Big Brother UK

Big Brother UK is a reality television programme, broadcast in the United Kingdom previously on Channel 4, from 2000 - 2010, on Channel 5 from 2011 - 2018, and on ITV2 since 2023. The show's first series was in 2000. Every year since, a main series has aired throughout the summer, and in the winter there is usually a spin-off series (often Celebrity Big Brother).

Background[]

The idea for the show came during a brainstorm session at the production house of John de Mol Produkties (an independent part of Endemol) on September 4, 1997. The first Big Brother broadcast was in the Netherlands in 1999 on the Veronica TV channel. It has been a prime-time hit in almost 70 countries.

Format[]

On Day 1, a set number of people will enter the Big Brother House. Numerous cameras and microphones record every word and every move, leaving the housemates with zero privacy. Highlights from each day are broadcast every night of the week. Once a week each housemate is called to the Diary Room in order to nominate two of the other housemates they would like to be evicted. The two housemates who receive the most number of noiminations will face a public vote. The nominated housemate with the greatest percentage of the public vote will then leave the House live to face a public audience and an interview with the series' presenter. Housemates are expected to pass tasks set by Big Brother in order to gain a luxury shopping budget and are expected to adhere to the rules at all times. Housemates will be continually evicted until the Final, when the public vote decides who the winner is out of the remaining housemates. The winner then receives a cash prize.

Since Big Brother 1, Davina McCall presented every series of Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother to air on Channel 4. Davina is usually only seen on eviction nights where she announces the name of the evicted housemate then interviews the evictee live, on Final night where she announces the winner and interviews all finalists or usually on any other Big Brother episode that airs live (excluding live feeds). Since Celebrity Big Brother 8, Brian Dowling presented every series to air on Channel 5 up to Celebrity Big Brother 10. Since Big Brother 14, Emma Willis has fronted the main show on Channel 5.

Exceptions to this are when Dermot O'Leary presented Teen Big Brother UK and Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, the latter being a replacement for that year's scheduled Celebrity Big Brother. From 2001 until 2007, Dermot presented each Big Brother's Little Brother for series Big Brother 2 to Big Brother 8.

In 2008, George Lamb and Zezi Ifore were introduced as the new co-presenters of Big Brother's Little Brother. Zezi stopped presenting the show early in the series and George presented Big Brother's Little Brother by himself for the rest of series 9 and 10, Emma Willis joined George as a co-presenter for series 11.

Big Brother's Big Mouth was introduced during Big Brother 5 and was originally hosted by Russel Brand. In 2007, during Big Brother 8, the presenter for BBBM changed weekly. In 2008, during Big Brother 9, it was presented by Jack Whitehall and for Big Brother 10 and 11, the following years, Davina herself presented the show.

The latest, and currently the only, spin-off Big Brother's Bit On The Side was previously presented by Emma Willis during all series between Celebrity Big Brother 8 and Celebrity Big Brother 10.

For the daily highlights, the narrator is Marcus Bentley.

House[]

For the first two series, the House was located near Bow, London; however it was ordered to be demolished afterwards, and so subsequent series have taken place at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood. Big Brother can electronically lock any door in the House, therefore being able to control which areas of the House that housemates can and cannot visit.

Layout[]

For every series of Big Brother, the House is redecorated, usually with extreme and modern designs. Each House has its own distinct design and theme. The House consists of the main house and a garden which usually contains a small swimming pool and, since the public smoking ban, a designated smoking area. The main house has a kitchen, living space, a bathroom and several toilets, and a bedroom, usually one in which all housemates must sleep although in previous series there have been more than one bedroom.

An important room of the Big Brother House is the Diary Room, the only place in the House where housemates can be personally addressed by Big Brother and the only place where housemates can speak in total secrecy from other housemates.

The storage room is only used when Big Brother announces that it is unlocked for housemates to collect certain items. Items that might be delivered to the House via the storage room are costumes or equipment for tasks, the weekly shopping and suitcases for nominated housemates to pack their bags in-case of eviction. Although in Big Brother 15, the storage room remained open for the majority of the series, acting as a pantry for the housemates.

Tasks rooms are also used occasionally when a task set by Big Brother has to be completed in a room separate from other housemates or when a task has to be carried out in secret. In recent series of Big Brother a task room can be accessed from the garden and another can be accessed from the Diary Room.

Secret Rooms[]

In Big Brother 5, a secret room was used for two falsely evicted housemates to live in until their return to the House. This was called the "Big Brother Bedsit". In Big Brother 6, the"Secret Garden" was used to house three new housemates who secretly entered the House. Only Makosi Musambasi knew of their existence and had to assist them as part of a task. In Big Brother 7, the "House Next Door" was used to house 5 new housemates and one falsely evicted housemate from the main House. It was later used as part of the prison task that series. The Big Brother Bedsit returned in Ultimate Big Brother.

The Golden Cage[]

It was never revealed until early October 2010 but the original idea of Big Brother was infact a show called 'The Golden Cage' which would of seen the lives of 10 normal people living in a villa, with no evictions or nominations.

The winner would receive 1 Million Pounds, and it would of had the potential to run all year round, or more until the game has one contestant left standing.

However, this idea was put aside and instead we ended up with Big Brother.