Big Brother fans have uncovered a piece of housemate Pauline Adeyemo's past, revealing she once played football for West Ham United. The discovery came after viewers recognised her during a recent episode and began digging into her history.
Pauline's rule-break call-out
During Monday's episode (October 6), Omar surprised Rhianna with a handmade card ahead of her birthday. He ripped up a cardboard box and wrote: "Happy Birthday Riri, from Omar. Love you xxx." Pauline spotted that written communication breaks Big Brother rules and predicted a punishment could follow.
While some viewers focused on the potential rule break, others were distracted by Pauline's background. She has already shared that she works as a Private Investigator and is a carer for her mother, entering the house for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Football career uncovered
Ahead of the series, Pauline said: "Let me try and do something, that if the world was ending tomorrow, what would you do? I like to take on new opportunities because life is short."
Around 10 years ago, Pauline was a footballer, playing for sides including West Ham United. Fans found a tweet from the club's women's team account from August 2015, marking her first appearance: "Early change for the Hammers as Latoya Bailey comes off. Pauline Adeyemo is coming on for her Hammers debut."
According to a match report on the blog Supporting Women's Football, Pauline played in a pre-season friendly against King's Lyn Town Ladies the following summer, coming on as a substitute alongside Lucy Bronze. In 2017, she played for Dagenham and Redbridge's recently formed ladies team. It is unclear when the now 31-year-old stopped playing.
Fans react to Pauline's history
Fans were delighted by the discovery, with one admitting they are "obsessed with her lore." Another commented: "The way our Pauline has had every career… our barbie." One person joked: "She used to be a fine footballer to be fair, very organic flow to her game," while another replied: "She can literally handle anything. I love her."
A viewer posted: "She was on an undercover mission at the time. Doing all the training and getting into the academy is true commitment to the bit. P.I. Pauline, you never know where she'll show up next." Others compared her to the Gavin and Stacey character Nessa, who is known for naming various jobs she has had. Big Brother airs Sunday to Friday at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
