She has shown blatant contempt for Big Brother. But rebel-without-claws Kitten - aka Kathryn Pinder - could also be had up for contempt of court.

And if she fails to play ball, she could find herself locked up in altogether less pleasant surroundings.

Kitten, 24, who lives in Grand Parade, Brighton, had an urgent appointment in court a few days before she joined the housemates on the reality TV gameshow.

The self-styled political activist has a number of claims for unpaid fines hanging over her but magistrates delayed the hearing until next Wednesday.

Producers of the show could not say if arrangements had been made for Kitten to keep her date with magistrates.

Even if, as looks increasingly likely, she is voted out of the house on Friday a twist in this year's game means she will remain on the set in a hidden apartment to exact revenge on her housemates.

Kitten displayed her now familiar rebellious streak during an earlier appearance before Brighton magistrates - causing a scene because she was made to wait.

An onlooker said: "She was really kicking off because she was being made to wait around while a trial finished.

"She kept saying she had to get to a job interview. Of course, no one knew her from Adam then but she still seemed determined to get her own way.

"In the end, they moved it to another court or something because she got dealt with quite quickly."

Abigail Brookes, head legal adviser at the Brighton court, said:

"Non-payment of fines is not in itself a criminal offence but it can result in prison if someone refuses to pay."

It will rest with the magistrates to decide whether being a contestant on a reality TV show is a good enough reason to miss a court hearing.

A spokesman for Big Brother said contingency measures had been prepared to deal with genuine emergencies.

He said: "It would have to be something very serious that the housemate needed to know to pull them out of the house.

"The thing that is most important to us is the safety and welfare of the housemates.

"If there was something serious happening, we would take a view on what would be in the housemates' best interests."

Sussex magistrates courts are top of the national league when it comes to collecting fines.

A policy of zero tolerance and new tracking technology have helped force most defaulters to pay up.

Perhaps anti-capitalist Kitten will find a use for the £100,000 top prize if she wins.

The girlfriend of Big Brother rebel Kitten has agreed to marry her.

Lianda Gibson accepted the proposal while being interviewed on Channel 4 programme Big Brother's Little Brother yesterday.

Host Dermot O'Leary showed Lianda a clip of Kitten in the diary room taken earlier in the day.

Staring into the camera, Kitten said she was really missing her girlfriend and said: "Lianda Gibson, I love you so much. Will you marry me?"

Back in the studio, Lianda said: "Yeah, definitely."