Big Brother Bex helps city pupils; SPECIAL VISIT: Reality TV star spills beans for literacy project.

Byline: Duncan Gibbons

BIG Brother star Bex Shiner spiced up lessons when she returned to her old primary school in Coventry.

Pupils spent an hour with the bubbly brunette as she lifted the lid on her life for a school literacy project.

The 22-year-old former nursery nurse, who was the sixth housemate to be evicted last year, regularly proclaimed her love for her home city during the hit TV show.

She was invited back to Coundon Primary School, Forfield Road, to help children write a short biography as part of a project to improve their English.

They asked her about her childhood and education, her hobbies, being on Big Brother and life after the TV show, for a book which will be published online next week.

Bex said: "They all stood up and asked questions: most of it was about Big Brother.

"I left school when I was 17 but I was never there because I was always following boy bands, so I told them not to be like me, and stay on at school and try their hardest to do well.

"I said you can do anything you want in the world if you want it that much."

After leaving the Big Brother house Bex enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame in the limelight but is now back home in the city with her family, and is trying to set up business as a rep for lingerie firm Ann Summers.

Pupils said they were the envy of their friends after meeting her in the flesh.

Chloe Dodd, 10, said: "I got to interview my favourite person off BB, I think she is really funny and friendly.

"I asked her 'Was the chair in the diary room comfy?' and she said it was massive and that you could lie on it."

Alisha Maroke, 10, said: "When were heard she was here we were all scared and started screaming, but when she came in we were fine because she was so nice.

"Everyone else in the school is dead jealous."

And Lewis White, also 10, added: "A week ago we found out someone famous was coming and everybody was really excited."

In her visit to the school on Friday, Bex revealed she wasn't surprised by the decision to axe Big Brother after this year's series pulled in the worst viewing figures in its 10-year history.

"It's dead on its feet," she said. "I was writing about it for a column in Star magazine but I couldn't get into it."

CAPTION(S):

HELPING HAND...Bex assists pupils with their biography project. She is pictured (front centre) with (back from left) Jake Goodwin, Harry Sawyer, Chloe Dodd, Lewis White, Rebecca Lee, Mollie McGrane, (front left) Chloe Baker and (front right) Apollonia Walsh; below, Bex in the Big Brother house.