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Big Brother 9: Mother Teresa looks down upon Miss Wales with a tear in her eye

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Feizal Rahman looks forward to an eventful week with Mikey as head of house and urges a winner to step up.

Following the most entertaining week of the series thus far, inevitably, the past seven days have been as dull as dishwater. Hardly surprising really, given that the mother of mundane, Rachel, has reigned not-so-supreme as Head of House.

Ever unwilling to upset the applecart, Little Miss Goody Two Shoes just couldn't resist sitting astride the fence once again, all the while taking flak without reproach from most of her subjects. But in a rare, yet, incredibly ill-thought out act of rebellion, she defied Big Brother's orders not to assist the housemates from hell with the washing up.

Failing to pay heed to a warning of 'peril', Rachel's foolish decision to disobey merely resulted in the very people she was trying to help suffering even more, as a whole shopping trolley full of dirty dishes was delivered for them to clean. Mother Teresa will no doubt be looking down upon her protégé with a rueful tear in the eye. Yet, there must surely be some form of celestial influence at work as the former Miss Wales runner-up has astonishingly been backed into the [4.2] 2nd favourite to win.

Other than by default, it remains difficult to see quite how she can emerge victorious. Such circumstances have, however, steadily been falling into place as one formerly strong contender has seen his chances all but evaporate. For much of the show, Rex has been strutting around the house as if he were King of the Jungle, yet, this week's introduction of his girlfriend Nicole has seen the brash chef very nearly tamed.

Since being reunited with his 'princess', Rex's insecurities have been visible to all and a persona of a jealous, overbearing boyfriend has been unmasked. Inane bickering between the two has filled the highlight show edits, which combined with his usual acid-tongued attacks on housemates, has left Rex as the [2.6] favourite to be the 9th evictee and out to [44.0] to win.

Temperamental Nicole is just behind at [4.7] to go and with the upper crust student clearly not comfortable in the house with such common folk, it would be cruel irony for the individual who has perhaps been the key character of the show up until now, to fall by the sword of his very own girlfriend.

With teen pin-up, Dale, out the door to embark on a life as the new Peter Andre to Geordie Jen's Katie Price, musclebound cry-baby Stuart ([11.0] to win) is left as the sole eye candy for the ladies. Aussie Sara ([6.0] to go next Friday), however, has been stealthily working her way into his affections, albeit via a detour through Darnell, which has left the Ipswich rapper in a state of emotional turmoil. Having revealed he has never had a proper girlfriend - and fears he may never will - the housemate with the biggest story to tell this year has always been Darnell.

Despite his regular and inexplicable outbursts, the goodness in Darnell always overcomes and there appears very little with which to oppose him. No-one else seems presently able to stir enough passion to make the public vote for them over him and barring a crazed mass-assault on the house in the middle of the night, Darnell remains the best-placed to win overall at [7.4].

Mikey has come into his own in the last fortnight and as Head of House this coming week, could provide for some memorable moments. However, his frequent 'old git' routine will surely count against him at the final judgment. Most popular in the market at [3.6] to win, he looks plenty short enough and should eventually follow the fortunes of one-time favourite, Kathreya, who has now been pushed to [6.4]. Should Rex be the one to leave next Friday, there will be a huge void for another housemate to fill. With very little intestinal fortitude to be found in the house, whoever steps up to the plate could very well be our winner.