Big Brother (British series 7)
Big Brother 2006, also known as Big Brother 7, was the seventh series of the British reality television series Big Brother. The show followed a total of twenty-two contestants, known as housemates, who were isolated from the outside world for an extended period of time in a custom built house. Each week, one or more of the housemates were eliminated from the competition and left the House. The last remaining housemate, Pete Bennett, was declared the winner, winning a cash prize of £100,000.
The series launched on Channel 4 on 18 May 2006 and ended on 18 August 2006, lasting 93 days - the joint-second longest British edition of Big Brother to date. Davina McCall returned as presenter for her seventh consecutive year. Fourteen housemates entered on launch night, with an additional eight being introduced in later weeks. The series was watched by an average of 4.7 million viewers, the third highest viewed series of the show to date. It was also the first series since the show's inception to be broadcast in aspect ratio, as opposed to.
Big Brother 7 was the subject of viewer complaints and press attention regarding a variety of controversial issues, including the wellbeing of certain participants and the decision to allow former housemates to re-enter. In 2010, the series was voted the British public's favourite series of Big Brother.
Production
Eye logo
The eye this year featured two spiral shapes, one black and one yellowTitle sequence
The title sequence contained phrases such as, at the very beginning with a screen resembling an FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: "This is the title sequence for Big Brother", "Not for transmission", and a copyright year of 1903, the birth year of George Orwell. Parts of the sequence include CCTV-style footage of the underpass featured at the start of the film version of A Clockwork Orange. The time and date displayed at the bottom keep repeating the digit seven, signifying the seventh series of the show. Other words flashed on screen included "You are being observed", and, in sequence the text "cam 01", "cam 09", "cam 08" and "cam 04" was shown at the top of the screen, making 1984, another reference to Nineteen Eighty-Four.Broadcasts
hosted the main eviction show, as well as the live launch and finale. She would also host the main Channel 4 show on other nights, that may involve a twist or a new housemate arriving. The nightly highlight shows were once again narrated by Marcus Bentley. This was the last series to feature a highlights show the night after the finale, showing the housemates last day in the house.Dermot O'Leary returned as host of Big Brother's Little Brother on Channel 4, he also hosted Big Brother's Big Brain, a new psychology show broadcast late on Monday nights on Channel 4, usually after the main show.
For the first time since BB launched, live action was available exclusively online, with paid subscription, through the official Channel 4 website; Channel 4 claimed that the decision to cease any live streaming to terrestrial, cable or satellite channels, was as a direct result of the public outrage which followed the "Fight Night" incident in last years show, however many fans were of the belief that this was simply Channel 4 and programme makers Endemol 'cashing in'.
Diary Room Uncut returned and was extended to one hour and broadcast on Saturday nights, as well as a half hour segment on Monday nights.
Russell Brand returned for Big Brother's Big Mouth in a new late-night time slot, straight after the Channel 4 show, it had previously obtained this slot during the previous celebrity series. The show contained a much more adult theme due to the new time slot. It was broadcast Tuesday to Friday.
Sponsor
The Carphone Warehouse remained as sponsor.House
The interior of the house was much smaller than the year before. The living room was brought back inside the house, with two glass doors separating it from the main floor area. On Launch Night, McCall said the room will change colour depending on what mood the housemates were in, however the walls only changed colour on eviction nights. The bedroom was across from the living room, and featured a waterbed, the bathroom was accessed through the bedroom, and featured a bath, shower and also a toilet. The kitchen was small and beside the door leading to the garden. In the garden, which was much larger than the house, was a barbecue, a pool, a seating area and a bridge titled The Bridge to Nowhere which led to another seating area. The interior stairs remained closed off once again, and had a yellow and black theme.The House Next Door
The House Next Door was a group of rooms connected to the original house via the Diary Room. On 30 June, five new housemates entered this house. The public, instead of voting for a housemate to be evicted, voted to transfer one of the current housemates to also live in the new house.Aisleyne was voted to be moved into the House Next Door along with 5 new housemates; Jonathan, Spiral, Jennie, Michael and Jayne. Aisleyne was then required to evict another housemate, and chose Jonathan.
The House Next Door was also used later on in the series. In Week 10 it featured in the "Prison Task" and in Week 12 it housed four previous evictees, Grace, Mikey, Lea and Nikki who had been voted by the public to re-enter the House.
Housemates
Fourteen housemates entered the House on launch night, and eight other housemates entered the House later during the series, making a total of twenty-two housemates competing in Big Brother 7. Two of these eight housemates were replacement housemates Sam and Aisleyne, arriving on Day 12, who were introduced to the housemates as part of the Meal or No Meal task after the departure of Shahbaz and Dawn. George decided to leave the House of his own will, a rule all housemates are allowed to take advantage of at any time, on Day 13 as he "did not want to be famous". On Day 23, Susie entered the House as Big Brother's lucky Golden Ticket winner, she declared on entry that she was a nymphomaniac and would probably have sex with someone during her stay. Five more housemates entered on Day 44 to the House Next Door, totalling 22 housemates - the joint-second highest number of housemates of Big Brother UK to date.This series saw the largest number of housemates to leave without being evicted, with three exiting the House. This beat series 3, where there were a total of fourteen housemates and two people walked; and series 5, in which there were a total of thirteen housemates and two were ejected. Housemate numbers also topped series 6, in which even after the "Secret Garden" twist, there were only a total of sixteen contestants. At one point there were more additional housemates than original housemates in this series: during Week 9, following Nikki's eviction there was a total of six additional housemates and five original housemates, having entered the House on launch night.
Golden tickets
During the first three weeks of the series, Channel 4 conducted a promotion in conjunction with Nestle to distribute 100 "golden tickets" randomly throughout Kit Kat chocolate bars, in a style reminiscent of the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Members of the public finding these tickets were permitted to use them to give themselves a chance to become a Big Brother housemate and bypass the standard auditions process.Golden ticket holders were invited to a television show where one of them, Susie Verrico, was chosen to enter the House by housemate Aisleyne picking a ball out of a machine at random.
This contest caused some controversy, with the Advertising Standards Authority saying that the terms and conditions of the draw should have been made clearer in related advertisements, and that an independent adjudicator should have been present before and during the draw.
Weekly summary
On Day 1 Bonnie, Pete, George, Shahbaz, Lea, Imogen, Mikey, Dawn, Glyn, Richard, Grace, Lisa, Sezer and Nikki entered the house.In the first week a group of housemates, known as "The Big Brotherhood" were elected by group leaders Lisa and Shahbaz. These housemates received their suitcases and eviction immunity for the week. Mikey replaced Shahbaz as leader, after Shahbaz voluntarily left on Day 6 Bonnie, Dawn and Glyn were not chosen to join "The Big Brotherhood" and so were placed up for eviction. Dawn was asked to leave on Day 8 after using a code to receive information from the outside world. Bonnie and Glyn were put to the public vote and on Day 9 Bonnie was evicted with 78% of the vote.
In week two the housemates had to answer various questions in order to win sections of a luxury food budget they had ordered, in the game show-style "Meal or No Meal", similarly named after Channel 4's game show "Deal or No Deal". On Day 13 Pete was asked questions answered wrongly in previous rounds. Getting three out of four right, Pete won the House toilet rolls and miscellaneous shopping list items, and two new housemates, Sam and Aisleyne. On Day 14 George left voluntarily. Richard, Lea and Sezer faced the public vote, and on Day 16 Sezer was evicted with 91.6% of the public vote.
During week three, on Day 18 the housemates had a "Shouting" task to win a luxury reward for the person who could shout the loudest. Richard won the task and chose Imogen to share a dinner with him The weekly shopping task was Big Brother's Temp Agency, where housemates were given different jobs, such as lifeguard, chef, toilet attendant, and PA. The housemates failed and received a basic shopping budget. Sam and Nikki were put to the public vote and on Day 23 Sam was evicted with 53.7% of the public vote. Following Sam's eviction, the housemates were told about the "Golden Ticket" competition, and that a housemate would randomly select a new housemate from the various winners to enter the House, the random housemate selected was Susie.
During week four, on Day 25 housemates were set a patience and endurance task, The Waiting Game, where they all had to stand on a podium to win a reward in the Box of Good Things. Housemates were permitted to quit if they put their hand up and state their reasons, and if their feet touched the floor they were automatically out of the game. After drawing straws with Grace, Lisa was the housemate on her podium the longest, with a total of 10 hours and 12 minutes, and her prize was immunity from nominations. Big Brother imposed "The State of Susie", the House was adorned with images and statues of Susie, making Susie the leader of a "dictatorship" and the other housemates her followers. The weekly task was failed four hours after it began. Thirty-three fails were recorded, thirty more than were allowed. Susie, the only housemate allowed to nominate, chose Grace and Nikki for the public vote. On Day 30 Grace was evicted with 87.9% of the public vote.
In week five, on Day 34 Lea, Nikki, Lisa, Glyn and Imogen were announced to have been discussing nominations, and as punishment each would name the housemate "rule-breaker" they believe should automatically face the public vote, and with two votes Nikki was put up for eviction. The housemates had to perform a baton routine, dressed as majorettes, Glyn was appointed leader and led the housemates to pass the task and they received a luxury shopping budget. Imogen, Mikey, Nikki and Lisa were put up for eviction. Lisa was evicted on Day 37 with 60.3% of the public vote.
In week six the housemates had to rub another housemate with soap until all of the soap was gone. Imogen, Glyn and Susie won, and had the prize of the use of a luxury spa. The housemates had to stop milk from emptying out of a tank within a 48-hour period. Imogen was secretly told the real task, to cause the milk to empty below the red line point, without the other housemates' knowledge, and she succeeded, and the housemates received a luxury shopping budget. Day 43 saw the housemates write in a suggestion box ways that three housemates could improve, and the following day these suggestions were read out, and the housemates were provided with things to help them better themselves. If housemates could last the next few hours bettering themselves they would receive a treat, they later received a karaoke party. Aisleyne and Susie were put to the public vote, but not to evict, the vote was to decide who moved into a secret "House Next Door". Aisleyne was moved to the House Next Door on Day 45. and she was joined by five new housemates: Jayne, Jennie, Jonathan, Michael and Spiral.
In week seven, on Day 45 the housemates in the main House were given a silent disco dancing task, where they had to stay on a spot dancing along to three songs on repeat whilst blindfolded, the person who lasted the longest would win a prize from the Box of Good Things, the winner was Glyn who won a small trophy. Aisleyne had to decide which housemates to evict from the "House Next Door", unaware she was sending them to the main House, she evicted Jayne on Day 46, and Michael and Jennie on Day 48. On Day 49, Aisleyne was told to evict either Jonathan or Spiral. She evicted Jonathan. On Day 50 the housemates had to work together to untangle themselves from a giant knot in the garden within 3 hours, each housemate was attached by a belt to an individual piece of rope. A television screen displayed £672, double a luxury shopping budget, this money decreased by £10 every 3 minutes they carried out the task, housemates completed and passed in 44 minutes with a total shopping budget of £532. Richard and Lea were put up for eviction. Lea was evicted on Day 51 with 53.8% of the public vote.
During week eight on Day 54, the housemates participated in the "Big Brother Tennis Championship," where the housemates played a game of tennis against Big Brother. The housemates won seven games and were rewarded with a party. On Day 56, each housemate got one minute to perform as many burps as they could. If the house collectively performed 200 burps than they would receive a children's party. They performed 252 burps collectively and won the reward. Following Jayne relaying her impressions of the other housemates from before she had entered the House, all of the housemates except her were to face the public vote. On Day 56, following further rule breaking by Jayne concerning discussions of information from the outside world the weekly shopping task was cancelled, and housemates would not be allowed to buy items from the shopping list, instead they received basic food rations. On Day 58 Nikki was evicted with 37.2% of the public vote.
In week nine, on Day 59, with Jayne breaking rules the housemates were given a Rule School task, to all answer an exam paper with eighteen questions regarding the rules of Big Brother, all housemates had to pass with 100% to avoid further punishment, they failed, and the following day the swimming pool was out of bounds. On Day 61, the housemates were given a walking task. Each housemate was given a pedometer and was asked to walk around the house for two hours. It was revealed that Glyn walked the most steps and received a luxury meal of his choice, though this was given in the form of a smoothie which he was forced to taste. Housemates then had to complete an assault course. The housemates passed the task and were rewarded with an eighties-theme party, along with a luxury shopping budget for the following week.
Richard and Jayne were put up for eviction, Jayne was evicted on Day 65 with 67.1% of the public vote.
In week ten Big Brother devised the "Best Friends" task. Housemates were paired up for the week. Each pair chose a single fellow housemate for eviction and Big Brother later announced that the nominated housemates, along with their "Best Friends", would be up for eviction. The pair with the lowest share of the public vote would be evicted. Throughout the week, housemates completed the "Prison" task where the "House Next Door" became a prison. The housemates passed the task and were rewarded with letters from home, along with the luxury food budget. The pairs of Imogen and Susie, Michael and Spiral and Pete and Richard were put up for eviction. Michael and Spiral were evicted together on Day 72 with the lowest share of the vote to stay in, 9.7%.
In week eleven, on Day 75, Big Brother went on holiday, leaving housemates with an automated service as a temporary replacement. Housemates were told to make postcards for Big Brother and were rewarded with a sleepover and pyjama party. Housemates also had to learn five different things, similar to a university course. The group passed, and were given a luxury shopping budget for Week 12. The graduation was celebrated with a party. Imogen, Jennie, Mikey and Susie faced the public vote. Mikey was evicted first on Day 79 with 48.5% of the four-way vote, Susie was evicted after him with 59.4% of the three-way vote.
In week twelve Jennie won the "Big Brother Board Game" task, she was rewarded with a place in the final, and a bottle of champagne. Housemates were also given the task "Big Brother FM" where they had to pretend to be DJs. They were awarded a luxury shopping budget, after the show proved popular with the public. On Day 84, previously evicted housemates Nikki, Grace, Lea, and Mikey entered the "House Next Door" following a public vote between 10 previous housemates. On hearing the news that four ex-housemates were living Next Door, Glyn attempted to get into the House Next Door by climbing on the roof and therefore breaking the rules. Richard and Imogen were put up for eviction and moved into the house next door until one of them was evicted. Imogen was evicted on Day 86 with 62% of the public vote. Richard re-entered the main house after Imogen was evicted on Day 86. After Imogen's exit Nikki was chosen by housemates to re-enter the House on Day 87. Lea, Grace, and Mikey left the Big Brother compound on Day 86.
During the final week the housemates had to compete in a slow bicycle race. Pete won the race and was rewarded with a disco for one in the Diary Room with free alcohol. Housemates were given a task in which they had to form a dance troupe. They passed the task and were rewarded with two bottles of wine. Housemates were given a task called "Before They Were Housemates". On Day 91, housemates were given another mini task by Big Brother in which they had to write a "future autobiography". Housemates were set the task of becoming "political campaigners". Each housemate was required to convince the audience that another housemate should win Big Brother. On Day 93, Jennie finished in 6th, Nikki in 5th and Richard in 4th Place. Aisleyne left the house in third place. Glyn left the House as runner-up and Pete left as winner of Big Brother 7.
Nominations table
Ratings
These viewing figures are taken from BARB.Criticism and controversy
Selection of certain housemates
The programme attracted criticism on 31 May for putting several vulnerable people in the Big Brother House. Pete has Tourette syndrome. Shahbaz was revealed to be mentally and emotionally unstable and threatened to commit suicide on live television. He was being monitored by production team psychologists after commenting on how he intended to commit suicide whilst in the house. Many of the housemates were accused of bullying Shahbaz. He left the house on Day 6. Shahbaz admitted after leaving the house that he downplayed his mental condition during the selection process.Lea suffers from body dysmorphic disorder; Sam has admitted to being shunned by family members because of her homosexuality and gender identity; and Nikki has suffered from anorexia and been sectioned in the past due to the condition.
Welsh language criticism
Further criticism arose when Welsh contestant Glyn Wise was reprimanded for communicating in his first language, Welsh, with fellow Welsh housemate Imogen Thomas. Big Brother deemed this a form of 'code' and issued a warning to Glyn, who retorted "But Welsh is a British language". Following the incident, the Welsh Language Society complained to Channel 4, the regulator Ofcom and S4C. Clearly, it was no longer a problem after this as Glyn and Imogen continued to converse in Welsh. Such discussions were broadcast with English-language subtitles.Return of ex-housemates
On Day 83, four previous evictees entered the 'House Next Door' following a public vote between ten previous Housemates. Nikki received 63% of the vote, whilst Grace got 8.4%, and Lea and Mikey 7.3% each. Their presence was revealed to the other housemates and Imogen and Richard, who were up for eviction that week, joined them. Nikki was chosen by the remaining housemates to return to the Big Brother House and become eligible to win the £100,000 prize money and Grace, Mikey and Lea left the House Next Door.This decision to allow previous evictees to become eligible to win the show was criticised. Channel 4 received 500 complaints from viewers about this matter and Media watchdog Ofcom confirmed that it had received over 1,000 complaints, and referred viewers to ICSTIS. Soon after the four ex-housemates entered the House Next Door, ICSTIS released a statement confirming that it was dealing with over 2,500 complaints and launched an official investigation. On 5 October 2006, they ruled that Channel 4 had breached its code and imposed £50,000 'administrative charges'.
On the day prior to the voting results being announced, however, Channel 4 stated that it still considered the vote to be a success as they had already received 400,000 votes, making it the most successful of the series. 36p from each call and 26p from each text also went to charity, raising over £250,000 for charity on the vote alone. The money was split among three charities: Shelter, The Teenage Cancer Trust and the winning housemate's chosen charity, which Pete chose as the Tourette's Association.