BB winner to be Shakespearean actor

Big Brother winner Brian Belo is to try his hand at being a Shakespearean actor during a visit to the Bard's former home.

The 20-year-old, who famously denied having heard of the playwright, is to read some of his most famous lines at his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon tomorrow.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust organised the visit to mark the launch of its new Shakespeare Aloud initiative, which aims to bring his works to a wider audience.

The Trust's tourism boss Lincoln Clarke said: "Brian's admission on Big Brother that he'd never heard of Shakespeare made us wonder how many other young people are similarly unaware.

"We tend to take it for granted that everyone has heard of Shakespeare and that they have at least some knowledge of his most famous plays. It is obviously an assumption we should not be making.

"I am delighted Brian has accepted our invitation to visit Stratford and come to the house where he was born. We're also pleased that he has agreed so wholeheartedly to help us in our aim of bringing Shakespeare to young people."

Belo will be at the Henley Street house tomorrow, where he will be coached to read aloud from the Bard's texts.

He split from Big Brother co-star Amanda Marchant earlier this year.