The sibling of a Big Brother contestant has rallied behind his "weird, nerdy" loved one.

Greg Sully is the older brother of Eugene, a contestant in the UK's most popular reality TV programme.

Eugene, from Pound Hill, Crawley, is billed as the nerd of the 2005 series. He is a self-confessed 27-year-old virgin and radio enthusiast who throws televisions off cliffs to record the sound they make.

After his co-star Kinga was evicted from the show, she branded him a "geek".

But Greg, 29, praised his performance so far - and said he is the only one on the programme who is being true to himself.

Eugene, known to his family as Genie, arrived on Big Brother in a pair of fig leaf pants. Since then he has been seen bursting into tears after failing a task and stripping off to take an outdoor shower.

Greg said: "He is the most honest character in there. He is just being himself. He is exactly like he is at home.

"A lot of them are just being fake. It is as if they decided after six years of Big Brother to put a real person in there."

He said even if Eugene was portrayed as a geek, he was in good company among housemates such as Derek, a former political analyst, and Science, a musical entrepreneur.

He said: "There are at least three nerds in there. They bring a sort of order to what's happening. I know Derek, Science and Makosi are quite intellectual, although Science has got a little freaky. He's losing it."

Eugene is a former Sussex University student who discovered his love for throwing electrical goods from a height while on the top floor of flats in the Lewes Court campus in 1998.

He has since worked for University Radio Falmer, Surf 107 in Brighton and Mercury FM in Crawley and is currently employed as an electrical engineer.

His mother, Janet Sully, is a West Sussex County Councillor for Bewbush, Gossops Green and Southgate.

Eugene stood for election himself this year in the Pound Hill, Worth and Maidenbower ward but failed to win.

Greg, a media arts student at Plymouth University, said it was sometimes "disconcerting" to come home, switch on the TV and find his brother on screen in a bikini but he was still pleased Eugene had gone into the house.

Greg said: "He is weird and he is a nerd. I'm not going to argue with that. I love him anyway."

A web site supporting Eugene has been set up by his friends at www.eugene2win.com.