Big Brother Series 2

Dean

Dean O'Loughlin was once nearly driven mad by a massive overdose of ecstasy. The drug was given to him by his best friend, former dealer Micky Smyth, when 37-year-old Dean visited him in New York. The one-off experience left musician Dean with six months of psychiatric problems, including panic attacks and paranoia.

Dean said: "I thought I was going to die. My personality changed." Micky, 38, who was later jailed in America on other drugs charges and then deported to Britain, said: "I had a pile of ecstasy in front of me. I scooped some up and gave it to him and obviously it was far too much. It sent him a bit mad. At first he was really euphoric and we had a great laugh. But then he started having panic attacks and thinking the building he was in was about to collapse. The feelings kept returning for about six months afterwards. I felt really, really bad because I'd given him the stuff and it gave him real mental problems. He hasn't taken drugs since then. He doesn't like to be out of control."

Meanwhile back in the house Dean has condemned his housemates as a bunch of thickheads. He moaned that he cannot stand their "boring and stupid" conversations and claimed he has to "intellectually downshift" to fit in. Dean, who was supported by Elizabeth, said: "It feels like I'm not getting enough mental stimulation in here...I need something for my brain."

Dean revealed his feelings while chatting with Elizabeth in the garden. The wannabe internet entrepreneur said: "If the people who make this worthwhile weren't here, there wouldn't be any point for me. With Brian, you can have a laugh. But when it comes to anything else... I can't joke or function at that level for very long. I can a little bit, then I'm like `For God's sake, you don't know the name of the first man on the moon!'"

As Elizabeth nodded in agreement Dean went on: "To be honest, to talk about Posh and Becks for me is climbing down. There's no other way it can be. To talk about Jennifer Lopez, or to sing songs from the charts, is climbing down. I don't care if anyone thinks I'm elitist - that's fine. I don't want to talk about Destiny's Child. It's beneath me. I need some stimulus. I need to talk about stuff."

The pair then struggled to work out what intellectual topics they should talk about. Elizabeth decided to give her views on the other girls. She said: "I find sometimes with the girls, well, they're girly girls. It's probably because I'm not a girly girl. So I can't sit down and talk about hair and makeup, and things like that. You can only talk about bloody Posh and Becks and pop music for..and conversations are not performed at a yell. Not let's see who can scream the loudest."

Later Dean, of Birmingham, confided in the diary room: "It's not very me being in here a lot of the time. It seems I'm having to downshift intellectually."