A FORMER Oxfordshire schoolgirl, who doesn't own a TV and isn't religious, is starring in the latest BBC reality show, The Convent.

Poet and publisher, Victoria Bennett, 34, was born in Banbury and attended Overthorpe Preparatory School.

Picked from 500 applicants, she and three other women entered the silent order of The Convent of the Poor Clares in Arundel, West Sussex, for 40 days and 40 nights.

The series, running on BBC 2 on Wednesday nights, shows them living as nuns under vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity, spending hours in contemplation, silence and prayer and giving up all contact with the outside world and their material possessions.

Ms Bennett, who is married and decided to apply for the series after suffering a traumatic miscarriage in 2003, said: "The loss of the baby, and subsequent illness left me very lost. I wanted to re-find my trust in my path and face my own confusions about how I live.

"At first, friends and family were surprised I applied, given that I had no previous connection with religion. And they laughed at the thought of me having to be obedient!

"However, they all know me as someone who does not run away from the deeper challenges, and someone who follows her intuition and asks questions so in the end, it seemed both strange and very normal."

While The Convent is not a reality show in the same vein as Big Brother, the women's private lives do come under the microscope, including Ms Bennett's "open" marriage to her husband, Adam.

"Obviously, I took a risk in not hiding my life choices, particularly when it comes to my personal relationships," she said.

"Maybe that will help others to have the courage to not be ashamed of who they are, but to embrace their spirit and celebrate their wild nature!"

The relationships between Ms Bennett and the other volunteers a children's entertainer, a policewoman and a singer/songwriter are also seen "warts and all".

She said: "There is a lot made of my friendship with another volunteer, Angela. I never felt as though it was excluding to the others, though I recognised it caused some problems in the community.

"However, I am so glad that we met and that this friendship has inspired us to follow a dream we realised in the convent. It is our hope to raise the funds to renovate Angela's house in Tuscany and turn it into a creative and spiritual retreat."

Ms Bennett, now back home, said: "I miss the sisters greatly but we stay in touch through email and letters, and I went down recently for a weekend visit.

"I saw the first programme the day before it was aired on a friend's video as I do not, and never have had, a TV.

"I have trust in this as a programme, in its authenticity of intention.

"Now, if only people can get beyond the Big Brother cultural mentality of choosing 'which of the house-mates to evict'..."