

Day 47 round-up

Big Brother clearly felt that Lauren’s departure was not enough of a challenge as Day 47 was dominated, not just by aftermath of the Jersey girl’s exit, but also a Dilemmas task that taxed each and every housemate to the hilt.

A further influence on the dynamics of the day was the Luke A-Becky confrontation of Day 46. In the wee hours of Day 47, Scott found himself on the receiving end of an Ashleigh-Becky chorus  of ‘who's side are you on boy?!’ He held his end up manfully but neither this, nor sleep, did anything to curb Becky’s indignation. She woke up all guns blazing, this time over the age difference between herself and her sparring partner. How very dare someone older than her cross her, she asked Adam. It’s interesting how tactless housemates are getting when it comes to venting.

A quiet, more touching moment came as Luke A and Adam paid respects to their dear departed Lauren. “It’s like someone’s died,” said Luke A. Sweet, also weird. Having survived eviction, therefore staying in place of Lauren, Luke A got a touch of the old paranoia and became all fearful that Adam would come to resent him for displacing his lady love. In the Big Brother world every silver lining has a cloud...

The Dilemmas task then came barrelling in to test the selflessness of the housemates by presenting them with a range of innovative choices. In order to win letters from home for the housemates,  Luke S gunged his protein, Sara sacrificed her eviction outfit and dressed as the Queen, Conor didn’t speak for four hours (with the aid of a gag), Scott spoke in his native Macclesfield accent, Luke A was forbidden from smoking, Ashleigh was banned from swearing, Becky had to ride an exercise bike, Adam bobbed in a boat (the oddest task),Deana had to wipe off her make-up and Caroline had to consume her second fish eye of the run.

Everyone bar Ashleigh succeeded which led to an evening dominated by letter reading, tears and lols, that is for everyone except Deana who suffered for Ashleigh’s inability to speak in clean English. She slunk off to hide her disappointment in the bedroom while Ashleigh made a half-hearted attempt at feeling bad. Where her heart got real was in alover’s spat with Luke S.  Lushleigh fans will be relieved to discover that their fall-out was a storm in a steak pan and, with the help of Agony Uncle Conor, the pair were back on track and smoochier than ever. Yay. Vom.

Becky and Luke A made a tentative peace... for now and the Insiders and Outsiders made a bewildering attempt at hanging out together. Lauren’s departure may well have thrown everything up in the air. Let’s see what happens to the alliances later today without the task around to absorb the housemates.