Big Brother 2009 (UK)
Encyclopedia
Big Brother 2009, occasionally referred to as Big Brother 10, was the tenth series of the British reality television
series Big Brother
. It began on 4 June 2009 and was aired on Channel 4
and E4 for 93 days, concluding on 4 September when Sophie "Dogface" Reade was crowned the winner with 74.4% of the viewer's vote. The format of the programme remained largely unchanged from previous series; a group of people, referred to as housemates, are enclosed in the Big Brother House under the surveillance of cameras and microphones. Each week, the viewers decide which of a selection of housemates is evicted and, in the final week, one housemate is voted as the winner. The daily highlights programme was narrated by Marcus Bentley
, Davina McCall
fronted the launch programme, evictions, special episodes, the final and Big Brother's Big Mouth and George Lamb
presented Big Brother's Little Brother.
The programme included 22 participants, four of whom left the programme voluntarily whilst the fate of the others was decided by the public vote. The housemates were originally competing to win a £
100,000 prize but, due to rule-breaking by the participants, this was reduced to £71,320. The series, which was sponsored by Lucozade
, achieved significantly less media coverage and viewing figures, resulting in it becoming the least watched until Big Brother 2011
. This edition of Big Brother also attracted controversy, with accusations of bullying between contestants drawing complaints and criticisms levelled at the welfare of housemates after they left the programme.
No housemates represented this series in Ultimate Big Brother, neither did any participate in tasks during that series.
Big Brother 2009 was produced by Brighter Pictures, a division of Endemol
. This series of the programme had been confirmed since 2006 as part of a £180 million contract between Endemol and Channel 4. Phil Edgar-Jones was the creative director of the series whilst Sharon Powers was the executive producer. Open auditions for the programme, which were confirmed during the final of Celebrity Big Brother 2009
, began on 3 January 2009 in Edinburgh
and ended on 7 February in Manchester
. Internet auditioning via YouTube
, which saw 2,600 apply, ended on 3 February 2009. Auditionees were subjected to three interviews with various producers, additional meetings with a psychologist and a psychiatrist and a final "talk of doom", in which they were warned about the negative impact that appearing on Big Brother could have on their lives. In the weeks preceding the series, the selected housemates were put into "hiding" with no access to the outside world. Housemates were offered aftercare from the production team for up to six months after they left the programme.
The programme's logo, the Big Brother Eye, is based on a black, purple and blue thumbprint and was released on 11 May. It is designed by Daniel Eatock. From 19 May, Channel 4 began uploading teaser clips to the official Big Brother UK YouTube channel; these were also aired during commercial breaks on Channel 4 and its related channels. The series is sponsored by Lucozade Energy and the promotional break bumpers
were created by M&C Saatchi
and are based upon a 'little brother versus big brother' scenario. The programme began on 4 June, with a 95 minute special programme which introduced the initial 16 participants, and was broadcast on Channel 4 and E4 over a period of 93 days, concluding with the final on 4 September.
. These episodes summarised the events of the previous day in the House. Alongside these highlights shows were spin-off programmes, Big Brother's Big Mouth and Big Brother's Little Brother, that commented on fandom
, cultural reaction to the events within the House and included interviews with celebrities, former housemates and family and friends of housemates. On Fridays, a live eviction programme was hosted by Davina McCall
in which the evicted contestant left the house and received an interview from McCall and two guests. For 2009, BBLB returned with George Lamb
presenting five weekday evening programmes and one Sunday edition per week. Big Mouth was also fronted by McCall and was broadcast on E4 on Friday nights for an hour after the main eviction programme.
In a change to normal eviction interviews this series saw McCall and the evictee on a panel joined by two celebrity fans or psychologists, joining them were:
The panel was not used for the finale, however, Judi James made a recorded segment about each finalist. The panel format was scrapped for the following celebrity
and regular series
, where McCall interviewed the evictee in the traditional format.
, the programme was filmed at Elstree Studios
in Borehamwood
, Hertfordshire
. A total of 27 editing suites, manned by over 300 members of staff, were situated in the "George Lucas
Stage" to produce the programme. In the 18 May issue of Star magazine, aerial photographs of the House were published, showing the garden under construction. Official pictures of the House interior were released by Channel 4 on 1 June, showing the entrance stairway, living room and garden. The entrance stairway had images of insects on its walls whilst the garden and living room had a science fiction
theme; the former included a bus stop
as the designated smoking area. On 3 June, Metro
published an image of the Diary Room, which has a multicoloured chair and wall pattern. There was also a shipping container
-based bathroom, a sitting room with red sofas, a wood panelled kitched with purple, black and white fittings and a bedroom with splats of paint covering the walls. The house contained 44 cameras, 75 two-way mirrors and 57 fixed microphones, as well as individual microphones for each housemate.
In a change from previous series, Channel 4 announced that it would no longer donate any of its income from the premium-rate telephone lines
, by which viewers vote for whom they would like to see evicted or win the programme, to charitable organisations
. The broadcaster said that the current economic downturn is to blame for this decision and that the change would bring Big Brother into line with other programmes of its kind, such as The X Factor
and Strictly Come Dancing
. The format of the live eviction interview programme was altered for this series. Unlike previous series in which McCall interviewed evicted housemates by herself, she was instead joined by two guest panellists to "interrogate" the evictee. Panellists included former housemates, journalists, psychologists, and fans of the programme. A new rule was added to the programme at the start of the series; "fake romances" were not permitted.
in the programme's history, which involved the housemates Charlie Drummond and Rodrigo Lopes.
, believing it to be real glass, and Karly became the seventh housemate after being tricked into believing that she had a motorbike ridden over her stomach. Freddie and Sophie became housemates after changing their names, documented by deed poll
to Halfwit and Dogface respectively. On Day 3 Cairon earned housemate status by dunking a biscuit in a cup of tea for 25.5 seconds without it disintegrating. Remaining non-housemates Angel, Beinazir, Marcus, Siavash, Sophia and Sree faced the public vote on Day 4 to determine which five would become housemates and which one would be evicted. With 6.8% of a vote to save, Beinazir became the first evictee without ever becoming a housemate.
The first round of nominations took place on Day 6 and resulted in Halfwit and Sophia facing the public vote. On Day 8, the first shopping task saw Kris negotiate his way through a field of laser beams to retrieve the "Emerald of Hope", with one of his fellow housemates being soaked by a bursting balloon full of gunge
whenever he interrupted a beam. He completed the task successfully, earning a luxury budget. However, as punishment for Marcus, Sophia and Sree discussing nominations, Big Brother doubled the price of every item on the shopping list. Later that day, Saffia left the House voluntarily to be with her children and Sophia was evicted with 91.2% of the public vote the following night.
Cairon and Halfwit received the most nominations in week two and faced eviction. The housemates successfully learned and performed the song and dance routine "Me Ol' Bamboo
" from the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
and won a luxury shopping budget of £5 per person per day. On Day 16, Cairon was evicted with 73.2% of the vote.
Day 18, the first day of week three, began with a day-long hippy-themed celebration of Halfwit's 24th birthday, in which Big Brother gave him the "Gift of Normality" that he could keep for himself or give to either Dogface or Noirin. He chose Noirin, freeing her from the obligation to draw a moustache and glasses on her face each day. The housemates failed every part of the Tudor
-themed shopping task and received only a basic budget. During the task, Siavash, playing King Henry VIII
, was called upon to ban one housemate from nominating and to grant another immunity. He chose Charlie and Marcus respectively. On Day 21, the housemates nominated against the clock in a live programme, resulting in Angel and Halfwit facing the public vote. On Day 23, Angel became the fourth person to be evicted with 81.0% of the vote.
Halfwit and Sree received the most nominations and faced the public vote in week four. In an Italy
-themed shopping task, Siavash played the role of a fashionista
who was required to change his outfit at Big Brother's request and strike a pose whenever Madonna
's "Vogue" was played into the House. Sree and Dogface's contribution was to run a 24-hour ice cream delivery service, while Marcus and Noirin created paintings based on the works of Leonardo Da Vinci
and Sandro Botticelli
. Charlie and Kris played Italian footballers and Lisa had to predict football scores correctly. The task climaxed in a performance of Giacomo Puccini
's Nessun Dorma
with Karly, Halfwit and Rodrigo playing The Three Tenors
. On Day 28, the housemates were told they had passed the task, earning themselves a luxury shopping budget. On Day 30, Sree became the fifth person to be evicted from the House with 85.0% of the vote.
In week five, on Day 33, Big Brother punished Charlie for discussing nominations, telling him to remain silent for the rest of the day or else face the public vote. Later, Dogface and Kris were similarly punished, also for discussing nominations. All three failed to keep quiet and faced the public vote, along with Halfwit and Marcus, who received the most nominations. On Day 35, the housemates failed the circus-themed shopping task and received a basic shopping budget. On Day 37, Kris became the sixth person to be evicted from the House with 63.0% of the vote.
In week six, on Day 39, Big Brother told Siavash and Dogface that, because they had discussed nominations earlier in the week, they would face eviction if they uttered a single profanity
before 3 p.m. They both failed and therefore faced the public vote, along with Karly and Noirin who received the most nominations. The shopping task consisted of nine separate challenges from previous editions of Big Brother, in which housemates had to compete against former contestants (see the week seven shopping task section). The housemates failed to pass the required number of challenges and therefore failed the overall task. On Day 44, five new housemates, Kenneth, Bea, David, Hira and Tom entered the House and Karly became the seventh person to be evicted with 50.4% of the vote.
Week seven saw housemates take part in a Greek
-themed shopping task with a twist, which involved Charlie and Rodrigo learning a routine by Stavros Flatley, a dance duo featured on Britain's Got Talent
. However, playing Zeus
, Halfwit was the only housemate aware of the true nature of the task. In each of three challenges he had to ensure, while still keeping the secret, that his chosen champion defeated the appropriate Greek god
. He failed and the housemates received a basic shopping budget. Bea, Charlie, David, Dogface, Halfwit, Hira, Kenneth, Marcus, Noirin, Siavash and Tom all faced eviction. In the early hours of Day 50, Kenneth escaped from the House via the rooftop with help from Marcus, and this led to the eviction being cancelled.
In week eight, in the early hours of Day 53, Tom voluntarily left the Big Brother House. With five nominations each, Marcus and Noirin faced the public vote. For the shopping task the housemates split into two groups, creating human puppets with one housemate providing the head and feet and another providing the arms, and making them dance to music by Girls Aloud
and Take That
. Visitors to the Big Brother web site decided by voting that the housemates had failed the task. On Day 56, Noirin's ex-boyfriend Isaac entered the House, but left voluntarily shortly after Noirin's eviction on Day 58 with 60.0% of the public vote.
Bea and Marcus received the most nominations in week nine, but Marcus's attempts to persuade the housemates to nominate him and Siavash's refusal to nominate backfired when Big Brother declared the result void and made all housemates face the public vote to save, not evict. The shopping task was based on Lewis Carroll
's Victorian
children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
in which Hira, in the role of Alice
, having first been "shrunk" in the Diary Room, spent more than five hours searching for a key buried inside a giant cup cake using only her face. The housemates passed the task and received a luxury shopping budget. On Day 65, Hira became the ninth evictee, having received 5.7% of the vote to save.
In week ten, following continual rule breaking by a number of housemates, Big Brother decided to allow the discussion of nominations until further notice. Halfwit and Marcus received the most nominations and faced the public vote. The housemates took part in a "Best of British" shopping task in which they had to bog snorkel
, play the bagpipes
and convince Rodrigo he had met the Queen
, who was in fact the impersonator Janette Charles. On Day 72, as a special prize for succeeding in this task, Halfwit and Dogface legally changed their names back to Freddie and Sophie. On the same day, Freddie became the tenth evictee from the Big Brother House with 53.6% of the public vote.
Siavash and Sophie both refused to nominate in week eleven. As punishment for breaking this fundamental rule, Big Brother decided that the first two housemates with whom Siavash came into contact and the first two that Sophie mentioned by name after leaving the Diary Room would be taken as their nominations. Siavash touched Bea and Sophie, and Sophie named Rodrigo and Bea. Bea, David and Marcus received the most nominations and faced the public vote this week. In the House of Horrors
-themed shopping task Charlie, in the role of Dr Frankenstein
, played a version of the game Operation
in which Bea, playing his Monster
, received a shock whenever his hand faltered. On Day 79, Bea was evicted with 88.2% of the vote.
The housemates participated in a future-related task during week twelve, in which Sophie and Rodrigo learned a robotic dance routine to Daft Punk
's song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
" and Lisa and David left the House with instructions to have photographs taken by members of the public in front of three London
landmarks whilst dressed as aliens. While they were away, the rest of the housemates attempted to break out of the House and Big Brother responded by reducing the £100,000 prize fund to zero, later announcing that the housemates would be given a chance to win back the money over the course of the next few days. As Siavash refused to nominate, Big Brother allocated his nominations to Charlie and Sophie and Marcus and Siavash were put up for eviction. On Day 85, Siavash accepted the offer of £10,000 towards the prize fund for exchanging his clothes with an outfit provided by Big Brother and the Housemates received a £20 cheque after requesting a mystery prize from the weekly shopping list. Later that day, Marcus rejected Big Brother's offer of £15,000 to shave his ponytail and the group turned down the chance to win £1,500 by swimming 1,500 lengths of the pool. On Day 86, Rodrigo won £6,000 towards the prize fund by correctly guessed the regional locations of three animals after listening to a series of sound effects. Later that day, Marcus was evicted with 64.0% of the public vote.
The housemates competed in a "task with no name" on Day 87, the first day of week thirteen. In this task, the Housemates were provided with several challenges and puzzles but were unaware that they all had to leave the room in order to pass. The housemates passed the task and added £10,000 to the prize fund. The following day, the housemates' previous nominations were shown to the group and Big Brother set them a quiz on what they had seen in order to add money to the prize fund. The group answered 53 of the 60 questions correctly, gaining £5,300 to the winner's prize. A round of nominations took place on this day, which Charlie, Siavash and Sophie refused to participate in. This meant that all of the housemates faced eviction, as David, Lisa and Rodrigo received the most eligible nominations. On Day 89, the housemates were shown the episode of Big Brother which documented Day 50 in the House and were told to re-enact it over a five hour period. They passed this task, earning a luxury shopping budget. However, in order to view the reconstruction the group had to replicate the music video
of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
", a song by Beyoncé Knowles
. The group did so, with David portraying Knowles, and were therefore rewarded with a screening of the task after Lisa was evicted with 68.6% of the vote. On Day 91, Charlie, Rodrigo, Sophie and Siavash were instructed to rank themselves in different categories, such as order of selfishness and likelihood to win. David, who was isolated in the Diary Room, had to answer questions based on their answers. As he answered four of the ten questions correctly, he added £40,000 to the prize fund. This meant that the prize fund was settled at £71,320.
After Lisa's eviction on Day 90, the viewers began voting for who they wanted to win the programme. On Day 93, the final day, Rodrigo was the first to be evicted with 11.0% of the five-way vote and he was followed by Charlie, who received 13.2% of the five-way vote. It was then announced that David had finished in third place after gaining 19.0% of the three-way vote. Davina McCall then revealed that Sophie had won this series with 74.4% of the final two-way vote, with Siavash finishing in second place.
Three special, one-off programmes aired on E4 before the launch to commemorate ten years of the programme. The first of which, entitled Jade: As Seen On TV aired on 26 May and commented on the life of Big Brother 2002
contestant Jade Goody
and the infamy that surrounded her. The most successful Big Brother housemate worldwide, Goody died of cervical cancer
two months before the programme aired. The programme was watched by 305,000 people; 1.8% of the TV audience.
Big Brother's Big Quiz, hosted by Davina McCall, aired on 29 May and featured celebrity team captains singer Jamelia
, TV presenter and Celebrity Big Brother winner Ulrika Jonsson
and comedians Danny Wallace
and Jack Whitehall
. It also featured former Big Brother housemates such as Craig Phillips
and Sam and Amanda Marchant
.
Big Brother: A Decade in the Headlines was transmitted on 30 May and looked back at the social, political and cultural changes that Big Brother had made to society since it began. The documentary was hosted by Grace Dent
and featured participation from Mark Frith
, Carole Malone
, Oona King
, Peter Tatchell
, Krishnan Guru-Murthy
and Ian Hyland
.
Spin-off
programme Big Brother's Little Brother featured new competitions and features to mark the event. The first, The George Lamb Quiz of the Decade, was launched on 7 June. The participants had to show their knowledge of the programme by participating in a quiz relating to every series of Big Brother. Another competition was established as part of the Greek-themed task in week eight. Here, male Big Brother's Little Brother viewers were asked to apply to become a date for Bea Hammill, who was playing the role of Aphrodite
. The contestant chosen was Robin from Bristol. The programme also offered a viewer the chance to become Big Brother and talk to the housemates via the Diary Room on the final day of the programme; this was won by Simon "Jobby" Jobson, a 22-year-old DJ from Alnwick
, Northumberland
. Former housemates, such as Nadia Almada
and Rachel Rice
, also appeared as guests to mark the occasion.
task alongside Halfwit. Phillips was drafted in after "Nasty" Nick Bateman
withdrew. Later that day, Lisa competed in a task to build a sugar cube tower alongside Dean O'Loughlin of series two. Day 41 saw Alex Sibley, Sophie Pritchard and Lee Davey from the programme's third edition
compete in a re-creation of the egg and spoon race
task with Rodrigo trying to predict the outcome. Later that day, Federico Martone from series four participated in a gymkhana
competition against Noirin using fake horses and Dogface and Michelle Bass
both sang Pie Jesu
, which featured in the wedding task of series five, with viewers deciding which performance was the best. On Day 42, Craig Coates and Makosi Musambasi challenged Siavash to the box task from the sixth series and series seven's Nikki Grahame
reenacted her silent disco
task alongside Karly. Brian Belo
from series eight
took part in a word association
game with Charlie. The task drew to a close on Day 43 when Rex Newmark from the previous series
returned to participate in the electric shock task with Marcus, in which the rest of housemates were subjected to shocks. The housemates failed to pass the required minimum of seven of the nine challenges and therefore failed the overall task.
was critical of the programme; "I object to the exploitation of the underclass in shows like Big Brother. It is the modern version of Bedlam
, where you pay to see the poor benighted people making asses of themselves". Charlie Brooker
of The Guardian
said that the series contained forgettable participants and that the producers were alienating the viewers with confusing tasks that seemed to take place "every four minutes". Simmy Richman of The Independent
wrote that the programme had become predictable after ten editions and that it had a "here-we-go-again feel". They also complained that the format had become clichéd and the housemates stereotypical, and they criticised the producers for enrolling participants who were using the programme as "a springboard to a Heat
magazine cover and temporary free entry to dodgy nightclubs". Maggie Brown, writing in her book A Licence to be Different — The Story of Channel 4, believed that the programme limited its broadcaster as the cost to produce the programme were not justified by the number of viewers it attracted. Mark Lawson
, also writing in The Guardian, suggested that the lack of viewers linked with a tired format and minimal press coverage, claiming that the newspapers had become preoccupied with stories such as the outbreak of swine flu
, death of Michael Jackson
and MPs' expenses scandal
. Lawson also believed that the death of Big Brother 2002
participant Jade Goody prior to the launch of Big Brother 2009 contributed to the low viewing figures. Journalist James Donaghy branded the programme a "sorry atrocity" and celebrity gossip blogger Darryn Lyons
said that the series had been "massively disappointing", pinpointing Isaac Stout's entrance as a "desperate stunt" to attract viewers. Despite returning to the House to participate in a task, former housemate Dean O'Loughlin has also been critical of this series, describing it as "way too superficial".
However, the series has also received praise from various parties. For example, Gerard Gilbert of The Independent argued that in comparison to contemporary TV dramas, Big Brother provides much more entertainment, psychological depth and social impact. Gilbert also commented that the storylines of the programme were equal to that of the works of Samuel Beckett
. Craig Phillips
, the winner of the first series of Big Brother, and the programme's presenter Davina McCall have responded to the criticisms of the programme's decreasing viewing figures, respectively arguing that the programme achieves low numbers due to the different way in which viewers can watch the programme and that the programme is achieving well considering its timeslot and broadcaster. Brian Dowling
, who won the second edition of Big Brother in 2001, defended both the programme and the reality genre as a whole, telling BBC Breakfast
that producers were simply providing viewers what they want, such as extreme participants. The Guardians Heidi Stephens also complimented the series by claiming that it has "seen the emergence of some truly fascinating personalities" and welcomed the return to the basic format of the programme. Stephens went on to compare the storylines and characters of the programme with that of a John Hughes film. Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace
, who came third in the seventh series, and Big Brother 2003 winner Cameron Stout
praised the selection of housemates, both claiming that the quality of the programme had improved on previous years. Entertainment website Digital Spy
was also complimentary of the series, naming Sophie "Dogface" Reade and Kris Donnelly as two of the sexiest
housemates of the past ten years and Angel McKenzie as one of the most outrageous. Towards the end of the programme's airing, Neil Boom of The Independent argued that the series is "one of the best ever" despite a decline in the number of viewers. He claimed that there was still high interest on internet forums and that the lower television ratings might be due to the removal of the 24-hour live feed. He praised the selection of housemates and highlighted Siavash, Freddie and Marcus as particular examples. Following the end of the series, Davina McCall also considered Big Brother 10 to be "Big Brother at its best."
, Channel 4+1. The rating was the highest in its timeslot, with its nearest competition, a repeat of Taggart
on ITV1
bringing 3.3 million viewers. Despite this, the launch was 400,000 viewers down on its 2008 counterpart.
The first special edition of the programme, which was transmitted live on 7 June at 10 p.m. and saw Beinazir Lasharie being evicted, achieved 1.78 million viewers with a 9.9% viewing share. The programme was scheduled directly against The Apprentice: You're Hired on BBC One
, which was viewed by 7.66 million; 36.1% of the audience. A further 186,000 watched the programme on Channel 4+1. The first official eviction programme aired on 12 June and was watched by 2.9 million people, 13% of the viewing audience. At the same time, BBC One's Have I Got News For You
and ITV1's Doc Martin
achieved 5.6 million (26% of the audience) and 3.6 million (17% of the audience) viewers respectively. A further 104,000 watched the eviction on Channel 4+1. 3 million people, 13% of the audience, and an extra 159,000 Channel 4+1 viewers watched Cairon Austin-Hill's eviction a week later. A special edition of the programme hosted by Davina McCall, which aired at 9 p.m. on 24 June and saw the Housemates nominate live, was watched by 1.8 million; 9% of the audience. The episode gained higher audience figures than other programmes that were airing at the same time, such as Sky1's The Take
, ITV2
's America's Got Talent
and Five's broadcast of the film For a Few Dollars More
, which were viewed by 479,000, 456,000 and 1.2 million viewers respectively. However, BBC One's Famous, Rich and Homeless and ITV1's Spain: Paradise Lost achieved higher viewers with 4.7 and 3.6 million people watching respectively. Angel McKenzie's eviction, which aired on 26 June, achieved a 1.6 million viewers and a 10% audience share between 10.35 p.m. and 11.10 p.m. The end of the programme overlapped with a special edition of Newsnight
on BBC Two
, documenting the death of Michael Jackson, which achieved a 9% share with 1.2 million watching. However, 131,000 watched the eviction an hour later on Channel 4+1. The eviction that took place on 3 July attracted 2.3 million viewers, a 13% audience share, at 10.35 p.m. with 100,000 watching later on Channel 4+1. The eviction on 10 July achieved 2.1 million viewers; 13% of the audience.
A week of special programmes commemorating the tenth year of Big Brother saw an increase in viewers, with a peak of 2.7 million (13% of the audience) watching the episode on Friday, 17 July with an additional 165,000 watching on the +1 channel. Later that evening, 2.8 million people, a 19% share, saw Karly Ashworth’s eviction with 273,000 more viewing later on Channel 4+1. The eviction scheduled for 24 August was cancelled after Kenneth Tong voluntarily left the programme, leading the episode to be replace with an interview with Tong from Davina McCall; this attracted 12% of the audience at 1.9 million viewers and 195,000 more watched on Channel 4+1. The 30 July episode, which saw Isaac Stout arriving, was viewed by 2.2 million Channel 4 viewers – achieving more viewers that BBC Two’s Psychoville
and Sky1’s Lie to Me
that charted at 1.26 million (6.2%) and 424,000 (2.5%) respectively. 2.4 million people saw Noirin Kelly’s eviction on 31 July and an additional 125,000 watched on Channel 4+1. On 7 August, Hira Habibshah was evicted with 2.4 million viewers, 15% of the audience, watching initially and another 94,000 viewing later on Channel 4+1. The 14 August eviction attracted 2.1 million, 14% of the audience, with 75,000 more watching on the timeshift service. The following week, 2.2 million viewers, a 13% share, saw the eviction and 122,000 watched later on Channel 4+1. On 28 August, 2.2 million and a 15% share watched the eviction programme; 98,000 more viewed the programme on Channel 4+1. This achieved more viewers than two episodes of The Tudors
, that aired on BBC Two and attracted 9% of the audience at 1.7 million. A total of 2.4 million viewers, 12% of the audience share, watched the eviction on 1 September and 142,000 watched via Channel 4+1. The programme beat many of its commercial rivals during this time slot, such as ITV1's News at Ten, a repeat of BBC Two's Mock the Week
and an episode of CSI: NY
on Five, which achieved 2.1, 1.9 and 1.5 million viewers respectively.
Until 2011, the final of Big Brother 2009 had the lowest-ever closing night audience of any Big Brother series. The first episode, broadcast between 8.30pm and 9.30pm, came in at third place out of the five main broadcasters and averaged 2.6 million viewers at 12%. The winning broadcaster in this slot was ITV1; an episode of Coronation Street
and a repeat of Rebus
achieved 6.7 and 3.9 million viewers respectively. An additional 170,000 watched on Channel 4+1. The second installment of the final started at 10pm was watched by an average of 2.7 million viewers, 16% of the audience, and this peaked at 3.1 million viewers when Sophie Reade was announced as the winner. This part of the final came second in its timeslot; it was beaten by the BBC News at Ten and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
which achieved 3.4 and 2.9 million viewers respectively.
, from programme presenter Davina McCall, who encouraged campaigners to protest by signing online petitions. A poll conducted by Heat magazine showed a majority in favour of reinstating the live feed. Channel 4 told members of the Digital Spy
forums
that it stuck by its decision and justified the reduction, noting that similar reality TV programmes such as ITV
's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!
had also reduced live feeds. The intensity of the situation increased after an e-mail was received by Channel 4, threatening the life of Chief Executive Andy Duncan's
daughter if the live feed was not reinstated. In a statement, Channel 4 confirmed that it was taking the situation seriously and had alerted the police.
Upon entering the Big Brother House, contestant Saffia Corden was condemned by children’s charity Kidscape
for leaving her seven year-old daughter and her 13 month-old son in the care of her mother in order to participate in the programme. Concerned viewers established groups on social networking website Facebook
in protest of the situation, with over 980 joining one group alone within the programme’s first five days. However, Corden was seen crying over pictures of her infants in the House and relatives and friends defended her in the press.
Producers of the programme conducted an internal investigation after an argument occurred between Sree Dasari and Freddie "Halfwit" Fisher on Day 23. The altercation, which started off as a debate about food rationing, eventually led to Dasari making fun of Fisher's dyslexia
. However, the issue was not taken any further and Dasari was evicted one week later, telling Davina McCall that he had a friend who suffered from the disability. On Day 29, Marcus Akin received a formal warning after making threatening statements to Sree Dasari during an argument over an earlier confrontation while preparing the weekly shopping list. Dasari also asserted that Akin had mocked India
n culture. Big Brother warned Akin for his aggressive and threatening behaviour but did not consider that there was any racist aspect. Media regulator Ofcom
received 290 complaints about the incident and a Channel 4 spokeswoman claimed that Big Brother had acted responsibly.
The programme attracted further complaints to Ofcom after an argument on Day 47 led to Kenneth Tong making threatening remarks about Rebecca "Bea" Hamill. After Hamill refused to participate in a secret task, Tong told her to "shut the fuck up" and later told some other housemates that he would "pay someone to deal with it" as he knew some of the "world’s most dangerous men". Upon being told about the incident, Hamill made a complaint to Big Brother and Tong was reprimanded for his actions, receiving an official warning in the Diary Room. Ofcom received over 90 complaints on this issue, despite the fact that Tong voluntarily left the House less than 48 hours after the incident.
Controversy surrounded the programme again when, in the early hours of 24 July, former housemate Sree Dasari was admitted to Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
after self harming in his room at the University of Hertfordshire
. It was reported that he became upset after watching an episode of Big Brother. Despite his being discharged shortly afterwards and appearing live on Big Brother's Big Mouth that night, the broadcaster received criticism from psychologists and mental health organisations, with comparisons being drawn with similar debates regarding the care of Susan Boyle
and Hollie Steel
on the third series
of Britain’s Got Talent. The chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation
, Dr Andrew McCulloch said, "We have had concerns about this programme for a number of years and have written to Channel 4 about it in the past. Channel 4 have never been able to explain what the safety procedures are, in terms of screening people and then the support available to them through the show and after eviction, and in the absence of that information we remain concerned." David Wilson, a psychologist and former Big Brother employee, felt that the treatment and selection of housemates was unethical. However, Dasari claimed that the injury he sustained was simply "a small cut" and both the University of Hertfordshire and Channel 4 pointed out that he had been offered psychological care. A spokeswoman for the latter said that the "housemates' welfare is of paramount importance. There is a well-established and extensive after-care system in place for all housemates and Sree continues to be given ongoing support by the production team and regular access to the show psychologist".
Some attention was drawn in the series to the purported 'bullying' of housemate Freddie Fisher, who was reportedly victimised and "made a scapegoat" by many fellow housemates and, in particular, housemates Karly Ashworth, Kris Donnelly and Lisa Wallace. Housemate Bea Hamill, to whom Fisher was initially close, was also seen as 'emotionally terrorising' him in the days leading up to his Week 10 eviction, at one point causing him to suffer what The Sun described as a "panic attack
."
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
. It began on 4 June 2009 and was aired on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and E4 for 93 days, concluding on 4 September when Sophie "Dogface" Reade was crowned the winner with 74.4% of the viewer's vote. The format of the programme remained largely unchanged from previous series; a group of people, referred to as housemates, are enclosed in the Big Brother House under the surveillance of cameras and microphones. Each week, the viewers decide which of a selection of housemates is evicted and, in the final week, one housemate is voted as the winner. The daily highlights programme was narrated by Marcus Bentley
Marcus Bentley
Marcus Bentley is a British actor, broadcaster and voice-over artist. Born in Gateshead, he was brought up in Stockton on Tees and attended East 15 Acting School in Essex....
, Davina McCall
Davina McCall
Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
fronted the launch programme, evictions, special episodes, the final and Big Brother's Big Mouth and George Lamb
George Lamb (presenter)
George Martin Lamb is a Scottish-born British radio and TV presenter. He is the son of actor Larry Lamb.-Career:Lamb's radio career peaked with presenting his own daytime show on BBC Radio 6 Music for two years from October 2007 to November 2009, before being moved the early weekend mornings for 6...
presented Big Brother's Little Brother.
The programme included 22 participants, four of whom left the programme voluntarily whilst the fate of the others was decided by the public vote. The housemates were originally competing to win a £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
100,000 prize but, due to rule-breaking by the participants, this was reduced to £71,320. The series, which was sponsored by Lucozade
Lucozade
Lucozade is an umbrella name for a 6 series of energy and sports drinks, produced by GlaxoSmithKline in Gloucestershire. The former company became part of Beecham and, after the mergers of SmithKline and Beecham in 2000, GlaxoSmithKline....
, achieved significantly less media coverage and viewing figures, resulting in it becoming the least watched until Big Brother 2011
Big Brother 2011 (UK)
Big Brother 2011 was the twelfth series of the British reality television series of Big Brother. It was broadcast on Channel 5 for the first time since the show's transfer from Channel 4. It launched on the night of Friday 9 September 2011 with an hour and a half long special launch show, the day...
. This edition of Big Brother also attracted controversy, with accusations of bullying between contestants drawing complaints and criticisms levelled at the welfare of housemates after they left the programme.
No housemates represented this series in Ultimate Big Brother, neither did any participate in tasks during that series.
Production
Endemol
Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...
. This series of the programme had been confirmed since 2006 as part of a £180 million contract between Endemol and Channel 4. Phil Edgar-Jones was the creative director of the series whilst Sharon Powers was the executive producer. Open auditions for the programme, which were confirmed during the final of Celebrity Big Brother 2009
Celebrity Big Brother 2009 (UK)
Celebrity Big Brother 2009 was the sixth series of Celebrity Big Brother. It began on 2 January 2009 and ran for 22 days until 23 January 2009. It was broadcast on Channel 4. The launch show was watched by approximately 6.4 million people...
, began on 3 January 2009 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and ended on 7 February in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Internet auditioning via YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, which saw 2,600 apply, ended on 3 February 2009. Auditionees were subjected to three interviews with various producers, additional meetings with a psychologist and a psychiatrist and a final "talk of doom", in which they were warned about the negative impact that appearing on Big Brother could have on their lives. In the weeks preceding the series, the selected housemates were put into "hiding" with no access to the outside world. Housemates were offered aftercare from the production team for up to six months after they left the programme.
The programme's logo, the Big Brother Eye, is based on a black, purple and blue thumbprint and was released on 11 May. It is designed by Daniel Eatock. From 19 May, Channel 4 began uploading teaser clips to the official Big Brother UK YouTube channel; these were also aired during commercial breaks on Channel 4 and its related channels. The series is sponsored by Lucozade Energy and the promotional break bumpers
Commercial bumper
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper or break-bumper is a brief announcement, usually two to 15 seconds that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa...
were created by M&C Saatchi
M&C Saatchi
M&C Saatchi is an international advertising agency network formed in January 1995 by the brothers Maurice Saatchi and Charles Saatchi after they were ousted from the advertising agency group Saatchi & Saatchi which they had founded in 1970...
and are based upon a 'little brother versus big brother' scenario. The programme began on 4 June, with a 95 minute special programme which introduced the initial 16 participants, and was broadcast on Channel 4 and E4 over a period of 93 days, concluding with the final on 4 September.
Broadcasts
The main television coverage of Big Brother 2009 was screened using daily highlights programmes, narrated by Marcus BentleyMarcus Bentley
Marcus Bentley is a British actor, broadcaster and voice-over artist. Born in Gateshead, he was brought up in Stockton on Tees and attended East 15 Acting School in Essex....
. These episodes summarised the events of the previous day in the House. Alongside these highlights shows were spin-off programmes, Big Brother's Big Mouth and Big Brother's Little Brother, that commented on fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
, cultural reaction to the events within the House and included interviews with celebrities, former housemates and family and friends of housemates. On Fridays, a live eviction programme was hosted by Davina McCall
Davina McCall
Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
in which the evicted contestant left the house and received an interview from McCall and two guests. For 2009, BBLB returned with George Lamb
George Lamb (presenter)
George Martin Lamb is a Scottish-born British radio and TV presenter. He is the son of actor Larry Lamb.-Career:Lamb's radio career peaked with presenting his own daytime show on BBC Radio 6 Music for two years from October 2007 to November 2009, before being moved the early weekend mornings for 6...
presenting five weekday evening programmes and one Sunday edition per week. Big Mouth was also fronted by McCall and was broadcast on E4 on Friday nights for an hour after the main eviction programme.
In a change to normal eviction interviews this series saw McCall and the evictee on a panel joined by two celebrity fans or psychologists, joining them were:
- Sophia Judi James and Dom JolyDom JolyDominic John Romulus "Dom" Joly is a British television comedian and journalist. He came to note as the star of Trigger Happy TV, a hidden camera show that was sold to over seventy countries worldwide...
- Cairon Iain LeeIain LeeIain Lee is a British comedian, and a television and radio presenter. His career began when he performed stand-up comedy gigs across venues in London. He subsequently became co-presenter of the comedy current affairs show The 11 O'Clock Show on Channel 4 and RI:SE...
and Vanessa FeltzVanessa FeltzVanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th... - Angel Anthea TurnerAnthea TurnerAnthea Millicent Turner is an English television presenter and media personality.-Education:Turner was educated at the independent St. Dominic's High School in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent....
- Sree Kelly OsbourneKelly OsbourneKelly Michelle Lee Osbourne is an English media personality, television personality, host, judge, fashion designer, singer, and actress, best known for being the daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne...
- Kris Mel Blatt
- Karly Judi James and Kathy BurkeKathy BurkeKatherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...
- Kenneth Terry ChristianTerry ChristianTerry Christian is a British television and radio presenter whose credits include Channel 4's late night Youth Entertainment show The Word and ITV1 moral issues talk show It's My Life...
- Noirin Judi James and Jo WhileyJo WhileyJohanne "Jo" Whiley is a British radio disc jockey and television presenter. She was the host of the long running weekday Jo Whiley Show on Radio 1.-Early life and education:...
- Hira Emma KennedyEmma KennedyEmma Kennedy is an English actress, writer and television presenter....
and Bob MortimerBob MortimerRobert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves... - Freddie Judi James and John McCririckJohn McCririckJohn McCririck is an English television horse racing pundit. He is notable not only for his racing opinions but also for his old-fashioned style of dress and mannerisms...
- Bea Ulrika JonssonUlrika JonssonEva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
- Marcus Grace DentGrace DentGrace Dent is an English journalist, author, and broadcaster. Dent writes mainly for The Guardian, where she has a weekly column on television, 'Grace Dent's TV-OD'. She also writes for magazines such as Tatler and Marie Claire. She writes a restaurant review column for the London Evening...
- Lisa Dave Schneider and Kim WoodburnKim WoodburnKim Woodburn is an English television presenter and expert cleaner who is best known for co-presenting the British television programme How Clean Is Your House? and in 2007, starred in the Canadian series Kim's Rude Awakenings.-Early career:Woodburn undertook many jobs in her adult life...
The panel was not used for the finale, however, Judi James made a recorded segment about each finalist. The panel format was scrapped for the following celebrity
Celebrity Big Brother 2010 (UK)
Celebrity Big Brother 2010 was the seventh and final series of Celebrity Big Brother to air on Channel 4 and E4. It began on Sunday 3 January 2010 and aired for 27 days until the final on 29 January 2010, the longest ever celebrity series in the UK...
and regular series
Big Brother 2010 (UK)
Big Brother 2010 was the eleventh regular series of the British reality television series, Big Brother and the final series to be broadcast on Channel 4. The series was launched on Wednesday 9 June 2010, and was aired on Channel 4 and E4 for 77 days with the finale on 24 August 2010, where Josie...
, where McCall interviewed the evictee in the traditional format.
House
As with each series since Big Brother 2002Big Brother 2002 (UK)
Big Brother 3 was the third series of Big Brother UK. The series started on 24 May 2002, ending on 26 July 2002 and the final of this series drew 10.0 million viewers. Votes in the final week totalled 8.6 million...
, the programme was filmed at Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios
"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...
in Borehamwood
Borehamwood
-Film industry:Since the 1920s, the town has been home to several film studios and many shots of its streets are included in final cuts of 20th century British films. This earned it the nickname of the "British Hollywood"...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. A total of 27 editing suites, manned by over 300 members of staff, were situated in the "George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
Stage" to produce the programme. In the 18 May issue of Star magazine, aerial photographs of the House were published, showing the garden under construction. Official pictures of the House interior were released by Channel 4 on 1 June, showing the entrance stairway, living room and garden. The entrance stairway had images of insects on its walls whilst the garden and living room had a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
theme; the former included a bus stop
Bus stop
A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...
as the designated smoking area. On 3 June, Metro
Metro (Associated Metro Limited)
Metro is a free daily newspaper in the United Kingdom published by Associated Newspapers Ltd . It is available from Monday to Friday each week on many public transport services across the United Kingdom.-History:The paper was launched in London in 1999, and can now be found in 14 UK urban centres...
published an image of the Diary Room, which has a multicoloured chair and wall pattern. There was also a shipping container
Shipping container
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes...
-based bathroom, a sitting room with red sofas, a wood panelled kitched with purple, black and white fittings and a bedroom with splats of paint covering the walls. The house contained 44 cameras, 75 two-way mirrors and 57 fixed microphones, as well as individual microphones for each housemate.
Format
The format remained largely unchanged from previous series. Housemates were incarcerated in the Big Brother House with no contact to and from the outside world. Each week, the housemates took part in a compulsory task that determined the amount of money they were allocated to spend on their shopping; if they passed, they received a luxury budget and they were allocated a basic budget if they failed. Housemates were instructed to nominate two fellow housemates for eviction each week. This compulsory vote was conducted in the privacy of the Diary Room and housemates were not allowed to discuss the nomination process or influence the nominations of others. On Day 68, Big Brother changed the rules to allow housemates to discuss nominations until further notice. The two or more housemates who gathered the most nominations per week faced a public vote and the housemate receiving the most votes was evicted from the House on the Friday and interviewed by Davina McCall. Housemates could voluntarily leave the House at any time and those who broke the rules could have been ejected by Big Brother.In a change from previous series, Channel 4 announced that it would no longer donate any of its income from the premium-rate telephone lines
Premium-rate telephone number
Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers for telephone calls during which certain services are provided, and for which prices higher than normal are charged. Unlike a normal call, part of the call charge is paid to the service provider, thus enabling businesses to be funded via the calls...
, by which viewers vote for whom they would like to see evicted or win the programme, to charitable organisations
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
. The broadcaster said that the current economic downturn is to blame for this decision and that the change would bring Big Brother into line with other programmes of its kind, such as The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
and Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...
. The format of the live eviction interview programme was altered for this series. Unlike previous series in which McCall interviewed evicted housemates by herself, she was instead joined by two guest panellists to "interrogate" the evictee. Panellists included former housemates, journalists, psychologists, and fans of the programme. A new rule was added to the programme at the start of the series; "fake romances" were not permitted.
Housemates
Big Brother 2009 saw 22 contestants competing to win. Sixteen participants entered the House on Day 1 and an additional five housemates entered the House on Day 44, followed by one other on Day 56. Four housemates left the House on their own accord. This series also gains the distinction of featuring the first homosexual relationshipHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in the programme's history, which involved the housemates Charlie Drummond and Rodrigo Lopes.
| Name | Age | Hometown | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beinazir Lasharie | 28 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
|
| Saffia Corden | 27 | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
|
| Sophia Brown | 26 | London | |
| Cairon Austin-Hill | 18 | London | |
| Angel McKenzie | 35 | London | |
| Sree Dasari | 25 | Hatfield Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town... |
|
| Kris Donnelly | 24 | Shrewsbury Shrewsbury Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council... |
|
| Karly Ashworth | 21 | Fife Fife Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire... |
|
| Kenneth Tong | 24 | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
|
| Tom Oliver | 27 | Northampton Northampton Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is... |
|
| Noirin Kelly | 25 | Dublin | |
| Isaac Stout | 23 | Cleveland, Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... |
|
| Hira Habibshah | 25 | Dublin | |
| Freddie "Halfwit" Fisher | 23 | Market Drayton Market Drayton Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" .... |
|
| Bea Hamill | 24 | Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007... |
|
| Marcus Akin | 35 | London | |
| Lisa Wallace | 41 | Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
|
| Rodrigo Lopes | 23 | Leeds Leeds Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial... |
|
| Charlie Drummond | 22 | Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne... |
|
| David Ramsden | 28 | Dewsbury Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds... |
|
| Siavash Sabbaghpour | 23 | London | |
| Sophie "Dogface" Reade | 20 | Cheshire Cheshire Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow... |
Summary
During the first three days, the group undertook a series of tasks by which they could earn the right to become housemates. For the first task, Rodrigo was given four minutes to convince someone to let him shave off their eyebrows and have a moustache and a pair of glasses permanently drawn on to their face for an unstated period of time; he successfully convinced Noirin and they both became housemates, gaining access to the previously locked bedroom. The remaining non-housemates were instructed to change into a special uniform. Anyone not obeying would lose the opportunity to become a housemate. Lisa gained housemate status in the early hours of Day 2 when she answered a ringing phone in the living room. Given 15 minutes to select the fourth housemate, she chose Kris. Charlie and Saffia later became housemates after walking barefoot over broken sugar glassSugar glass
Sugar glass is used to simulate glass in movies, photographs and plays. Although it is much less likely to cause injuries than real glass, it breaks convincingly, making it an excellent choice for stunts...
, believing it to be real glass, and Karly became the seventh housemate after being tricked into believing that she had a motorbike ridden over her stomach. Freddie and Sophie became housemates after changing their names, documented by deed poll
Deed of Change of Name
A deed of change of name is a legal document in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, which enables a single person or a family to officially change his or her name...
to Halfwit and Dogface respectively. On Day 3 Cairon earned housemate status by dunking a biscuit in a cup of tea for 25.5 seconds without it disintegrating. Remaining non-housemates Angel, Beinazir, Marcus, Siavash, Sophia and Sree faced the public vote on Day 4 to determine which five would become housemates and which one would be evicted. With 6.8% of a vote to save, Beinazir became the first evictee without ever becoming a housemate.
The first round of nominations took place on Day 6 and resulted in Halfwit and Sophia facing the public vote. On Day 8, the first shopping task saw Kris negotiate his way through a field of laser beams to retrieve the "Emerald of Hope", with one of his fellow housemates being soaked by a bursting balloon full of gunge
Gunge
Gunge as it is known in the British Isles, or slime as it is known in America and other parts of the world is a thick, gooey, runny substance similar in consistency to paint. It has been a feature on many children's programmes for many years around the world and has made appearances in game shows...
whenever he interrupted a beam. He completed the task successfully, earning a luxury budget. However, as punishment for Marcus, Sophia and Sree discussing nominations, Big Brother doubled the price of every item on the shopping list. Later that day, Saffia left the House voluntarily to be with her children and Sophia was evicted with 91.2% of the public vote the following night.
Cairon and Halfwit received the most nominations in week two and faced eviction. The housemates successfully learned and performed the song and dance routine "Me Ol' Bamboo
Me Ol' Bamboo
"Me Ol' Bamboo" is a song written by the Sherman Brothers for the motion picture Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It was originally written to be choreographed as a morris dance for the film by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood and adapted for the stage by...
" from the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (film)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a 1968 musical film with a script by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes, and songs by the Sherman Brothers, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car. It starred Dick Van Dyke as Caractacus Potts and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious. The...
and won a luxury shopping budget of £5 per person per day. On Day 16, Cairon was evicted with 73.2% of the vote.
Day 18, the first day of week three, began with a day-long hippy-themed celebration of Halfwit's 24th birthday, in which Big Brother gave him the "Gift of Normality" that he could keep for himself or give to either Dogface or Noirin. He chose Noirin, freeing her from the obligation to draw a moustache and glasses on her face each day. The housemates failed every part of the Tudor
Tudor period
The Tudor period usually refers to the period between 1485 and 1603, specifically in relation to the history of England. This coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty in England whose first monarch was Henry VII...
-themed shopping task and received only a basic budget. During the task, Siavash, playing King Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, was called upon to ban one housemate from nominating and to grant another immunity. He chose Charlie and Marcus respectively. On Day 21, the housemates nominated against the clock in a live programme, resulting in Angel and Halfwit facing the public vote. On Day 23, Angel became the fourth person to be evicted with 81.0% of the vote.
Halfwit and Sree received the most nominations and faced the public vote in week four. In an Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-themed shopping task, Siavash played the role of a fashionista
Fashion victim
Fashion victim is a term claimed to have been coined by Oscar de la Renta that is used to identify a person who is unable to identify commonly recognized boundaries of style....
who was required to change his outfit at Big Brother's request and strike a pose whenever Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's "Vogue" was played into the House. Sree and Dogface's contribution was to run a 24-hour ice cream delivery service, while Marcus and Noirin created paintings based on the works of Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
and Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
. Charlie and Kris played Italian footballers and Lisa had to predict football scores correctly. The task climaxed in a performance of Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Nessun Dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
with Karly, Halfwit and Rodrigo playing The Three Tenors
The Three Tenors
The Three Tenors is a name given to the Spanish singers Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and the Italian singer Luciano Pavarotti who sang in concert under this banner during the 1990s and early 2000s. The trio began their collaboration with a performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla, in...
. On Day 28, the housemates were told they had passed the task, earning themselves a luxury shopping budget. On Day 30, Sree became the fifth person to be evicted from the House with 85.0% of the vote.
In week five, on Day 33, Big Brother punished Charlie for discussing nominations, telling him to remain silent for the rest of the day or else face the public vote. Later, Dogface and Kris were similarly punished, also for discussing nominations. All three failed to keep quiet and faced the public vote, along with Halfwit and Marcus, who received the most nominations. On Day 35, the housemates failed the circus-themed shopping task and received a basic shopping budget. On Day 37, Kris became the sixth person to be evicted from the House with 63.0% of the vote.
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
before 3 p.m. They both failed and therefore faced the public vote, along with Karly and Noirin who received the most nominations. The shopping task consisted of nine separate challenges from previous editions of Big Brother, in which housemates had to compete against former contestants (see the week seven shopping task section). The housemates failed to pass the required number of challenges and therefore failed the overall task. On Day 44, five new housemates, Kenneth, Bea, David, Hira and Tom entered the House and Karly became the seventh person to be evicted with 50.4% of the vote.
Week seven saw housemates take part in a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
-themed shopping task with a twist, which involved Charlie and Rodrigo learning a routine by Stavros Flatley, a dance duo featured on Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
. However, playing Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
, Halfwit was the only housemate aware of the true nature of the task. In each of three challenges he had to ensure, while still keeping the secret, that his chosen champion defeated the appropriate Greek god
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. He failed and the housemates received a basic shopping budget. Bea, Charlie, David, Dogface, Halfwit, Hira, Kenneth, Marcus, Noirin, Siavash and Tom all faced eviction. In the early hours of Day 50, Kenneth escaped from the House via the rooftop with help from Marcus, and this led to the eviction being cancelled.
In week eight, in the early hours of Day 53, Tom voluntarily left the Big Brother House. With five nominations each, Marcus and Noirin faced the public vote. For the shopping task the housemates split into two groups, creating human puppets with one housemate providing the head and feet and another providing the arms, and making them dance to music by Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
and Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
. Visitors to the Big Brother web site decided by voting that the housemates had failed the task. On Day 56, Noirin's ex-boyfriend Isaac entered the House, but left voluntarily shortly after Noirin's eviction on Day 58 with 60.0% of the public vote.
Bea and Marcus received the most nominations in week nine, but Marcus's attempts to persuade the housemates to nominate him and Siavash's refusal to nominate backfired when Big Brother declared the result void and made all housemates face the public vote to save, not evict. The shopping task was based on Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
's Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
in which Hira, in the role of Alice
Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
Alice is a fictional character in the literary classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There. She is a young girl from Victorian-era Britain.-Development:...
, having first been "shrunk" in the Diary Room, spent more than five hours searching for a key buried inside a giant cup cake using only her face. The housemates passed the task and received a luxury shopping budget. On Day 65, Hira became the ninth evictee, having received 5.7% of the vote to save.
In week ten, following continual rule breaking by a number of housemates, Big Brother decided to allow the discussion of nominations until further notice. Halfwit and Marcus received the most nominations and faced the public vote. The housemates took part in a "Best of British" shopping task in which they had to bog snorkel
Bog snorkelling
Bog snorkelling is a sporting event that consists of competitors completing two consecutive lengths of a water filled trench cut through a peat bog, in the shortest time possible. Competitors must wear snorkels and flippers, and complete the course without using conventional swimming strokes,...
, play the bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
and convince Rodrigo he had met the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, who was in fact the impersonator Janette Charles. On Day 72, as a special prize for succeeding in this task, Halfwit and Dogface legally changed their names back to Freddie and Sophie. On the same day, Freddie became the tenth evictee from the Big Brother House with 53.6% of the public vote.
Siavash and Sophie both refused to nominate in week eleven. As punishment for breaking this fundamental rule, Big Brother decided that the first two housemates with whom Siavash came into contact and the first two that Sophie mentioned by name after leaving the Diary Room would be taken as their nominations. Siavash touched Bea and Sophie, and Sophie named Rodrigo and Bea. Bea, David and Marcus received the most nominations and faced the public vote this week. In the House of Horrors
House of Horrors
House of Horrors was a low-budget horror film released by Universal Pictures, starring Rondo Hatton as a madman, named "The Creeper." It was also known as Murder Mansion and in the United Kingdom as Joan Medford is Missing.-Plot:...
-themed shopping task Charlie, in the role of Dr Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein was born in Napoli, is a Swiss fictional character and the protagonist of the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, written by Mary Shelley...
, played a version of the game Operation
Operation (game)
Operation is a battery-operated game of physical skill that tests players' hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. Originally made by Milton Bradley, and currently made by Hasbro it has been in production since 1965, the year in which the game was invented by John Spinello.The game is a...
in which Bea, playing his Monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
, received a shock whenever his hand faltered. On Day 79, Bea was evicted with 88.2% of the vote.
The housemates participated in a future-related task during week twelve, in which Sophie and Rodrigo learned a robotic dance routine to Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
's song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk. The single was first released on 13 October 2001. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from the album Alive 2007 on 15 October 2007. This version won a Grammy Award for Best Dance...
" and Lisa and David left the House with instructions to have photographs taken by members of the public in front of three London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
landmarks whilst dressed as aliens. While they were away, the rest of the housemates attempted to break out of the House and Big Brother responded by reducing the £100,000 prize fund to zero, later announcing that the housemates would be given a chance to win back the money over the course of the next few days. As Siavash refused to nominate, Big Brother allocated his nominations to Charlie and Sophie and Marcus and Siavash were put up for eviction. On Day 85, Siavash accepted the offer of £10,000 towards the prize fund for exchanging his clothes with an outfit provided by Big Brother and the Housemates received a £20 cheque after requesting a mystery prize from the weekly shopping list. Later that day, Marcus rejected Big Brother's offer of £15,000 to shave his ponytail and the group turned down the chance to win £1,500 by swimming 1,500 lengths of the pool. On Day 86, Rodrigo won £6,000 towards the prize fund by correctly guessed the regional locations of three animals after listening to a series of sound effects. Later that day, Marcus was evicted with 64.0% of the public vote.
The housemates competed in a "task with no name" on Day 87, the first day of week thirteen. In this task, the Housemates were provided with several challenges and puzzles but were unaware that they all had to leave the room in order to pass. The housemates passed the task and added £10,000 to the prize fund. The following day, the housemates' previous nominations were shown to the group and Big Brother set them a quiz on what they had seen in order to add money to the prize fund. The group answered 53 of the 60 questions correctly, gaining £5,300 to the winner's prize. A round of nominations took place on this day, which Charlie, Siavash and Sophie refused to participate in. This meant that all of the housemates faced eviction, as David, Lisa and Rodrigo received the most eligible nominations. On Day 89, the housemates were shown the episode of Big Brother which documented Day 50 in the House and were told to re-enact it over a five hour period. They passed this task, earning a luxury shopping budget. However, in order to view the reconstruction the group had to replicate the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
"Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the...
", a song by Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
. The group did so, with David portraying Knowles, and were therefore rewarded with a screening of the task after Lisa was evicted with 68.6% of the vote. On Day 91, Charlie, Rodrigo, Sophie and Siavash were instructed to rank themselves in different categories, such as order of selfishness and likelihood to win. David, who was isolated in the Diary Room, had to answer questions based on their answers. As he answered four of the ten questions correctly, he added £40,000 to the prize fund. This meant that the prize fund was settled at £71,320.
After Lisa's eviction on Day 90, the viewers began voting for who they wanted to win the programme. On Day 93, the final day, Rodrigo was the first to be evicted with 11.0% of the five-way vote and he was followed by Charlie, who received 13.2% of the five-way vote. It was then announced that David had finished in third place after gaining 19.0% of the three-way vote. Davina McCall then revealed that Sophie had won this series with 74.4% of the final two-way vote, with Siavash finishing in second place.
Nominations table
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Nominations received | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 4 | Day 6 | Day 88 | Final | ||||||||||||||
| Sophie Dogface |
Housemate | Charlie, Sree |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Angel, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Marcus, Noirin |
Marcus | Hira, Marcus |
Marcus, Halfwit |
Marcus, Halfwit |
Refused | David, Marcus |
Refused | Winner (Day 93) |
6 | |
| Siavash | Non- Housemate |
Charlie, Halfwit |
Charlie, Lisa |
Angel, Sree |
Sree, Kris |
Charlie, Lisa |
Noirin, Karly |
Charlie, Lisa |
Hira, Lisa |
Refused | Bea, David |
Refused | Refused | Refused | Runner-Up (Day 93) |
20 | |
| David | Not in the House |
Failed mission |
Noirin, Marcus |
Marcus, Bea |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Siavash, Marcus |
Siavash, Marcus |
Siavash, Sophie |
Third Place (Day 93) |
14 | |||||||
| Charlie | Housemate | Sophia, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Not eligible |
Halfwit, Siavash |
Marcus, Rodrigo |
Marcus, Noirin |
Halfwit, Siavash |
Noirin, Siavash |
Siavash, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Siavash, Marcus |
Siavash, Marcus |
Refused | Fourth Place (Day 93) |
10 | |
| Rodrigo | Housemate | Cairon, Siavash |
Cairon, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Sree |
Sree, Halfwit |
Marcus, Halfwit |
Lisa, Karly |
Noirin, Marcus |
Noirin, Marcus |
Marcus, Bea |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Bea, David |
Siavash, Marcus |
Lisa, David |
Fifth Place (Day 93) |
4 | |
| Lisa | Housemate | Halfwit, Karly |
Marcus, Halfwit |
Angel, Halfwit |
Marcus, Halfwit |
Marcus, Halfwit |
Noirin, Marcus |
Halfwit, Noirin |
Noirin, Bea |
Bea, Marcus |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Bea, Marcus |
Siavash, Marcus |
Siavash, Rodrigo |
Evicted (Day 90) |
26 | |
| Marcus | Non- Housemate |
Lisa, Sree |
Lisa, Halfwit |
Sree, Lisa |
Sree, Lisa |
Lisa, Halfwit |
Lisa, Karly |
Lisa, Charlie |
Hira, Noirin |
Dogface, David |
David, Bea |
David, Bea |
David, Sophie |
Evicted (Day 86) |
46 | ||
| Bea | Not in the House |
Failed mission |
David, Lisa |
David, Lisa |
Marcus, David |
Rodrigo, David |
Evicted (Day 79) |
12 | |||||||||
| Freddie Halfwit |
Housemate | Sree, Lisa |
Sree, Lisa |
Kris, Sree |
Sree, Lisa |
Noirin, Lisa |
Lisa, Karly |
Charlie, Lisa |
Charlie, Lisa |
Lisa, David |
Marcus, David |
Evicted (Day 72) |
45 | ||||
| Hira | Not in the House |
Failed mission |
Marcus, Siavash |
Bea, Marcus |
Evicted (Day 65) |
3 | |||||||||||
| Isaac | Not in the House |
Walked (Day 58) |
N/A | ||||||||||||||
| Noirin | Housemate | Halfwit, Sophia |
Halfwit, Cairon |
Angel, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Sree |
Halfwit, Siavash |
Karly, Lisa |
Rodrigo, Lisa |
Lisa, Marcus |
Evicted (Day 58) |
15 | ||||||
| Tom | Not in the House |
Failed mission |
Walked (Day 53) |
N/A | |||||||||||||
| Kenneth | Not in the House |
Failed mission |
Walked (Day 50) |
N/A | |||||||||||||
| Karly | Housemate | Halfwit, Marcus |
Halfwit, Angel |
Angel, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Noirin, Marcus |
Evicted (Day 44) |
6 | ||||||||
| Kris | Housemate | Halfwit, Sophia |
Halfwit, Angel |
Angel, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Siavash |
Halfwit, Siavash |
Evicted (Day 37) |
2 | |||||||||
| Sree | Non- Housemate |
Sophia, Marcus |
Cairon, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Siavash |
Marcus, Noirin |
Evicted (Day 30) |
16 | ||||||||||
| Angel | Non- Housemate |
Dogface, Sophia |
Cairon, Siavash |
Sree, Siavash |
Evicted (Day 23) |
9 | |||||||||||
| Cairon | Housemate | Sree, Charlie |
Angel, Sree |
Evicted (Day 16) |
5 | ||||||||||||
| Sophia | Non- Housemate |
Saffia, Noirin |
Evicted (Day 9) |
6 | |||||||||||||
| Saffia | Housemate | Sophia, Marcus |
Walked (Day 8) |
1 | |||||||||||||
| Beinazir | Non- Housemate |
Evicted (Day 4) |
N/A | ||||||||||||||
| Nomination note |
none | none | none | ||||||||||||||
| Against public vote |
Angel, Beinazir, Marcus, Siavash, Sophia, Sree |
Halfwit, Sophia |
Cairon, Halfwit |
Angel, Halfwit |
Halfwit, Sree |
Charlie, Dogface, Halfwit, Kris, Marcus |
Dogface, Karly, Noirin, Siavash |
Bea, Charlie, David, Dogface, Halfwit, Hira, Kenneth, Marcus, Noirin, Siavash, Tom |
Marcus, Noirin |
Bea, Charlie, David, Dogface, Halfwit, Hira, Lisa, Marcus, Rodrigo, Siavash |
Halfwit, Marcus |
Bea, David, Marcus |
Marcus, Siavash |
Charlie, David, Lisa, Rodrigo, Siavash, Sophie |
Charlie, David, Rodrigo, Siavash, Sophie |
||
| Walked | none | Saffia | none | Kenneth | Tom, Isaac |
none | |||||||||||
| Evicted | Beinazir 6.8% to become a housemate |
Sophia 91.2% to evict |
Cairon 73.2% to evict |
Angel 81.0% to evict |
Sree 85.0% to evict |
Kris 63.0% to evict |
Karly 50.4% to evict |
Eviction cancelled |
Noirin 60.0% to evict |
Hira 5.7% to save |
Freddie 53.6% to evict |
Bea 88.2% to evict |
Marcus 64.0% to evict |
Lisa 68.6% to evict |
Rodrigo 11.0% (out of 5) |
Charlie 13.2% (out of 5) |
|
| David 19.0% (out of 3) |
Siavash 25.6% (out of 2) |
||||||||||||||||
| Sophie 74.4% to win |
|||||||||||||||||
| Source | |||||||||||||||||
Additional programming
Big Brother 2002 (UK)
Big Brother 3 was the third series of Big Brother UK. The series started on 24 May 2002, ending on 26 July 2002 and the final of this series drew 10.0 million viewers. Votes in the final week totalled 8.6 million...
contestant Jade Goody
Jade Goody
Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was an English celebrity. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the Channel 4 reality TV programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction from...
and the infamy that surrounded her. The most successful Big Brother housemate worldwide, Goody died of cervical cancer
Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. One of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer is in its advanced stages...
two months before the programme aired. The programme was watched by 305,000 people; 1.8% of the TV audience.
Big Brother's Big Quiz, hosted by Davina McCall, aired on 29 May and featured celebrity team captains singer Jamelia
Jamelia
Jamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...
, TV presenter and Celebrity Big Brother winner Ulrika Jonsson
Ulrika Jonsson
Eva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
and comedians Danny Wallace
Danny Wallace (humourist)
Daniel Frederick Wallace is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books Join Me, Yes Man, and the TV series How to Start Your Own Country.He lives in London, with his wife, an Australian publicist...
and Jack Whitehall
Jack Whitehall
Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall is an English comedian, television presenter and actor, best known for hosting the E4 show Big Brother's Big Mouth in 2008, Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth in January 2009, and the Channel 4 topical entertainment show the TNT Show.-Early life:Whitehall was born in...
. It also featured former Big Brother housemates such as Craig Phillips
Craig Phillips
Craig Phillips is an English builder, DIY expert, television personality and presenter, best known for winning the first series of the British reality television show Big Brother...
and Sam and Amanda Marchant
Samanda
Amanda Louise Marchant and Samantha Joanne Marchant , better known as Samanda are a female duo, consisting of twin sisters who first came to fame on Big Brother UK in 2007, in which they jointly achieved second place.They released their cover of Aqua's hit song, "Barbie Girl" on 8 October 2007 and...
.
Big Brother: A Decade in the Headlines was transmitted on 30 May and looked back at the social, political and cultural changes that Big Brother had made to society since it began. The documentary was hosted by Grace Dent
Grace Dent
Grace Dent is an English journalist, author, and broadcaster. Dent writes mainly for The Guardian, where she has a weekly column on television, 'Grace Dent's TV-OD'. She also writes for magazines such as Tatler and Marie Claire. She writes a restaurant review column for the London Evening...
and featured participation from Mark Frith
Mark Frith
Mark Frith is employed as a British journalist and editor of London listings magazine Time Out from 24 July 2009 until 8 July 2011, when he was succeeded as editor by Tim Arthur. He is a former editor of celebrity gossip magazine Heat.His career was launched by pop music based magazine, Smash Hits...
, Carole Malone
Carole Malone
Carole Anne Malone is a right-wing English journalist, commentator on Current affairs and occasional broadcaster.-Early life:...
, Oona King
Oona King
Oona Tamsyn King, Baroness King of Bow is a Baroness and Member of the House of Lords, and former Chief Diversity Officer of Channel 4. She previously had served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow from 1997 until 2005, when she was defeated by Respect candidate George...
, Peter Tatchell
Peter Tatchell
Peter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...
, Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Krishnan Guru-Murthy
Krishnan Guru-Murthy , is a British television presenter and journalist employed by Channel 4. He presents the Channel 4 Evening News and the foreign affairs programme Unreported World.-Education:...
and Ian Hyland
Ian Hyland
Ian Hyland is an English television critic.-Journalism career:Hyland wrote a column for the Sunday Mirror from 2000 to 2005. Until 2011 closure of the newspaper, he wrote for the News of the World. He currently writes for the Daily Mail...
.
Spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
programme Big Brother's Little Brother featured new competitions and features to mark the event. The first, The George Lamb Quiz of the Decade, was launched on 7 June. The participants had to show their knowledge of the programme by participating in a quiz relating to every series of Big Brother. Another competition was established as part of the Greek-themed task in week eight. Here, male Big Brother's Little Brother viewers were asked to apply to become a date for Bea Hammill, who was playing the role of Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
. The contestant chosen was Robin from Bristol. The programme also offered a viewer the chance to become Big Brother and talk to the housemates via the Diary Room on the final day of the programme; this was won by Simon "Jobby" Jobson, a 22-year-old DJ from Alnwick
Alnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. Former housemates, such as Nadia Almada
Nadia Almada
Nadia Conceicao Almada is a Madeiran-born UK reality television star, best known for being the first transsexual winner of Big Brother in series 5 in 2004.-Big Brother:...
and Rachel Rice
Rachel Rice
Rachel Rice is a Welsh actress and model. She is most well known for competing in and later winning the television series Big Brother 9 in the United Kingdom. She has a degree in English and Drama, and is now a fully qualified teacher....
, also appeared as guests to mark the occasion.
Week seven shopping task
The shopping task for week seven saw housemates from the previous nine series temporarily return, as current housemates competed against them in a series of "classic" tasks. Former housemates were not paid; a donation was made to Jade Goody's trust fund instead. On Day 40, Craig Phillips, winner of the first series of Big Brother, entered the house to participate in a replica of his series' assault courseAssault course
An assault course is a special sort of trail that combines running and exercising. It was more popular in the 1970s than it is now. It is heavily used in military training...
task alongside Halfwit. Phillips was drafted in after "Nasty" Nick Bateman
Nick Bateman
Nicholas "Nasty Nick" Bateman is a British media personality and a former contestant on the first series of the British version of Big Brother.-Big Brother:...
withdrew. Later that day, Lisa competed in a task to build a sugar cube tower alongside Dean O'Loughlin of series two. Day 41 saw Alex Sibley, Sophie Pritchard and Lee Davey from the programme's third edition
Big Brother 2002 (UK)
Big Brother 3 was the third series of Big Brother UK. The series started on 24 May 2002, ending on 26 July 2002 and the final of this series drew 10.0 million viewers. Votes in the final week totalled 8.6 million...
compete in a re-creation of the egg and spoon race
Egg and spoon race
An egg-and-spoon race is a sporting event in which participants must carry an egg or other roundish object on a teaspoon, tablespoon or wooden spoon and race to the finish line without dropping the egg or without running while the egg is not on the spoon...
task with Rodrigo trying to predict the outcome. Later that day, Federico Martone from series four participated in a gymkhana
Gymkhana (equestrian)
Gymkhana is a term used in the United Kingdom, east coast of the United States, and other English-speaking nations to describe an equestrian event consisting of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders on horses...
competition against Noirin using fake horses and Dogface and Michelle Bass
Michelle Bass
Michelle Bass is an English glamour model and television personality turned singer and columnist....
both sang Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent...
, which featured in the wedding task of series five, with viewers deciding which performance was the best. On Day 42, Craig Coates and Makosi Musambasi challenged Siavash to the box task from the sixth series and series seven's Nikki Grahame
Nikki Grahame
Nicola Rachele-Beth Grahame is an English model, columnist and television personality, who rose to fame in the UK when she was chosen to be a housemate on Big Brother 7 in 2006...
reenacted her silent disco
Silent disco
Silent disco has become a common name for a disco where people dance to music listened to on wireless headphones. Rather than using a speaker system, music is broadcast via an FM-transmitter with the signal being picked up by wireless headphone receivers worn by the participants. Those without the...
task alongside Karly. Brian Belo
Brian Belo
Olawale Mohammed "Brian" Belo is a Nigerian entertainer, raised in Basildon, Essex. He first came to the public's attention by winning the eighth series of the British version of Big Brother. Since the programme, he has become an internet columnist for Heat magazine, a TV segment entertainer for...
from series eight
Big Brother 2007 (UK)
Big Brother 2007 was the eighth series of the United Kingdom reality television programme Big Brother, airing on Channel 4, with a number of closely associated programmes also airing on E4....
took part in a word association
Word Association
Word Association is a common word game involving an exchange of words that are associated together. The game is based on the noun phrase word association, meaning "stimulation of an associative pattern by a word" or "the connection and production of other words in response to a given word, done...
game with Charlie. The task drew to a close on Day 43 when Rex Newmark from the previous series
Big Brother 2008 (UK)
Big Brother 2008 was the ninth series of the British reality television series Big Brother, that aired on Channel 4 and E4. The series was launched on 5 June 2008, and ran for 13 weeks until 5 September 2008. The winner of Big Brother 2008 was Rachel Rice who beat bookies' favourite Michael Hughes...
returned to participate in the electric shock task with Marcus, in which the rest of housemates were subjected to shocks. The housemates failed to pass the required minimum of seven of the nine challenges and therefore failed the overall task.
Reception
In comparison with other contemporary reality television programmes and previous editions of Big Brother, this series has received lower viewing figures and less press coverage. Bookmakers have also reported that this series has attracted the lowest amount of bets placed for any reality programme in the last decade. Four weeks before the programme began, former chat show presenter Michael ParkinsonMichael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
was critical of the programme; "I object to the exploitation of the underclass in shows like Big Brother. It is the modern version of Bedlam
Bethlem Royal Hospital
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a psychiatric hospital located in London, United Kingdom and part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Although no longer based at its original location, it is recognised as the world's first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illnesses....
, where you pay to see the poor benighted people making asses of themselves". Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker
Charlton "Charlie" Brooker is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said that the series contained forgettable participants and that the producers were alienating the viewers with confusing tasks that seemed to take place "every four minutes". Simmy Richman of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
wrote that the programme had become predictable after ten editions and that it had a "here-we-go-again feel". They also complained that the format had become clichéd and the housemates stereotypical, and they criticised the producers for enrolling participants who were using the programme as "a springboard to a Heat
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
magazine cover and temporary free entry to dodgy nightclubs". Maggie Brown, writing in her book A Licence to be Different — The Story of Channel 4, believed that the programme limited its broadcaster as the cost to produce the programme were not justified by the number of viewers it attracted. Mark Lawson
Mark Lawson
Mark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author.-Life and career:Born in Hendon, London, Lawson was raised in Yorkshire and is a Leeds United fan. He was educated at St Columba's College in St Albans and took a degree in English at University College London, where his lecturers...
, also writing in The Guardian, suggested that the lack of viewers linked with a tired format and minimal press coverage, claiming that the newspapers had become preoccupied with stories such as the outbreak of swine flu
2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus , albeit in a new version...
, death of Michael Jackson
Death of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication after he suffered a respiratory arrest at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said he found Jackson in his room, not breathing, but with a faint pulse,...
and MPs' expenses scandal
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
. Lawson also believed that the death of Big Brother 2002
Big Brother 2002 (UK)
Big Brother 3 was the third series of Big Brother UK. The series started on 24 May 2002, ending on 26 July 2002 and the final of this series drew 10.0 million viewers. Votes in the final week totalled 8.6 million...
participant Jade Goody prior to the launch of Big Brother 2009 contributed to the low viewing figures. Journalist James Donaghy branded the programme a "sorry atrocity" and celebrity gossip blogger Darryn Lyons
Darryn Lyons
Darryn Lyons is an Australian paparazzo, media personality and entrepreneur, best known for his work in Britain.-Early life:...
said that the series had been "massively disappointing", pinpointing Isaac Stout's entrance as a "desperate stunt" to attract viewers. Despite returning to the House to participate in a task, former housemate Dean O'Loughlin has also been critical of this series, describing it as "way too superficial".
However, the series has also received praise from various parties. For example, Gerard Gilbert of The Independent argued that in comparison to contemporary TV dramas, Big Brother provides much more entertainment, psychological depth and social impact. Gilbert also commented that the storylines of the programme were equal to that of the works of Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
. Craig Phillips
Craig Phillips
Craig Phillips is an English builder, DIY expert, television personality and presenter, best known for winning the first series of the British reality television show Big Brother...
, the winner of the first series of Big Brother, and the programme's presenter Davina McCall have responded to the criticisms of the programme's decreasing viewing figures, respectively arguing that the programme achieves low numbers due to the different way in which viewers can watch the programme and that the programme is achieving well considering its timeslot and broadcaster. Brian Dowling
Brian Dowling
Brian Patrick Robert Dowling is an Irish television presenter who rose to fame after being crowned the winner of the second series of UK reality television show Big Brother in 2001. He also won Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, making him the ultimate Big Brother housemate...
, who won the second edition of Big Brother in 2001, defended both the programme and the reality genre as a whole, telling BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
that producers were simply providing viewers what they want, such as extreme participants. The Guardians Heidi Stephens also complimented the series by claiming that it has "seen the emergence of some truly fascinating personalities" and welcomed the return to the basic format of the programme. Stephens went on to compare the storylines and characters of the programme with that of a John Hughes film. Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace
Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace
Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace is a British glamour model, fashion designer, magazine columnist, actress, and television & media personality. She rose to fame in 2006, when she appeared, and finished third, in the seventh series of reality TV series Big Brother....
, who came third in the seventh series, and Big Brother 2003 winner Cameron Stout
Cameron Stout
Cameron Stout was the winner of Big Brother 4 UK in 2003. He received 1.9 million votes, 500,000 more than runner-up Ray Shah. Cameron is the elder brother of television and radio presenter Julyan Sinclair....
praised the selection of housemates, both claiming that the quality of the programme had improved on previous years. Entertainment website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
was also complimentary of the series, naming Sophie "Dogface" Reade and Kris Donnelly as two of the sexiest
Sexual attraction
Sexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...
housemates of the past ten years and Angel McKenzie as one of the most outrageous. Towards the end of the programme's airing, Neil Boom of The Independent argued that the series is "one of the best ever" despite a decline in the number of viewers. He claimed that there was still high interest on internet forums and that the lower television ratings might be due to the removal of the 24-hour live feed. He praised the selection of housemates and highlighted Siavash, Freddie and Marcus as particular examples. Following the end of the series, Davina McCall also considered Big Brother 10 to be "Big Brother at its best."
Viewing figures
The opening Big Brother 2009 launch episode, which aired on Channel 4 on 4 June, attracted 4.8 million viewers, with a 22% viewing share. A further 239,000 watched via Channel 4's timeshift channelTimeshift channel
A timeshift channel is a television channel carrying a time-delayed rebroadcast of its "parent" channel's output. This channel runs alongside their parent: the term "timeshift" does not refer to a network broadcasting at a later time to reflect a local timezone unless the parent is also available...
, Channel 4+1. The rating was the highest in its timeslot, with its nearest competition, a repeat of Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
bringing 3.3 million viewers. Despite this, the launch was 400,000 viewers down on its 2008 counterpart.
The first special edition of the programme, which was transmitted live on 7 June at 10 p.m. and saw Beinazir Lasharie being evicted, achieved 1.78 million viewers with a 9.9% viewing share. The programme was scheduled directly against The Apprentice: You're Hired on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, which was viewed by 7.66 million; 36.1% of the audience. A further 186,000 watched the programme on Channel 4+1. The first official eviction programme aired on 12 June and was watched by 2.9 million people, 13% of the viewing audience. At the same time, BBC One's Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
and ITV1's Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
achieved 5.6 million (26% of the audience) and 3.6 million (17% of the audience) viewers respectively. A further 104,000 watched the eviction on Channel 4+1. 3 million people, 13% of the audience, and an extra 159,000 Channel 4+1 viewers watched Cairon Austin-Hill's eviction a week later. A special edition of the programme hosted by Davina McCall, which aired at 9 p.m. on 24 June and saw the Housemates nominate live, was watched by 1.8 million; 9% of the audience. The episode gained higher audience figures than other programmes that were airing at the same time, such as Sky1's The Take
The Take (TV series)
The Take is a 4 episode drama TV series on Sky 1 based upon the Martina Cole novel. Shooting for the show took place in Dublin. The show premiered on June 17 2009 and stars Tom Hardy, Brian Cox, Hayley Angel Wardle, Shaun Evans, Kierston Wareing and Charlotte Riley .The show received critical...
, ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
's America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent (season 3)
The third season of America's Got Talent, an American television reality show talent competition, premiered on MediaCorp Channel 5 on September 3, 2008. Opera singer Neal E. Boyd was named the winner on January 28, 2009....
and Five's broadcast of the film For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 Italian spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonté. German actor Klaus Kinski also plays a supporting role as a secondary villain...
, which were viewed by 479,000, 456,000 and 1.2 million viewers respectively. However, BBC One's Famous, Rich and Homeless and ITV1's Spain: Paradise Lost achieved higher viewers with 4.7 and 3.6 million people watching respectively. Angel McKenzie's eviction, which aired on 26 June, achieved a 1.6 million viewers and a 10% audience share between 10.35 p.m. and 11.10 p.m. The end of the programme overlapped with a special edition of Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, documenting the death of Michael Jackson, which achieved a 9% share with 1.2 million watching. However, 131,000 watched the eviction an hour later on Channel 4+1. The eviction that took place on 3 July attracted 2.3 million viewers, a 13% audience share, at 10.35 p.m. with 100,000 watching later on Channel 4+1. The eviction on 10 July achieved 2.1 million viewers; 13% of the audience.
Psychoville
Psychoville is an award-winning British dark comedy television serial written by and starring The League of Gentlemen members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. It debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009. Pemberton and Shearsmith each play numerous characters, with Dawn French and Jason Tompkins in...
and Sky1’s Lie to Me
Lie to Me
Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
that charted at 1.26 million (6.2%) and 424,000 (2.5%) respectively. 2.4 million people saw Noirin Kelly’s eviction on 31 July and an additional 125,000 watched on Channel 4+1. On 7 August, Hira Habibshah was evicted with 2.4 million viewers, 15% of the audience, watching initially and another 94,000 viewing later on Channel 4+1. The 14 August eviction attracted 2.1 million, 14% of the audience, with 75,000 more watching on the timeshift service. The following week, 2.2 million viewers, a 13% share, saw the eviction and 122,000 watched later on Channel 4+1. On 28 August, 2.2 million and a 15% share watched the eviction programme; 98,000 more viewed the programme on Channel 4+1. This achieved more viewers than two episodes of The Tudors
The Tudors
The Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
, that aired on BBC Two and attracted 9% of the audience at 1.7 million. A total of 2.4 million viewers, 12% of the audience share, watched the eviction on 1 September and 142,000 watched via Channel 4+1. The programme beat many of its commercial rivals during this time slot, such as ITV1's News at Ten, a repeat of BBC Two's Mock the Week
Mock the Week
Mock the Week is a British topical celebrity panel game hosted by Dara Ó Briain that launched in 2005. The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedy, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.It is made by independent...
and an episode of CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
on Five, which achieved 2.1, 1.9 and 1.5 million viewers respectively.
Until 2011, the final of Big Brother 2009 had the lowest-ever closing night audience of any Big Brother series. The first episode, broadcast between 8.30pm and 9.30pm, came in at third place out of the five main broadcasters and averaged 2.6 million viewers at 12%. The winning broadcaster in this slot was ITV1; an episode of Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
and a repeat of Rebus
Rebus (TV series)
Rebus is the title of the detective drama based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin set in and around Edinburgh produced by STV Productions for the ITV Network....
achieved 6.7 and 3.9 million viewers respectively. An additional 170,000 watched on Channel 4+1. The second installment of the final started at 10pm was watched by an average of 2.7 million viewers, 16% of the audience, and this peaked at 3.1 million viewers when Sophie Reade was announced as the winner. This part of the final came second in its timeslot; it was beaten by the BBC News at Ten and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
which achieved 3.4 and 2.9 million viewers respectively.
Controversy and criticism
Prior to the launch of this series, it was announced that the live feed, which used to air footage from the House throughout the day on E4, would be reduced to only seven hours of programming per day. Channel 4 was criticised for this, receiving 99 complaints; Big Brother became the programme with the most complaints in the month of May 2009 before having even broadcast its first episode. The decision attracted comment, via TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, from programme presenter Davina McCall, who encouraged campaigners to protest by signing online petitions. A poll conducted by Heat magazine showed a majority in favour of reinstating the live feed. Channel 4 told members of the Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
that it stuck by its decision and justified the reduction, noting that similar reality TV programmes such as ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!
I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (UK)
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! is a British reality television show, first screened in 2002, in which celebrities live in jungle conditions with few creature comforts. The show is filmed in Australia and broadcast on ITV in the UK and on TV3 in Ireland. The show is one of the largest in the...
had also reduced live feeds. The intensity of the situation increased after an e-mail was received by Channel 4, threatening the life of Chief Executive Andy Duncan's
Andy Duncan (executive)
Andy Duncan was chief executive of Britain's Channel 4 television channel from July 2004 to November 2009, the first not to have a background in programme making. He was previously director of marketing, communications and audiences at the BBC and the founding chairman of Freeview...
daughter if the live feed was not reinstated. In a statement, Channel 4 confirmed that it was taking the situation seriously and had alerted the police.
Upon entering the Big Brother House, contestant Saffia Corden was condemned by children’s charity Kidscape
Kidscape
The London-based charity Kidscape was established in 1985 by child psychologist Michele Elliott. Its focus is on children’s safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of harm by equipping children with techniques and mindsets that help them stay safe....
for leaving her seven year-old daughter and her 13 month-old son in the care of her mother in order to participate in the programme. Concerned viewers established groups on social networking website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
in protest of the situation, with over 980 joining one group alone within the programme’s first five days. However, Corden was seen crying over pictures of her infants in the House and relatives and friends defended her in the press.
Producers of the programme conducted an internal investigation after an argument occurred between Sree Dasari and Freddie "Halfwit" Fisher on Day 23. The altercation, which started off as a debate about food rationing, eventually led to Dasari making fun of Fisher's dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
. However, the issue was not taken any further and Dasari was evicted one week later, telling Davina McCall that he had a friend who suffered from the disability. On Day 29, Marcus Akin received a formal warning after making threatening statements to Sree Dasari during an argument over an earlier confrontation while preparing the weekly shopping list. Dasari also asserted that Akin had mocked India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n culture. Big Brother warned Akin for his aggressive and threatening behaviour but did not consider that there was any racist aspect. Media regulator Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
received 290 complaints about the incident and a Channel 4 spokeswoman claimed that Big Brother had acted responsibly.
The programme attracted further complaints to Ofcom after an argument on Day 47 led to Kenneth Tong making threatening remarks about Rebecca "Bea" Hamill. After Hamill refused to participate in a secret task, Tong told her to "shut the fuck up" and later told some other housemates that he would "pay someone to deal with it" as he knew some of the "world’s most dangerous men". Upon being told about the incident, Hamill made a complaint to Big Brother and Tong was reprimanded for his actions, receiving an official warning in the Diary Room. Ofcom received over 90 complaints on this issue, despite the fact that Tong voluntarily left the House less than 48 hours after the incident.
Controversy surrounded the programme again when, in the early hours of 24 July, former housemate Sree Dasari was admitted to Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital
The Queen Elizabeth II hospital is a 315-bed District General Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, operated by East and North Hertfordshire NHS trust along with the Lister Hospital in Stevenage. It was the first full hospital to be built by the National Health Service.The hospital once...
after self harming in his room at the University of Hertfordshire
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire is a new university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, England, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 27,500 students, over 2500 staff, with a turnover of over £181m...
. It was reported that he became upset after watching an episode of Big Brother. Despite his being discharged shortly afterwards and appearing live on Big Brother's Big Mouth that night, the broadcaster received criticism from psychologists and mental health organisations, with comparisons being drawn with similar debates regarding the care of Susan Boyle
Susan Boyle
Susan Magdalane Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to international public attention when she appeared as a contestant on the TV programme Britain's Got Talent on 11 April 2009, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from ...
and Hollie Steel
Hollie Steel
Hollie Steel is a singer and performer from Huncoat, Lancashire, England. At the age of ten she was one of ten finalists on the third series of the ITV reality show Britain's Got Talent....
on the third series
Britain's Got Talent (series 3)
The 2009 series of Britain's Got Talent was the third series of the programme. It began airing on ITV on 11 April. The 2009 panel of judges consisted of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan...
of Britain’s Got Talent. The chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation
Mental Health Foundation
The Mental Health Foundation was founded in 1949. It is a British charitable organization that provides information, carries out research, and campaigns to improve services for people affected by mental health problems...
, Dr Andrew McCulloch said, "We have had concerns about this programme for a number of years and have written to Channel 4 about it in the past. Channel 4 have never been able to explain what the safety procedures are, in terms of screening people and then the support available to them through the show and after eviction, and in the absence of that information we remain concerned." David Wilson, a psychologist and former Big Brother employee, felt that the treatment and selection of housemates was unethical. However, Dasari claimed that the injury he sustained was simply "a small cut" and both the University of Hertfordshire and Channel 4 pointed out that he had been offered psychological care. A spokeswoman for the latter said that the "housemates' welfare is of paramount importance. There is a well-established and extensive after-care system in place for all housemates and Sree continues to be given ongoing support by the production team and regular access to the show psychologist".
Some attention was drawn in the series to the purported 'bullying' of housemate Freddie Fisher, who was reportedly victimised and "made a scapegoat" by many fellow housemates and, in particular, housemates Karly Ashworth, Kris Donnelly and Lisa Wallace. Housemate Bea Hamill, to whom Fisher was initially close, was also seen as 'emotionally terrorising' him in the days leading up to his Week 10 eviction, at one point causing him to suffer what The Sun described as a "panic attack
Panic attack
Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours...
."