“I came home and came out as a lesbian. I’ve lost friends over it, but if you don’t like me for me, I don’t care.”
Bridie from Salford admitted the series was “life changing” for her(Image: Channel 5/ Orchard Studios )
Channel 5’s new “fish-out-of-water” series led to some major lifestyle revelations for 23-year-old Bridie from Salford.
Trading Places is a brand new series which sees three young people taken away from everything they know for a week to live in a very different world by different rules – leading to some pretty eye-opening experiences and results.
Bridie hails from Salford and is a TikTok fashion influencer, as well as a fashion design student. She has an impressive amount of clothing to fill five wardrobes, rarely repeating an outfit more than once.
Although the hit of dopamine arrives when getting a new parcel from online shopping, Bridie admitted that she’s constantly glued to her phone, and has started to feel guilty about how much she wastes and is worried that her world has become too shallow. She’s now on the search for a more meaningful life.
Having stepped back in time to a 60s-inspired off-grid hippy commune which puts people and the planet first, Bridie spoke with the Manchester Evening News about her time living a different lifestyle to her own.
She said: “It was a big step out of my comfort zone and not really being on my phone, being outside a lot. I do like being outside, it was quite whimsical which is very different from the Salford city life that I’m used to. It’s really busy and I’m just doing things all the time, it was nice to be in nature with genuine people.”
Bridie then admitted that being on the show felt like “such a breath of fresh air” as she continued: “On the first day of shooting, I actually didn’t even wear any makeup and that is not me. I used to not leave the house without makeup on.
“I was like, ‘I don’t need this’. To be on camera, and you’ve got four massive cameras and they’re really good quality and I’ve got no makeup on, that just says it all to be honest.”
She went on to exclaim how “ordering loads of parcels” and “getting free stuff on TikTok” started to feel “ridiculous”, adding: “There’s so much more to life than parcels and all of this on the surface stuff. It’s so much deeper than that and being out there definitely made me reconsider things and be more present in my life.”
The new Channel 5 series airs this Sunday(Image: Channel 5/ Orchard Studios)
Bridie revealed that her “life totally changed” after she wrapped up filming the series, and shared: “I came home and came out as a lesbian. I’ve lost friends over it, but if you don’t like me for me, I don’t care.” She went onto add that she’s now focusing on making “funny, relatable” content on TikTok with her girlfriend whom she met through the app.
Touching on what she hopes viewers will take from her story on Trading Places, Bridie said: “I want to encourage more young girls to be themselves, as opposed to being who they think society needs them to be. I am feminine presenting, but my personality is a bit more masculine, and that’s fine, that’s normal.
“But, women are told, sit with your legs crossed, don’t be loud, don’t make loud jokes. Who cares? At the end of the day we all come from a woman. Just for people to be themselves and not care.”
Bridie praised Channel 5 adding that she “felt really looked after”, dubbing the series as an “amazing” experience. She shared how she celebrated turning 23-years-old while filming, adding that her birthday is really important to her because as a Buddhist she doesn’t celebrate Christmas.
She gushed: “After two days, they felt like my family and I got so many gifts, people made me things, they had to buy me a whole new suitcase so I could bring everything home! They made it so special.”
You can catch the first episode of Trading Places on Sunday May 10 at 9pm on Channel 5