In the News

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Feb 21, 2006

Beauty and the Geek is E4's newest reality TV show. Screening tonight, it features seven geeky men and seven beautiful girls. They're paired up in a quest to win a cash prize of pounds 20,000. JORDAN CLOUGH caught up with `Geek' Ben Jewell, from Newcastle, who is starring in the show.

A double-first from Cambridge. Were you a bit of a brainbox at school?

Well I definitely kept my head down and got on with my work. I don't know about brainbox, though.

Teacher's Pet?

No. Definitely not, although I did used to get a lot of stick from the other kids at school.

Any memorable nicknames?

Well, there was a running joke about me being a robot or a computer or something. Not actually very funny, though.

Do your friends think you're a geek?

I don't think so. I've got a bit of a reputation with some of them for telling absolutely filthy jokes but not with others. I suppose different people get to see different sides to you.

Does that mean your friends are geekier than you?

I don't know. I don't think I have any geeky friends, really.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

I just stole my brother's Gorillaz album, that's pretty good. I like a lot of good dance music, like Basement Jaxx and Faithless. Just heard Arctic Monkeys, actually, and I have to say I'm not that impressed. They're all right but nothing like all this fuss going on at the minute. Otherwise I like to listen to a lot of older stuff, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye, that sort of thing. I like my Motown, definitely.

We were expecting something like Bach or Mozart but you've obviously got a much wider range of interests. So who's your ideal woman, then?

Oh, I don't know. The programme-makers asked us that question and ended up saying that we must idealise women but I don't think that's true. Do you mean looks-wise or what?

Depends what you think is important.

Well then I suppose I'd have to go for Natalie Portman. She's attractive, a good actress and she seems to take her job seriously and it's more about the talent rather than just being pretty. She doesn't seem as up herself, either, as some of the Hollywood actresses do.

Ultimate Geek question: Star Trek or Star Wars?

(Laughs hysterically) - Can I say Alien?

OK then, Star Wars. I liked the Ewoks, something about the whole anti-technology thing with this tribe of small furry teddy-bears bringing down a galactic empire. I liked that. They were better than Jar-Jar-Binks, anyway.

What do you think about Graeme Souness' sacking?

I don't follow football intensely and I haven't watched them play for a while but he seemed like a nice guy who had a lot of problems in his job. My flatmate's a Sunderland fan so I'm not sure if I should say anything, anyway.

Reality TV, love it or loathe it?

I wouldn't say I loved it but I don't think it's as bad as some people make it out to be. I mean, TV's there for entertainment, right? So that's what it does. TV can be there to teach, I know but who's to say that reality TV doesn't get people thinking? People like to analyse it and talk about how the people they're watching are reacting to different situations. I liked the last Celebrity Big Brother, they did quite a good thing there with Chantelle, it sort of questioned the nature of celebrity, didn't it? But then again I think most people watched it to see people making complete idiots of themselves.

Finally: Geeks or Nerds?