Big Brother (franchise)

Big Brother
File:Big Brother International Logo.png The international logo for Big Brother.
Production
Production location	Various
Running time	Various
Production company	Endemol
Original release
Network	Veronica
Release	16 September 1999 (1999-09-16) – present
Release	genre
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Related
Celebrity Big Brother / Big Brother VIP

Big Brother is a reality television franchise created by John de Mol. The premise of the show is that a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world. They are continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, with 12–16 contestants entering the house. In order to win the final cash prize, all the contestants have to do is survive periodic evictions and be the last one standing.

The idea for Big Brother is said to have come during a brainstorm session at the Dutch-based international television production firm Endemol, on March 10, 1997. The first-ever version of Big Brother was broadcast in 1999 on Veronica in the Netherlands. Since then the format has become a worldwide TV franchise, airing in many countries in varying adaptations.

History

Although each country has made its own adaptations and changes to the format, the contestants are confined to a specially designed house where their every action is recorded by cameras and microphones at all times and they are not permitted to make any contact with the outside world.

In all the countries that have produced Big Brother, they have referred to the contestants as "housemates"; however in the American version of the format they are referred to as "houseguests". The term Big Brother originates from George Orwell's novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Besides living together under continuous observation, which is the major attraction of the contest, the program relies on four basic props: The stripped-bare, back-to-basics environment in which they live, the evictions, the weekly tasks and competitions set by Big Brother and the "Diary/Confession Room", in which the housemates individually convey their thoughts, feelings, and frustrations and reveal their nominees for eviction.

Contestants are required to evict one of their own on a regular basis; in the earlier series of Big Brother, contestants were evicted every two weeks, however, as introduced in the UK version, evictions occurred once a week, all of the current series of Big Brother follow this format.

At regular intervals, the housemates each privately nominate a number of fellow housemates that they wish to see evicted from the house. The housemates with the most nominations are then announced and viewers are given the opportunity to vote via telephone for whom they wish to see evicted. The only known exception to this process is the American version, in which the housemates themselves vote to evict each other. After the votes are tallied, the "evictee" leaves the house and is interviewed live by the host of the show, usually in front of a studio audience.

In some cases, two housemates may be evicted simultaneously (a "double eviction"), or rarely, no housemates will be removed for that week. At the end of the game, the last remaining housemate is declared the winner of that particular series and receives prizes, often including a large amount of money, a car, a vacation and (in some editions) a house.

In the first season of most series of Big Brother, the house that the housemates had to live in was very basic. Although essential amenities, such as running water, furniture and a limited ration of food were provided, luxury items were often forbidden. This added a survivalist element to the show, increasing the potential for social tension within the house. Nowadays, almost all series provide a modern house for the contest, with a jacuzzi, sauna, VIP suite, loft and other luxuries.

The contestants are required to do housework, and are set tasks by the producers of the show, who communicate with the housemates via the omnipresent authority figure known to them only as "Big Brother". The tasks are designed to test their teamwork abilities and community spirit, and in some countries the housemates' shopping budget or weekly allowance often depends on the outcome of any given tasks. The housemates have a weekly allowance with which they can buy food and other essentials.

Most international versions of the show remain quite similar to each other in that their main format remains true to the original fly on the wall, observational style, with the emphasis being on human relationships. This is taken to the extent that contestants are forbidden from discussing nominations or voting strategy altogether. The US version, however, has since 2001 taken on a significantly different format from the others in their second season, with a far stronger emphasis on strategy, competition and voting, where the public does not choose who to evict. In 2011, the UK version controversially adapted the discussion of nominations, before changing this rule back following a poll by Big Brother broadcaster Channel 5, which revealed that 90% of voters believed that housemates should not discuss nominations.

Overview

From a sociological and demographic perspective, the Big Brother franchise allows the opportunity for analysis of how people react when forced into close confinement with people who lie outside their comfort zone, since they may hold different opinions or ideals from other contestants, or simply belong to a different group of people than a contestant normally interacts with. Indeed, the format is ideally suited to such analysis because the viewer is afforded the opportunity to see how a person reacts on the outside through the constant recording of their actions and also what they feel on the inside through the Diary Room/Confession Room. The results can range from violent or angry confrontations to genuine and tender connections (often including romantic interludes), providing entertainment to the public.

The show is notable for involving the Internet. Although the show typically broadcasts daily updates in the evening (which are sometimes criticized for their heavy editing), viewers can also watch a continuous, 24-hour feed from multiple cameras on the web. These websites were highly successful, even after some national series started charging for access to the video stream. In some countries, Internet broadcasting was supplemented by updates via email, WAP and SMS. The House is even shown live on satellite television, although in some countries, with a 10-15 minute delay to allow libelous or unacceptable content (such as references to people who are not taking part in the program and have therefore not consented to have personal information about them broadcast) to be removed.

Isolation of contestants

The Big Brother contestants are isolated within the house. They have no access to television, radio or the internet and are not allowed routine communication with the outside world. This was the main moral for most of the earlier series of Big Brother. In the more recent series of the franchise, special instances have occurred whereby contestants are allowed to view televised events which are usually as a reward for winning a task. In most versions of the program, books and writing materials are also forbidden. Sometimes in series with this rule an exception is made for religious materials such as the Bible, Torah or Qur'an. Some versions ban all writing implements, extending to any item that can be used to write such as lipstick or eyeliner. Despite the fact that the housemates are generally isolated, on some occasions some contestants are allowed to exit the house as part of tasks. Contestants are sometimes permitted to exit the house in case of emergencies.

Contestants have regularly scheduled interactions with the show's host on eviction nights. Throughout each day the program's producer, via the "Big Brother" voice, issues directives and commands to contestants. Some versions of the show allow private counseling sessions with a psychologist. These are allowed at any time, often conducted by telephone from the Diary Room.

Pan-regional versions

• Due to high intelligibility between certain languages across many nations, it has been possible to make special pan-regional versions of Big Brother. All these follow the normal Big Brother rules with the exception that contestants must come from each of the different countries in the region where it airs:
  • Africa: Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
  • Arabia: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria and Tunisia.
  • Pacific: Chile, Ecuador and Peru
  • Scandinavia: Norway and Sweden
  • former Yugoslavia: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro.

Alterations in the format

Locations of different versions of Big Brother

• In the third UK series, "Big Brother" set live tasks for the housemates on a Saturday night in order to win treats; this was used until Series 5 of the program. The format was used in Australia in the form of Friday Night Live from Series 5 until Series 8.

• The fifth UK edition introduced the "Evil" touch, whereby the authority character "Big Brother" became almost a villain. Big Brother was establishing punishments and was proposing hard tasks and secret tricks. This was also seen in Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Pacific, Scandinavia, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, Philippines and Mexico.

• The sixth UK series introduced secret missions where housemates would be able to win luxuries if they completed a secret task set by "Big Brother".

• The eighth UK series saw an all-female house. However, two days later, one male housemate entered. The same twist was used in Big Brother 4 Bulgaria. Big Brother Africa 4 used the same twist using an all-male launch show instead of females.

• Since Big Brother 2, the UK series always opens with a twist which have included the public being able to choose the final housemate out of three possibilities (Big Brother 2), the public voting for a housemate to leave during the first week and then the housemates choosing between the two housemates with the least number of votes (Big Brother 3), First Night Nominations (Big Brother 4), Suitcase Nominations (Big Brother 5), Unlucky Housemate 13 (Big Brother 6), Big Brother Hood (Big Brother 7), an all-female House and the first inclusion of twins as contestants (Big Brother 8), the first couple to enter as housemates and set a secret task to hide their real relationship (Big Brother 9), all "housemates" really being "non-housemates" who had to earn their housemate status (Big Brother 10), a mole entering the House with an "Impossible Task" (Big Brother 11), Jackie Stallone entering a house containing her son's ex-wife (Celebrity Big Brother 3), the entrance of a non-celebrity in a celebrity edition (Celebrity Big Brother 4) and Jade Goody's family announced to be visiting. (Celebrity Big Brother 5). During Celebrity Big Brother 6, LaToya Jackson was first to enter and walked straight into the bedrooms - which are usually locked until everyone has arrived - and entered a private bedroom. She put her bag on the bed to claim it as her own; it was assumed this was pre-arranged. Terry Christian became Head of House - which had been used in the latter weeks of the previous non-celebrity series - and had to choose three housemates to face the first eviction, which the others later voted to save one of the nominees, Ben Adams, leaving Lucy Pinder and eventual winner Ulrika Jonsson to face the first eviction. In the summer series of 2009 the house at first was empty with only crates to sit on and none of the new arrivals were given housemate status, and had to earn it by doing tasks, some of which were minor sacrifices, the most notable were Noirin Kelly shaving off her hair and drawing a mustache and glasses on her face, which she had to do for almost three weeks until she won a chance to stop doing it, Freddie Fisher and eventual winner Sophie Reade changed their names by deedpoll to Halfwit and Dogface respectively, they were addressed by these names by Big Brother for nine weeks - although their fellow housemates could refer to them by their original names except during nominations - they were given a present by Big Brother in Week 10 to have their original names back. On Day 4 the six people who had not received housemate status were put up for a public vote, the person with the least votes - which turned out to be Beinazir Lasharie - had to leave immediately, the house was then transformed into looking like a Big Brother house. Other countries such as Bulgaria and the United States (and previously Australia) have now started using these opening night twists.

• The fifth UK edition introduced "Fake evictions" where one or two housemates are "evicted"; however, unbeknownst to the housemates, they have in fact not been evicted. The housemate/s usually are put into a secret house where numerous twists happen. In the eighth UK Series one housemate was evicted, interviewed, and then sent straight back into the house. The housemates in the house got to see everything live, though.

• In France and Canada, the format has been developed using couples. 12 single people stay in the same house until only the winning couple is left.

• Big Brother U.S. currently uses a different set of rules that began with the second season (the first season used the traditional format). Nominations are done by one houseguest, the Head of Household (HoH) and the houseguests vote for which nominee to evict, not the viewers. The third season introduced the Power of Veto, where a houseguest can save a nominee causing the Head of Household to name a replacement nominee. It's been adapted in Brazil and Africa and since then some countries modified their nomination rules.

• The eighth American season introduced "America's Player," a houseguest that is given assignments, unknown to the other houseguests, through votes from the viewing public. Included in the public voting is which nominated houseguest America's Player should vote off and campaign to get evicted. (Dan was "America's Player" on Big Brother 10 (U.S.). This was also seen in the second Teen Edition, third regular season, fourth regular season and fourth Teen Edition of the Philippine version as the "House Player."

• The third Dutch edition introduced the notion of "The Battle," in which the house is separated into a luxurious half and a poor half, with two teams of housemates constantly fighting for time in the luxurious half. Separated houses have also been used in:
  • Netherlands, 2001 and Netherlands, 2002, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Poland, 2002, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • UK, 2002, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor (effective from the 3rd to 6th week).
  • Australia, 2003, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Round House and Square House (effective until Day 22).
  • Denmark, 2003, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Germany, 2003, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Greece, 2003, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Norway, 2003, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Spain, 2004, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Germany, 2004-2005, The Housemates lived in a house with 3 areas: Rich, Normal and Survivor.
  • Scandinavian Peninsula, 2005, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Norwegian House and Swedish House (effective on the 1st week).
  • Germany, 2005-2006, The Housemates lived in a village with 3 houses. Rich, Normal and Poor.
  • Slovakia, 2005, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Italy, 2006, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • UK, 2007, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Masters (Luxurious area) and Servants (Basic area) (effective from the 3rd to 6th day).
  • Italy, 2007, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Normal and Dump.
  • Spain, 2008, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: House Big Brother Season 10 and House Big Brother Season 1 (effective to 4th week).
  • Germany, 2008, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Slovenia, 2008, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Germany, 2008-2009, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Heaven and Hell.
  • UK, 2008, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Heaven and Hell (effective from the 6th to 10th week).
  • Brazil, 2009, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor (effective on the 1st week).
  • Israel, 2009, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor (effective from the 4th to the 8th week).
  • Spain, 2009-2010, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Normal house and Spy house (effective to 6th week).
  • Finland, 2009, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Paradise and Slum (effective from the 2nd to 10th week).
  • Philippines, 2009, there are two separate group of housemates who lived in two different houses: House A (Antoni Gaudí architectural design inspired) and House B (Vincent van Gogh paintings inspired). (Effective until the 9th week; each two sets of housemates compete each other for the weekly allowance. Two nominees from each house are nominated every week. The lowest number of votes is evicted. House B was reopened on the 16th week as part of a season twist).
  • U.S., 2009-present: Houseguests had to compete to become Haves or Have Nots. Have Nots were required to sleep in the Have Not Bedroom, which contained simply a large metal bed with a thin pillow and blanket for Season 11; but in Season 12 they were forced to sleep on a lawn chair. Have Nots were only able to eat slop and could only take cold showers. Big Brother 13 (U.S.)'s Have Not Room looked like an insane asylum padded room type room and the Have Nots for the week were forced to keep the lights on 24/7. In season 14, the houseguests had to sleep in the most "twisted" room yet, the beds are at a 360-degree angle with a metal bed with spikes (not sharp or harmfull though) and the walls look like a maze.
  • Serbia, VIP 2010, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Albania, 2010, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Rich and Poor.
  • Philippines Teen 3, 2010, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: The Villa and The Apartment.
  • Spain, 2010, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Normal house and Future house (effective to 6th week). Then the Normal house became "La Casa Repesca" where ex-housemates competing to become housemates of the future Big Brother.
  • Africa, 2010, The Housemates lived in the house without knowing that Evicted Housemates were exiled in the Barn where they watched the house and the Barnmates were able to nominate the housemates living in the house without the Housemates knowing. (Effective for 63 days from Day 14 to Day 77)
  • Africa, 2011, The Housemates lived in two houses, Heads & Tails. (Effective for 50 days from Day 7 to Day 57)
  • Ex-Yugoslavia, 2011, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Luxurious and Dump.
  • Philippines, 2011, Housemates are living in four Houses: Slums (Effective from Day 1 to Day 22), Industrial House (Effective from Day 8 to Day 77), Luxury House/Mansion (Effective from Day 18), and the Hacienda (Effective from Day 128).
  • Africa, 2012, The Housemates lived in a house with 2 areas: Upville and Downville. The seven celebrity contestants entered in Upville while the other 30 entered in the Downville. After surviving an eviction, the remaining housemate(s) enter the Upville house.

• In Germany a new version of the show started: Big Brother - Das Dorf (Big Brother - The Village). It was the sixth season and started the same day season 5 ended. This was the first version supposed to run for years (without a predetermined end). It was set in a small artificial village including a church tower, a marketplace, 3 houses, 3 working areas (farm, car garage, dressmaking, a match arena, a pub, a fitness room, and later a small hotel, into which celebrities from the real world could move). The season ended after 363 days in February 2006 because of low ratings. In season seven, RTL II switched back to a traditional version.

• The fourth Greek season introduced a new element: the mother. In Big Mother, nine housemates take part in the game with their mothers, with whom they must coexist during the contest. The "mamas" were not able to win the prize but they would stay with their children until their eviction. However, this proved to be a failure with the show's audience and the show switched back to the traditional Big Brother format in mid-season. This concept, in modified form, was used in the second Philippine Teen edition, wherein the guardians. The housemates' kins had a separate winner.

• In the tenth week of Seventh UK season, the housemates were paired with their "best friend" in the house and had to nominate and face eviction as couples. The ninth American season took this format and added a romantic aspect, by pairing the Housemates up and having them compete as couples chosen by their compatibility to each other.

• The ninth Brazilian season featured the "Bubble," a glass house built inside a shopping mall in Rio de Janeiro where 4 housemate-wannabes lived for a week until 2 of them were voted to enter the actual household. Later in the same season, a new "Bubble" was built inside the Big Brother household, with another 2 housemates living inside it for a week until they were voted in and the glass house dismantled.

• Introduced in the fifth season of the American series, several countries have included twins, and in some cases triplets, in their shows. Series that have used Housemates who are twins or triplets are:
  • U.S., 2004, Adria Montgomery-Klein and Natalie Montgomery-Carroll, 7th (Adria) and 8th (Natalie) Evicted, Used Name: "Adria."
  • Australia, 2005, David and Greg Matthew, 14th Evicted (David) and Winner (Greg, although the prize money was split), Used Name: "Logan" (Middle name of both Twins).
  • Germany, 2005-2006, Beate and Birgit, 26th Evicted (Beate) and 33rd Evicted (Birgit).
  • Bulgaria, 2006, Lyubov, Nadejda, and Vyara Stancheva, 7th (Nadejda) and 9th (Vyara) Evicted, Winner (Lyubov), Used Name: "Vyara."
  • UK, 2007, Amanda and Sam Marchant, 2nd Place (both were treated separately until Day 68 when they became one). They were then known in the media as Samanda
  • France, 2007, Marjorie, Cyrielle and Johanna Bluteau, Winners (They competed as a team).
  • Spain, 2007, Conchi and Pamela De Los Santos, 2nd Place.
  • Poland, 2007, Aneta and Martyna Bielecka, 4th Evicted (They were discovered as twins), Used Name: "Martyna."
  • India, 2008, Sana and Alina, 4th Evicted (Sana was introduced as Alina but the housemates soon found her to be different person and both were out at the eviction)
  • Israel, 2008, Leon and Boris Schneiderovsky, 1st Evicted (Boris) and 5th Place (Leon).
  • Africa, 2009, Edward and Erastus Moongo, 7th Evicted (Erastus) and 3rd Place (Edward).
  • Serbia, 2009 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro, Admir and Enis Mujabašić, and Violeta and Kristina Raleva.
  • Philippines, 2009, Kenny & Toffi Santos and JM & JP Lagumbay. The twins in each set originally must switch roles when instructed (only true with the Santos twins after JP's exit, but JM must still assume JP's identity when instructed). JP voluntary exited and JM along with the Santos Twins were forcibly evicted.
  • Portugal, 2010, Renato and Mário Lima. They have to take turns in the house without the other housemates discover that they are twins. If they succeed they become two housemates, if they don't, both will be up for eviction and one of them will leave. The name used during the turns is Renato. The secret was found on Day 2 and therefore both are up for eviction. On Day 4 Mário was evicted, being the first housemate evicted on the series. Renato was the 5th housemate evicted, on Day 28.
  • Israel, 2011, Rinat and Shiran Guitter, 4th Evicted (Shiran) and 5th Evicted (Rinat).
  • France, 2011, Zarko and Zelko, the Master of the underground,7th Evicted (Zarko)and Zelko is 2nd plce
  • UK, 2011, Jedward, joined as one housemate finishing in 3rd Place.
  • Ukraine, 2011, Nazar and Taras, enter in the house on Day 42, Taras is Walked on day 57,13th Evicted (Nazar)
  • Argentina, 2011, Fabricio & Leonardo and Jesica & Jimena, enter in the house on Day 10 in House 2. Jesica & Jimena (Evicted Day 17), Fabricio Walked on day 47, Leonardo was 6th Evicted.
  • UK, January 2012, Karissa and Kristina Shannon, joined as one housemate finishing in 5th Place.
  • Philippines Teen 4, 2012, Jai and Joj Agpangan, playing as one housemate (effective Day 8),4th place.
• A variation of the above twist was done in the second Celebrity Edition of the Philippine version wherein two housemates related by profession or as familial relationships are considered as 2-in-1 housemates wherein they were to play as one housemate until an appointed time.
• In Celebrity Hijack UK evicted housemates were given the opportunity to affect the house one last time and had to choose if a "ninja" delivered good or bad gifts to the house. Later that year Big Brother Australia 2008 introduced the 'Housemate Hand Grenade,' where the evicted housemate was given the power to decide which housemate receives a big brother devised penalty.
• Big Brother 5 Bulgaria, which started in early 2010 introduced a new family format - Big Brother Family. For the very first time whole families entered the House with their spouses, children and relatives. They received a salary for their stay and the winning family will receive a big cash prize, a car and an apartment.
• The eleventh American season featured "Pandora's Box" and has been in the game from Seasons 11-13 which features the winning HoH being tempted into opening the box, the temptations can include money, a celebrity visit, or alone time with a loved one, but if an HoH chooses to open Pandora's Box, there is also a consequence that comes with it. For example, in Big Brother 11, an HoH was tempted by opening the box to release ten thousand dollars into the house, the HoH chose to open the box, in which resulted the HoH being locked into the box as the money was released for the other houseguests to claim. In Big Brother 12, an HoH was tempted to open the box by being presented with the "Diamond Power of Veto" which was for the HoH to use within two weeks and if the HoH chose to use the power on themselves or someone else, they can then immediately nominate a new houseguest, the HoH took the power but resulted the a consequence into the house (see below). In Big Brother 13, the HoH was presented with Tori Spelling a well known celebrity, the HoH was also shown clothes, in which the HoH thought they would get a shopping spree with Tori. They opened the box and then was locked into the box as Tori entered the house, spent time with the other houseguests and also got a shopping spree. Since the debut of Pandora's Box in Big Brother 11, no HoH has declined to open the box since season 13.
• The twelfth American season featured a Saboteur who entered the house to "wreak havoc on their fellow Houseguests", with tasks suggested by viewers. The Big Brother Saboteur will not be eligible to win the game, but will be able to receive financial reward if they can reach the halfway point of the game. However, the Saboteur was evicted in the first week by the houseguests, therefore losing the possible reward. Later in the same season, Big Brother announced that a new Saboteur may be unleashed in the house by Pandora's Box (see above), and America voted on who they wanted the new Saboteur to be, and if they accept the offer, they have to act out two weeks of havoc in the house and if successful for those two weeks, he or she will earn a financial reward.
• Big Brother Africa 6 in 2011 is the first season of Big Brother in the world to have 2 winners, each getting $200,000.
• The thirteenth American season introduced "Dynamic Duos" for the first time, where 8 new houseguests would enter the house with 3 duos from seasons past. The 8 new contestants would pair up, and all 7 teams of 2 would compete. If a contestant's partner won Head of Household, they would be immune for that week. The Head of Household would nominate one duo for eviction, and the power of veto could save one duo from the block. If someone's partner got evicted, the surviving partner would receive the big brother golden key, where they were immune from all evictions until there were 10 players left. Those players with the golden key would not be eligible to compete in any competitions. The final 10 marked the end of the twists. It later returned for week 8 only after the HoH opened Pandora's Box.
• The fourth Philippine season features Unli-Day and Unli-Night, where two separate groups of housemates will be covered by two separate main programs.
• The fourth Philippine season introduced reserved housemates, a number of shortlisted auditionees who are given a chance to be an official housemate by completing several tasks by Big Brother. This is also used in Argentina's seventh season.
• The Philippine version has introduced the 100 Seconds session in which housemates are given a chance to see, talk and be with their loved one for only 100 seconds inside the Confession Room. This was introduced in its first season and was later used in succeeding seasons.
• The fourteenth American season had 4 housguests from past seasons returning to the house with 12 new houseguests. According to the producers and the U.S. Big Brother website, for the first time in Big Brother history, 4 past successful houseguests are returning to play their own game for their own separate prize. On the first episode of Big Brother 14, it was revealed that the 4 past houseguests returning to the house would be each coaching 3 houseguests (of their choice) and if one of their choices makes it to the end and wins, the mentor will earn $100,000. Also introduced in the first episode, the houseguests had to earn their key into the house via competition. The last team to finish would have to face eviction right away and the choice was made by the mentor of that team, which marks for the first time in the history of U.S. Big Brother that a houseguest is evicted on Day 1. In week two of season 14, the viewers had the option to vote online or by cell phone if the 4 returning houseguests be given the option to continue playing the game as coaches as within the first 2 weeks 4 people have been evicted with one being expelled from the game. On the third live eviction, the results were announced and the coaches were given an option to return to the game. They would each go to the diary room one by one and inside the diary room there was a reset button and if one of the four coaches pressed the reset button, all four coaches would enter the game as regular players and the eviction for that week would be canceled—essentially starting the game from scratch. If they chose not to press the button, the game would resume and a previously evicted houseguest would return into the game the next week.

Special editions of Big Brother

Celebrity Big Brother / Big Brother VIP

The Big Brother format has been adapted in some countries in that the housemates are locally known celebrities (The celebrity status of the housemate can be either widespread or rather limited,) These shows are called Celebrity Big Brother or Big Brother VIP, depending on where the series is. In some countries, the prize money normally awarded to the winning housemate is donated to a charity, and all celebrities are paid to appear in the show as long as they do not voluntarily leave before their eviction or the end of the series. The rest of the format rules are almost the same as the ones from the original version, although in many instances they are not so strict because of the exceptional nature of the program. The celebrity version has become particularly popular in the United Kingdom where the Tenth Series will aired in the summer of 2012, and an Eleventh Series will air in January 2013.

• A second variant appeared in the Netherlands in 2006: Hotel Big Brother. A group of celebrity hoteliers and a Big Boss run a hotel, collecting money for charity without nominations, evictions or winner.
• A third variant appeared in the UK in early 2008: Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, temporarily replacing the 2007 edition of Celebrity Big Brother while a racial abuse incident in Celebrity Big Brother 2007 cooled down. Instead of the celebrities playing the role of housemates, the celebrities become Big Brother himself. The celebrities create tasks, hold nominations, and so on with the help of Big Brother. The housemates of the show are considered by the producers "Britain's most exceptional and extraordinary" 18- to 21-year-olds. The prize for the winner of the series was £50,000.
• VIP Brother 3 Bulgaria introduced in 2009 an entirely new conception of the show, where the celebrities compete for charity causes, and sometimes they are allowed to leave the House in order to gain money for the given cause, which is different each week.

Other editions

The Big Brother format has been extensively modified in some countries, most often to the point where the housemates are either teenagers or housemates from previous seasons. The winners of these seasons are often eligible to win the prize for themselves, unlike most of the celebrity edition versions.

• Big Brother: Ty wybierasz (Big Brother: You Decide - Poland, season 1: 13 days; season 2: 7 days). A group of people–10 in season 1 and 6 in season 2—living together and competing for a pair of spots in the next regular season. It was made before the first two main Big Brother seasons. Without nominations or evictions.
• Big Brother, Tilbake/Huset (Big Brother, Back In The House - Norway, 9 days). The BB1 Norway housemates living together again. They also welcome 4 new housemates, who are competing for a spot in the next regular season. Without nominations or evictions.
• Big Brother Stjärnveckan (Big Brother, Week Of Stars - Sweden, 6 days); Big Brother, Reality All Star (Denmark, 32 days); Gran Hermano: el Gran Reencuentro (Spain, 56 days). Season with contestants from several reality shows, including Big Brother.
• Big Brother Panto (United Kingdom, 11 days). Housemate from previous series spent time in the Big Brother House in order to perform a pantomime at the end of the series.
• Teen Big Brother (United Kingdom, 10 days; Philippines, 42 days (Season 1), 77 days (Season 2), 78 days (Season 3)). Teenage housemates (13 years old and above) competing in a BB house.
• Big Brother: All-Stars (Belgium, 21 days; United States, 72 days; United Kingdom, 18 days; Canada, 64 days; Africa, 91 days;Spain, 56 days.
• Veliki Brat: Generalna Proba (Big Brother Try Out - Serbia, 7 days). 12 Serbian contestants competing for a spot in the next Big Brother Balkans season. Without nominations or evictions.
• Gran Hermano: El Reencuentro (Spain, 56 Days): An All Stars special edition to celebrate ten years of show. Enemy ex-housemates compete, nominate and will be evicted in pairs.
• Secret Story (France, Portugal and Netherlands): Each contestant has a secret

There are also "test runs" with a group of celebrities or journalists living together in the house during a few days, with the only goal being testing out the house. There are occasions where people who have auditioned for the show are also put in the house, most notably in the British edition, where many housemates claim to have met before. Series such as these are known to occur in Argentina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Pacific, Philippines, Spain and many other countries. In some cases, it is not broadcast, but in others, such as the U.S. edition, it is used as a promotional tool.

Big Brother series

There are currently 275 winners of the Big Brother format. The most recent winner is Julian Clary from the United Kingdom.

International versions

Region/country	Local title	Network	Winners	Main presenters
African Continent	Big Brother Africa	M-Net DStv (live) E4 (season 1) The Africa Channel (season 1 in 2008)	Season 1, 2003: Cherise Makubale Season 2, 2007: Richard Dyle Bezuidenhout Season 3, 2008: Ricardo Venancio Season 4, 2009: Kevin Chuwang Season 6, 2011: Karen Igho & Wendall Parsons Season 7, 2012: Keagan Petersen	Mark Pilgrim (Season 1) Kabelo Ngakane (Season 2–3) Ikponmwosa Osakioduwa (Season 4–7)
	Big Brother Africa: All-Stars		Season 5, 2010: Uti Nwachukwu
Albania Kosovo	Big Brother	Top Channel Digit-Alb (Live)	Season 1, 2008: Arbër Çepani Season 2, 2009: Qetsor Ferunaj Season 3, 2010: Jetmir Salaj Season 4, 2010-2011: Ermela Mezuraj Season 5, 2012: Arbër Zeka Season 6, 2013: Upcoming Season	Arbana Osmani (Season 1–6)
Arab World	بيغ براذر الرئيس Big Brother Al-Rais	MBC 2	Season 1, 2004: Discontinued	Razan Moughrabi (Season 1)
	Haya ma hawa	MBC 4	Season 1, 2012-2013: October	TBA (Season 1)
Argentina	Gran Hermano	Telefe Canal 4 DirecTV (Live) (Season 1–3, 6-7) Cablevisión (Live) (Season 4–5)	Season 1, 2001: Marcelo Corazza Season 2, 2001: Roberto Parra Season 3, 2002–2003: Viviana Colmenero Season 4, 2007: Marianela Mirra Season 5, 2007: Esteban Morais Season 6, 2010-2011: Cristian Urrizaga Season 7, 2011-2012: Rodrigo Fernández Season 8, 2012-2013: November	Soledad Silveyra (Season 1–3) Jorge Rial (Season 4–7) Mariano Peluffo (Season 7)
	Gran Hermano Famosos	Telefe Cablevisión (Live)	Season 1, 2007: Diego Leonardi	Jorge Rial (Season 1)
	Gran Hermano: La Revancha (All-Stars Format)	Telefe Canal 4 DirecTV (Live)	Season 1, 2013: Upcoming Season	TBA (Season 1)
Australia	Big Brother Australia	Network Ten (2001–2008) Nine Network (2012) TV 2 (Season 1–3, 5) Prime (Season 4)	Season 1, 2001: Ben Williams Season 2, 2002: Peter Corbett Season 3, 2003: Regina Bird Season 4, 2004: Trevor Butler Season 5, 2005: Greg and David Matthew (Logan) Season 6, 2006: Jamie Brooksby Season 7, 2007: Aleisha Cowcher Season 8, 2008: Terri Munro Season 9, 2012: Current Season	Gretel Killeen (Season 1–7) Kyle Sandilands (Season 8) Jackie O (Season 8) Sonia Kruger (Season 9–)
	Celebrity Big Brother	Network Ten	Season 1, 2002: Dylan Lewis	Gretel Killeen (Season 1)
Belgium	Big Brother	Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2000: Steven Spillebeen Season 2, 2001: Ellen Dufour Season 3, 2002: Kelly Vandevenne Season 4, 2003: Kristof van Camp Season 5, 2006: Kirsten Janssens Season 6, 2007: Diana Ferrante	Walter Grootaers (Season 1–6)
	Big Brother VIPs	vtm Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2001: Sam Gooris Season 2, 2006: Pim Symoens	No Presenters
	Big Brother All-Stars	Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2003: Heidi Zutterman	Walter Grootaers (Season 1)
Brazil	Big Brother Brasil	Rede Globo Multishow Globo Portugal (Season 8) CTBC (Live) GVT TV (Live) NET (Live) Oi TV (Live) SKY (Live) Telefônica (Live) Via Embratel (Live)	Season 1, 2002: Kleber de Paula Season 2, 2002: Rodrigo Leonel Season 3, 2003: Dhomini Ferreira Season 4, 2004: Cida dos Santos Season 5, 2005: Jean Wyllys Season 6, 2006: Mara Viana Season 7, 2007: Diego Gasques Season 8, 2008: Rafinha Ribeiro Season 9, 2009: Max Porto Season 10, 2010: Marcelo Dourado Season 11, 2011: Maria Melillo Season 12, 2012: Fael Cordeiro Season 13, 2013: January 8	Marisa Orth (Season 1) Pedro Bial (Season 1–13)
Bulgaria	Big Brother	Nova Television Nova+ (Live) (Season 1–4) Diema Family (Live) (Season 5)	Season 1, 2004–2005: Zdravko Vasilev Season 2, 2005: Miroslav Atanasov Season 3, 2006: Lyubov Stancheva Season 4, 2008: Georgi Alourkov	Niki Kunchev (Season 1–3, 5-6) Milen Tsvetkov (Season 4)
	Big Brother Family		Season 5, 2010: Eli & Vesselin Kouzmovi
	Big Brother All-Stars		Season 6, 2012-2013: November
	VIP Brother	Nova Television Nova+ (Live) (Season 1–2) Diema 2 (Live) (Season 3)	Season 1, 2006: Konstantin Slavov Season 2, 2007: Hristina Stefanova Season 3, 2009: Deyan Slavchev Season 4, 2012: September 16	Niki Kunchev (Season 1–4)
Canada Template:Fr	Loft Story	TQS	Season 1, 2003: Julie Lemay & Samuel Tissot Season 2, 2006: Mathieu Baron & Stéphanie Bélanger Season 3, 2006: Jean-Philippe Anwar & Kim Rusk Season 4, 2007: Mathieu Surprenant Season 5, 2008: Charles-Éric Boncoeur	Renée-Claude Brazeau (Season 1) Isabelle Maréchal (Season 2) Marie Plourde (Seasons 3–5) Pierre-Yves Lord (Season 6)
	Loft Story: La Revanche (All-Stars Format)		Season 6, 2009: Sébastien Tremblay
	Big Brother	V	Season 1, 2010: Vincent Durand Dubé	Chéli Sauvé-Castonguay (Season 1)
Canada	Big Brother Canada	Slice	Season 1, 2013: Winter 2013	TBA (Season 1)
Colombia	Gran Hermano	Caracol TV (season 1) Citytv Bogotá (season 2)	Season 1, 2003: Mónica Patricia Tejón Season 2, 2012: Current Season	Adriana Arango (Season 1) Agmeth Escaf (Season 2)
Croatia	Big Brother	RTL Televizija	Season 1, 2004: Saša Tkalčević Season 2, 2005: Hamdija Seferović Season 3, 2006: Danijel Rimanić Season 4, 2007: Vedran Lovrenčić Season 5, 2008: Krešimir Duvančić	Daria Knez (Season 1) Antonija Blaće (Season 2–6) Marijana Mićić (Season 6)
	Big Brother - Veliki Brat	Pink BH RTL Televizija Sitel Pink M RTV Pink	Season 6, 2011: Marijana Čvrljak
	Celebrity Big Brother	RTL Televizija	Season 1, 2008: Danijela Dvornik	Antonija Blaće (Season 1)
Czech Republic	Big Brother	TV NOVA	Season 1, 2005: David Šín	Eva Aichmajerová (Season 1) Lejla Abbasová (Season 1) Leoš Mareš (Season 1)
Denmark	Big Brother	TV Danmark (Season 1–3) Kanal 5 (Season 4-5)	Season 1, 2001: Jill Liv Nielsen Season 2, 2001: Carsten B. Berthelsen Season 3, 2003: Johnni Johansen Season 4, 2012: Amanda Heisel Season 5, 2013: January	Lisbeth Janniche (Season 1-3) Marie Egede (Season 4)
	Big Brother VIP	TV Danmark	Season 1, 2003: Thomas Bickham	Lisbeth Janniche (Season 1)
	Big Brother Reality All-Stars	TV Danmark	Season 1, 2004: Jill Liv Nielsen (Big Brother)	Lisbeth Janniche (Season 1)
Ecuador	Gran Hermano	Ecuavisa	Season 1, 2003: David Burbano	Toty Rodríguez (Season 1)
Finland	Big Brother	Sub	Season 1, 2005: Perttu Sirviö Season 2, 2006: Sari Nygren Season 3, 2007: Sauli Koskinen Season 4, 2008: Anniina Mustajärvi Season 5, 2009: Aso Alanso Season 6, 2010: Niko Nousiainen Season 7, 2011: Janica Kortman Season 8, 2012: Current Season	Mari Kakko (Season 1–2) Vappu Pimiä (Season 3–5) Susanna Laine (Season 6–7) Elina Viitanen (Season 6–8)
France	Loft Story	M6	Season 1, 2001: Christophe Mercy & Loana Petrucciani Season 2, 2002: Karine Delgado & Thomas Saillofest	Benjamin Castaldi (Season 1–2)
	Secret Story	TF1 CanalSat (Live)	Season 1, 2007: Marjorie, Cyrielle & Johanna Bluteau ("Les Triplées") Season 2, 2008: Matthias Pohl Season 3, 2009: Emilie Nefnaf Season 4, 2010: Benoit Dubois Season 5, 2011: Marie Garet Season 6, 2012: Current Season Season 7, 2013: Upcoming season	Benjamin Castaldi (Season 1–6)
Germany	Big Brother	RTL 2 RTL (Season 2–3) Single TV (Season 2) Tele 5 (Season 4–6) MTV2 Pop (Season 4–5) VIVA (Season 5, 9) Premiere (Live) (Season 5–9) Sky (Live) (Season 10–11) 9Live (Season 8)	Season 1, 2000: John Milz Season 2, 2000: Alida Nadine Kurras Season 3, 2001: Karina Schreiber Season 4, 2003: Jan Geilhufe Season 5, 2004–2005: Sascha Sirtl Season 6, 2005–2006: Michael Knopf Season 7, 2007: Michael Carstensen Season 8, 2008: Silke Kaufmann, "Isi" Season 9, 2008–2009: Daniel Schöller Season 10, 2010: Timo Grätsch Season 11, 2011: Marc Sonnen, "Rayo di Sole"	Percy Hoven (Season 1) Oliver Geissen (Season 2–3) Ruth Moschner (Season 5–6) Oliver Petszokat (Season 6) Charlotte Karlinder (Season 7-8) Miriam Pielhau (Season 8–9) Aleksandra Bechtel (Season 4, 10-11) Sonja Zietlow (Season 11 -Opening Show-)
Greece Cyprus	Big Brother	ANT1 (Season 1–4) Alpha TV (Season 5) Sigma TV (Season 5)	Season 1, 2001: Giorgos Triantafyllidis Season 2, 2002: Alexandros Moskhos Season 5, 2010-2011: Giannis Foukakis	Andreas Mikroutsikos (Season 1–3) Tatiana Stefanidou (Season 4) Roula Koromila (Season 5)
	The Wall (The Battle Format)		Season 3, 2003: Thodores Jspógloy
	Big Mother (Family Format)		Season 4, 2005: Nikos Papadopoulos
Hungary	Big Brother Nagy Testvér	TV2 (Season 1-2) SuperTV2 (Season 3)	Season 1, 2002: Éva Párkányi Season 2, 2003: Zsófi Tóth Season 3, 2013: In Negotiations with the Channel	Claudia Liptai (Season 1–2) Attila Till (Season 1–2)
	Big Brother VIP	TV2	Season 1 (Day 1-5), 2003: Gábor Bochkor Season 1 (Day 6-10), 2003: Lajos Boros Season 1 (Day 11-15), 2003: Zolee Ganxsta	Claudia Liptai (Season 1–3) Attila Till (Season 1–3)
India	Bigg Boss (Celebrity Format)	SET (Season 1) Colors TV (Season 2-6)	Season 1, 2006-2007: Rahul Roy Season 2, 2008: Ashutosh Kaushik Season 3, 2009: Vindu Dara Singh Season 4, 2010-2011: Shweta Tiwari Season 5, 2011-2012: Juhi Parmar Season 6, 2012-2013: October	Arshad Warsi (Season 1) Shilpa Shetty (Season 2) Amitabh Bachchan (Season 3) Salman Khan (Season 4-5, ¿6?) Sanjay Dutt (Season 5)
Indonesia	Big Brother Indonesia	Trans TV	Season 1, 2011: Alan Wangsa	Ferdi Hassan (Season 1) Indra Herlambang (Season 1) Sarah Sechan (Season 1) Shara Aryo (Season 1)
	Celebrity Big Brother Indonesia		Season 1, 2012: September	TBA (Season 1)
Israel	האח הגדול HaAh HaGadol	Channel 2 - Keshet HOT (Live) Yes (Live)	Season 1, 2008: Shifra Cornfeld Season 2, 2009-2010: Eliraz Sadeh Season 3, 2010-2011: Yaakov Menahem, "Jackie" Season 4, 2012: Yekutiel Sebbag, "Kuti" Season 5, 2012-2013: November	Erez Tal (Season 1–4) Assi Azar (Season 1–4)
	VIP האח הגדול HaAh HaGadol VIP		Season 1, 2009: Dudi Melitz Season 2, 2013: Upcoming season	Erez Tal (Season 1) Assi Azar (Season 1)
Italy	Grande Fratello	Canale 5 Stream TV (Live) (Season 1-3) SKY (Live) (Season 4-5, 8-9) Mediaset Premium (Live) (Season 6-12)	Season 1, 2000: Cristina Plevani Season 2, 2001: Flavio Montrucchio Season 3, 2003: Floriana Secondi Season 4, 2004: Serena Garitta Season 5, 2004: Jonathan Kashanian Season 6, 2006: Augusto De Megni Season 7, 2007: Milo Coretti Season 8, 2008: Mario Ferretti Season 9, 2009: Ferdi Berisa Season 10, 2009-2010: Mauro Marin Season 11, 2010-2011: Andrea Cocco Season 12, 2011-2012: Sabrina Mbarek	Daria Bignardi (Season 1–2) Barbara D'Urso (Season 3-5) Alessia Marcuzzi (Season 6-12)
Mexico	Big Brother México	Televisa SKY (Live)	Season 1, 2002: Rocío Cárdenas Season 2, 2003: Silvia Irabien Season 3, 2005: Evelyn Nieto	Adela Micha (Seasons 1–2) Verónica Castro (Season 3)
	Big Brother VIP		Season 1, 2002: Galilea Montijo Season 2, 2003: Omar Chaparro Season 3 (Part 1), 2004: Eduardo Videgaray Season 3 (Part 2), 2004: Roxanna Castellanos Season 4, 2005: Sasha Sökol	Víctor Trujillo (Season 1) Verónica Castro (Season 2-4)
Netherlands	Big Brother	Veronica (Season 1–2) Yorin (Season 3-4) Talpa (Season 5-6)	Season 1, 1999: Bart Spring in 't Veld Season 2, 2000: Bianca Hagenbeek Season 3, 2001: Sandy Boots Season 4, 2002: Jeanette Godefroy Season 5, 2005: Joost Hoebink Season 6, 2006: Jeroen Visser	Rolf Wouters (Season 1) Daphne Deckers (Season 1) Esther Duller (Season 2) Beau Van Erven Doren (Season 2) Patty Brard (Season 3) Martijn Krabbé (Season 4) Ruud de Wild (Season 5) Bridget Maasland (Season 5-6)
	Big Brother VIPs	Veronica (Season 1) Talpa (Season 2)	Season 1, 2000: No winner Season 2, 2006: No winner	Caroline Tensen (Season 2)
	Secret Story	NET 5	Season 1, 2011: Sharon Hooijkaas	Renate Verbaan (Season 1) Bart Boonstra (Season 1)
Nigeria	Big Brother Nigeria	M-Net DStv (Live)	Season 1, 2006: Katung Aduwak	Olisa Adibua (Season 1) Michelle Dede (Season 1)
Norway	Big Brother Norge	TVN (Season 1-3) TV 2 Bliss (Season 4-5)	Season 1, 2001: Lars Joakim Ringom Season 2, 2002: Veronica Agnes Roso Season 3, 2003: Eva Lill Baukhol Season 4, 2011: Tine Barstad	Arve Juritzen (Season 1–2) Trygve Rønningen (Season 3) Petter Pilgaard (Season 4) Sarah Natasha Melbye (Season 4)
	Big Brother Norge - Tilbake I Huset (Selection Contestants/All-Stars Format) (1 week)	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Leena Brekke	Arve Juritzen (Season 1)
Pacific Region	Gran Hermano del Pacífico	RedTeleSistema RedTV ATV	Season 1, 2005: Juan Sebastián López	Lorena Meritano (Season 1) Regional Main Presenters Álvaro Ballera & Álvaro García Janine Leal Juan Francisco Escobar
Paraguay	Gran Hermano	Telefuturo	Season 1, 2012/2013: In Negotiations with the Channel	TBA (Season 1)
Peru	La Casa de los Secretos (Secret Story Format)	Frecuencia Latina	Season 1, 2012/2013: Upcoming season	TBA (Season 1)
Philippines	Pinoy Big Brother	ABS-CBN SkyCable (Live)	Season 1, 2005: Nene Tamayo Season 2, 2007: Beatriz Saw Season 3, 2009–2010: Melisa Cantiveros Season 4, 2011–2012: Slater Young Season 5, 2013: Upcoming season	Toni Gonzaga (Season 1-4) Bianca Gonzalez (Season 2-4) Robi Domingo (Season 4) Willie Revillame (Season 1) Mariel Rodriguez (Season 1–3)
	Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition		Season 1, 2006: Keanna Reeves Season 2, 2007–2008: Ruben Gonzaga	Toni Gonzaga (Season 1 – 2) Mariel Rodriguez (Season 1 – 2) Luis Manzano (Season 1)
	Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition		Season 1, 2006: Kim Chiu Season 2, 2008: Ejay Falcon Season 3, 2010: James Reid Season 4, 2012: Myrtle Sarrosa	Toni Gonzaga (Season 1–4) Bianca Gonzalez (Season 1-4) Robi Domingo (Season 4) John Prats (Season 4) Mariel Rodriguez (Season 1–3) Luis Manzano (Season 2)
Poland	Big Brother	TVN (Season 1–3) TV4 (Season 4–5)	Season 1, 2001: Janusz Dzięcioł Season 2, 2001: Marzena Wieczorek Season 3, 2002: Piotr Borucki Season 4, 2007: Jolanta Rutowicz Season 5 (Part 2), 2008: Janusz Strączek	Martyna Wojciechowska (Season 1–3) Grzegorz Miecugow (Season 1) Andrzej Sołtysik (Season 2-3) Karina Kunkiewicz (Season 4) Kuba Klawiter (Seasons 4–5) Małgorzata Kosik (Season 5)
	Big Brother : Ty Wybierasz (Selection Contestants Format)		Season 1, 2001: Małgorzata Maier & Sebastian Florek Season 2, 2001: Barbara Knap & Jakub Jankowski
	Big Brother VIP		Season 5 (Part 1), 2008: Jarek Jakimowicz
Portugal	Big Brother	TVI Meo (Live) (Season 1-Famosos 2) TVI Direct (Live) (Season 4)	Season 1, 2000-2001: Zé Maria Seleiro Season 2, 2001: Henrique Guimarães Season 3, 2001: Catarina Cabral Season 4, 2003: Fernando Geraldes (Nando)	Teresa Guilherme (Season 1-4)
	Big Brother Famosos		Season 1, 2002: Ricardo Vieira, "Ricky" Season 2, 2002: Vítor Norte	Teresa Guilherme (Season 1–2)
	Secret Story - Casa dos Segredos	TVI TVI Direct (Live)	Season 1, 2010: António Queirós Season 2, 2011: João Mota Season 3, 2012: September	Júlia Pinheiro (Season 1) Leonor Poeiras (Season 1-2) Pedro Granger (Season 1) Teresa Guilherme (Season 2-3) Iva Domingues (Season 2)
Romania	Big Brother	Prima TV	Season 1, 2003: Sorin "Soso" Pavel Fisteag Season 2, 2004: Iustin Popovici	Andreea Raicu (Season 1–2) Virgil Ianțu (Season 1–2)
Russia	большой брат Bol'shoy Brat	TNT TET (Season 1 in 2008)	Season 1, 2005: Anastasia Yagaylova	Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Season 1)
Scandinavian Peninsula	Big Brother	Kanal5 TVN	Season 1, 2005: Britt Goodwin Season 2, 2006: Jessica Lindgren	Brita Møystad Engseth (Seasons 1–2) Adam Alsing (Season 1) Hannah Rosander (Season 2)
Second Life	Big Brother Second Life	World Wide Web	Season 1, 2006: Madlen Flint	No Presenters
Serbia	Veliki Brat	Pink BH (Season 1-3) A1 (Season 3) Pink M (Season 1-3) B92 (Season 1-3)	Season 1, 2006: Ivan Ljuba Season 2, 2007: Discontinued Season 3, 2009: Vladimir Arsić	Marijana Mićić (Season 1, 3-4) Ana Mihajlovski (Season 2) Antonija Blaće (Season 4)
	Big Brother - Veliki Brat	Pink BH RTL Televizija Sitel Pink M RTV Pink	Season 4, 2011: Marijana Čvrljak
	Veliki Brat VIP	Pink BH (Season 1-4) A1 (Season 4) Pink M (Season 1-4) B92 (Season 1-2) RTV Pink (Season 3-4)	Season 1, 2007: Saša Ćurčić Season 2, 2008: Mimi Đurović Season 3, 2009: Miki Đuričić Season 4, 2010: Milan Marić	Ana Mihajlovski (Season 1-2) Milan Kalinić (Season 2-3) Marijana Mićić (Season 3-4)
	Veliki Brat: Generalna Proba (Selection Contestants Format)	B92 (Only for Serbia)	Season 1, 2006: Jelena Provci & Marko Miljkovic	Marijana Mićić (Season 1)
Slovakia	Big Brother Súboj	TV Markíza	Season 1, 2005: Richard Tkáč	Zuzana Belohorcová (Season 1)
Slovenia	Big Brother	Kanal A	Season 1, 2007: Andrej Novak Season 2, 2008: Naske Mehić	Nina Osenar (Season 1-2)
	Big Brother Slavnih (Celebrity Format)	POP TV	Season 1, 2010: Jože Činč	Nina Osenar (Season 1)
South Africa	Big Brother South Africa	M-Net DStv (Live)	Season 1, 2001: Ferdinand Rabie Season 2, 2002: Richard Cawood	Mark Pilgrim (Season 1–2) Gerry Rantseli (Season 1–2)
	Celebrity Big Brother		Season 1, 2002: Bill Flynn	Mark Pilgrim (Season 1) Gerry Rantseli (Season 1)
Spain	Gran Hermano	Telecinco La Siete (Season 9–13) GH 24 Horas (Live) (Season 12-13) Digital+ (Live) (Season 6-11) Vía Digital (Live) (Season 4–5) Quiero TV (Live) (Season 1–3)	Season 1, 2000: Ismael Beiro Season 2, 2001: Sabrina Mahí Season 3, 2002: Javito García Season 4, 2002-2003: Pedro Oliva Season 5, 2003-2004: Nuria Yáñez Season 6, 2004: Juan José Mateo Season 7, 2005-2006: Pepe Herrero Season 8, 2006: Naiala Melo Season 9, 2007: Judit Iglesias Season 10, 2008-2009: Iván Madrazo Season 11, 2009-2010: Ángel Muñoz Season 12, 2010-2011: Laura Campos Season 13, 2012: Pepe Flores Season 14, 2013: January	Mercedes Milá (Season 1–2, 4–12+1) Pepe Navarro (Season 3)
	Gran Hermano VIP	Telecinco	Season 1, 2004: Marlene Mourreau Season 2, 2005: Ivonne Armand	Jesús Vázquez (Season 1–2)
	Gran Hermano: El Reencuentro (All-Stars Format, season 1) (Reality All-Stars, season 2)	Telecinco La Siete Digital+ (Live) (Season 1)	Season 1, 2010: Pepe Herrero & Raquel López Season 2, 2011: Juan Miguel Martínez & Yola Berrocal	Mercedes Milá (Season 1) Jordi González (Season 2)
	Gran Hermano: La Revuelta	Telecinco La Siete GH 24 Horas (Live)	Season 1, 2012: Alessandro Livi	Mercedes Milá (Season 1)
Sweden	Big Brother Sverige	Kanal5 (Season 1–4) TV11 (Season 5-6)	Season 1, 2000: Angelica Freij Season 2, 2002: Ulrica Andersson Season 3, 2003: Danne Sörensen Season 4, 2004: Carolina Gynning Season 5, 2011: Simon Danielsson Season 6, 2012: Hanna Johansson	Adam Alsing (Season 1–4) Gry Forssell (Season 5-6)
	Big Brother Stjärnveckan (Reality All-Stars Format)	Kanal5	Season 1, 2002: Anki Lundberg (Baren)	Adam Alsing (Season 1)
Switzerland	Big Brother Switzerland	TV3 Switzerland	Season 1, 2000: Daniela Kanton Season 2, 2001: Christian Ponleitner	Daniel Fohrler (Season 1) Eva Wannemacher (Season 2)
Thailand	Big Brother Thailand	iTV	Season 1, 2005: Nipon Perktim, "Tui" Season 2, 2006: Arisa Sonthirod, "Tik"	Saranyu Vonkarjun (Season 1–2) Nana Raibeena (Season 2)
Ukraine	Big Brother Україна Big Brother Ukraine	K1	Season 1, 2011: Kristina Kotvickaja	Olga Gorbacheva (Season 1) Oleksey Kurban (Season 1)
United Kingdom	Big Brother	Channel 4 (Series 1-11) Channel 5 (Series 12-13) S4C (Series 1–10) M-Net (Series 4) TVN Lingua MBC 4 (Series 12)	Series 1, 2000: Craig Phillips Series 2, 2001: Brian Dowling Series 3, 2002: Kate Lawler Series 4, 2003: Cameron Stout Series 5, 2004: Nadia Almada Series 6, 2005: Anthony Hutton Series 7, 2006: Pete Bennett Series 8, 2007: / Brian Belo Series 9, 2008: Rachel Rice Series 10, 2009: Sophie Reade Series 11, 2010: Josie Gibson Series 12, 2011: Aaron Allard-Morgan Series 13, 2012: / Luke Anderson Series 14, 2013: June	Davina McCall (series 1-11) Brian Dowling (series 12-13)
	Celebrity Big Brother	BBC One (series 1) Channel 4 (series 1-7) Channel 5 (series 8-10) S4C (series 2–7)	Series 1, 2001: Jack Dee Series 2, 2002: Mark Owen Series 3, 2005: Bez Berry Series 4, 2006: Chantelle Houghton Series 5, 2007: Shilpa Shetty Series 6, 2009: Ulrika Jonsson Series 7, 2010: Alex Reid Series 8, 2011: Paddy Doherty Series 9, 2012: Denise Welch Series 10, 2012: Julian Clary Series 11, 2013: January	Davina McCall (series 1-7) Brian Dowling (series 8-10)
	Teen Big Brother	Channel 4/E4 S4C	Series 1, 2003: Paul Brennan	Dermot O'Leary (Series 1)
	Big Brother Panto (All-Stars format)	Channel 4/E4 S4C	Series 1, 2004-2005: No winner	Jeff Brazier (series 1)
	Celebrity Hijack (Housemates: Teen / Big Brother: Celebrities)	Channel 4/E4 S4C	Series 1, 2008: John Loughton	Dermot O'Leary (Series 1)
	Ultimate Big Brother (All-Stars Format)	Channel 4/E4	Series 1, 2010: Brian Dowling	Davina McCall (Series 1)
United States	Big Brother	CBS Showtime 2 Global Global Reality Channel E4 (Season 4, 9)	Season 1, 2000: Eddie McGee Season 2, 2001: Will Kirby Season 3, 2002: Lisa Donahue Season 4, 2003: Jun Song Season 5, 2004: Drew Daniel Season 6, 2005: Maggie Ausburn Season 7, 2006: Mike Malin Season 8, 2007: Dick Donato Season 9, 2008: Adam Jasinski Season 10, 2008: Dan Gheesling Season 11, 2009: Jordan Lloyd Season 12, 2010: Hayden Moss Season 13, 2011: Rachel Reilly Season 14, 2012: Current Season	Julie Chen (Season 1-14)

Current Franchises

  Season currently being aired.

Country	Season Name	Launch date	Finale date	Days	Housemates	Grand Prize
Argentina	Gran Hermano 8	November, 2012	February, 2013			$ 750.000
Australia	Big Brother 9	August 13, 2012		85	14	A$ 250,000
Brazil	Big Brother Brasil 13	January 8, 2013			16	R$ 1,500,000
Bulgaria	Big Brother 2012	September 16, 2012	November, 2012
Canada	Big Brother Canada	Winter, 2013				TBC
Colombia	Gran Hermano 2	August 20, 2012	December 2, 2012	106	16	$ 106,000,000
Denmark	Big Brother 2013	January, 2013
Finland	Big Brother 2012	August 27, 2012			18	€ 70,000
India	Bigg Boss 6	October, 2012
Indonesia	Celebrity Big Brother	September, 2012
Israel	Big Brother 2012	December, 2012
Portugal	Secret Story 3	September 16, 2012				€ 200,000
Spain	Gran Hermano 14	January, 2013
United Kingdom	Celebrity Big Brother 11	January 2013
United Kingdom	Big Brother 14	June 2013
United States	Big Brother 14	July 12, 2012			16	US$ 500,000

Big Brother exchange

When two seasons in different countries are taking place simultaneously, housemates are sometimes temporarily exchanged between them.

Big Brother series	Housemates involved	Year	Duration
BB1 Mexico swapped with GH3 Spain	Eduardo Orozco, "El Doc" swapped with Andrés Barreiro, "Ness"	2002	7 days
GH3 Argentina swapped with GH4 Spain	Eduardo Carrera swapped with Inmaculada González	2003	7 days
GH1 Ecuador swapped with BB2 Mexico	Álvaro Montalván swapped with Eduardo Enríque	2003	7 days
BB1 Africa swapped with BB4 UK	Gaetano Juko Kagwa swapped with Cameron Stout	2003	4 Days
BB2 Scandinavia swapped with BB2 Thailand	Anton Granlund swapped with Kirt Tirat, "Boo"	2006	7 Days
PBB2 Philippines swapped with BB1 Slovenia	Bruce Quebral swapped with Tina Semolič	2007	5 days
GH5 Argentina swapped with GH9 Spain	Soledad Melli swapped with Eneko Van Horenbeke	2007	7 days
BB3 Africa swapped with BB4 Finland	Munya Chidzonga swapped with Johan Grahn	2008	7 days
BB5 Finland swapped with PBB3 Philippines	Kätlin Laas swapped with Catherine Remperas	2009	6 days
GH11 Spain swapped with GF10 Italy	Gerardo Prager and Saray Pereira swapped with Carmela Gualtieri and Massimo Scattarella	2010	7 days
BB6 Finland swapped with BBS1 Slovenia	Niko Nousiainen swapped with Sandra Auer	2010	6 days
GH12 Spain swapped with HH3 Israel	Lydia Navarro swapped with Yaakov "Jackie" Menahem	2010–2011	6 days
BB7 Finland swapped with BB4 Norway	Janica Kortman swapped with Siv Anita Austad	2011	10 days
GH7 Argentina swapped with HH4 Israel	Victoria Irouleguy swapped with Sophie Karwacki	2012	12 days 7 days

Currently Big Brother Task Visit

Big Brother series	Housemates involved	Year	Duration
BB4 Denmark Housemates Visited BB6 Sweden	Cathrine Petersen Henrik Andreassen Patricia Andersen Umar Nyonyintono	2012	7 days

Big Brother Kidnapped

Big Brother series	Housemates involved	Year	Duration
BB4 Denmark Housemate Kidnapped BB6 Sweden	Annica Englund	2012	7 days

Current & Evicted Big Brother Housemates exchange

Big Brother series	Housemates involved	Year	Duration
BB12 Brazil swapped with GH13 Spain	Laisa Portella (Evicted Housemate) swapped with Noemí Merino (Current Housemate)	2012	7 days 5 days

Ex-Big Brother exchange

Big Brother series	Housemates involved	Year	Duration
VIP2 Mexico swapped with GH5 Spain	Isabel Madow swapped with Aída Nízar	2003	7 days
BR1 Russia Housemate Visited GH1 Pacific	Ivan Timoshenko swapped with Gianmarco Retis	2005	7 days
GH4 Argentina swapped with BB7 Brazil	Pablo Espósito swapped with Iris Stefanelli	2007	5 days

Ex-Big Brother visit

Big Brother series	Housemates involved	Year
BB4 UK Housemate Visited BB3 Australia	Anouska Golebiewski	2003
BB5 UK Housemate Visited BB5 Australia	Nadia Almada	2005
CBB4 UK Housemate Visited BB6 Germany	Chantelle Houghton	2006
BB3 Africa Housemate Visited BB9 Brazil	Ricardo Ferreira, "Ricco"	2009
BB9 Germany Housemate Visited BB3 Philippines	Annina Ucatis Sascha Schwan	2010
GF10 Italy Housemates Visited BB3 Albania	George Leonard Veronica Ciardi	2010
BB5 Sweden Housemates Visited BB4 Norway	Martin Granetoft Peter Orrmyr Sara Jonsson	2011
BB12 Brazil Housemate Visited GH13 Spain	Rafael Cordeiro, "Fael"	2012

Casting selection Big Brother exchange

Big Brother series	Housemates involved	Year
GF9 Italy Housemate Visited GH10 Spain	Doroti Polito Leonia Coccia	2009

Housemates Competing in other Big Brother Country

Housemates	Big Brother Original	Big Brother in Other Country
Daniela Martins	Secret Story 3	Secret Story 1
Daniel Mkongo	Secret Story 5	Grande Fratello 12
Brigitte Nielsen	Big Brother VIP	Celebrity Big Brother 3
Jade Goody	Big Brother 3 Big Brother Panto Celebrity Big Brother 5	Bigg Boss 2
Sava Radović	Big Brother 4	Veliki Brat 1

Inter-Big Brother competitions

Song contest (Eurovision Song Contest)

Big Brother series participans	Big Brother series jury	Points	Winner	Date
GH12 Spain – "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" HH3 Israel – "Bandido"	GF11 Italy BB5 Greece GH6 Argentina	Spain: 12 (Italy) + 12 (Greece) + 12 (Argentina) = 36 Israel: 10 (Italy) + 10 (Greece) + 10 (Argentina) = 30	Spain	Tests: 30-12-10 to 4-1-11 Israel Performance: 5-1-2011 Spain Performance: 6-1-2011 Ratings: 7-1-2011 Closing: 8-1-2011

Penalty Shootout (FIFA World Cup)

Big Brother series participans	Prize	Points	Winner	Date
BB10 Germany BB11 United Kingdom	To view the Round of 16 game Germany vs. England at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.	After five penalties of both teams the score was 1–1. So, the game had to go to sudden-death penalties. After 36 penalties, German housemate Robert shot the ball wide and the UK housemate Ife scored. And so the UK Big Brother house won 2–1.	United Kingdom	26 June 2010

Subtitles of Big Brother series

These are some of the subtitles of Big Brother shows around the world. These are not the local title of the show.

Region / Country	Season	Subtitle
Africa	4	Revolution
	5	All-Stars
	6	Amplified
	7	Stargame!
Argentina
	3	Vive Y Sobrevive (Live And Survive)
	5	La Nueva Generación (The New Generation)
	6	La Nueva Era (The New Era)
	7	El Nuevo Gran Hermano (The New Big Brother)
	Gran Hermano 2013 (Big Brother 2013)	La Revancha (The Rematch)
Australia	9	Secrets
Belgium	3	Big Brother Anders
	5	Zero Privacy
	6
Bulgaria	1	Биг Брадър вижда всичко! (Big Brother sees everything!)
	3	Очаквайте неочакваното! (Expect the unexpected!)
	VIP 2	Нов! (NEW!)
	4	Епизод 4 (Episode 4)
	VIP 3	Звездите имат сърца! (Celebrities have hearts!)
	5	Family
Canada	6	Loft Story : La revanche (Loft Story : The revenge)
	7	Big Brother
Croatia	1	Vidi sve (Sees Everything)
	2	Gola istina (Naked Truth)
	3	Do kraja (To The End)
	4	Bez milosti! (No Mercy!)
	5	Avantura te zove! (Adventure calls you!)
Denmark	4	TV WEB MOBIL RADIO
Finland	1	Aidoin voittaa (The most genuine wins)
	2	Toinen tuleminen (Second coming)
	3	Käytä valtaasi (Use your power)
	4	Kuka oikeasti olet? (Who are you really?)
	5	Kaikki on toisin (Everything is different)
	6	Kulissit kaatuvat (True colours become revealed)
	7	Enemmän salaisuuksia kuin milloinkaan ennen (More secrets than ever)
	8	Fanita rohkeasti (Be bravely a fan)
Germany	2	Back to basics
	4	The Battle
	5	365 Tage - 1 Million Euro (365 Days - 1 Million Euro)
	6	Das Dorf (The Village)
	7	Wer bist du wirklich? (Who are you really?)
	9	Reloaded
	10	Everyone got a secret
	11	The Secret
Greece	3	The Wall
	4	Big Mother
Netherlands	3	The Battle
	VIP 2	Big Brother Hotel
Norway	3	Next Generation
Philippines	Teen 2	Plus
	3	Double Up
	Teen 3	Clash of 2010
	4	Unlimited
Poland	1, 2, 4.1, 5 (Part 2)	Wielki Brat (Big Brother)
	3	Bitwa (The Battle)
	5 (Part 1)	VIP
	6	Cyber Star
Portugal	1	O Grande Irmão (The Big Brother)
	2
	3
	Secret Story 1	Casa dos Segredos (House of Secrets)
	Secret Story 2
	Secret Story 3
Romania	2	Fratele Cel Mare (The Big Brother)
Serbia	2	Očekuj neočekivano (Expect the Unexpected)
	3	Veliki Brat je dvoličan (Big Brother gets two-faced)
	VIP 4	Bitka počinje (The Battle Starts)
	4	Ljubi bližnjeg svog (Love Thy Neighbor)
Spain	1-7	La vida en directo (Life Live)
	VIP 1	El Desafío (The Challenge)
	8	Lo verás todo (You will see everything)
	9	Nada es lo que parece (Nothing is what it seems)
	10	Es otra historia (It's another story)
	11	La Nueva Era (The New Age)
	GH: El reencuentro (The reunion)	Cuentas pendientes (Unfinished business)
	12	La cuarta dimensión (The fourth dimension)
	GH: El reencuentro 2 (The reunion)	10 años después (10 years after)
	13 (12+1)	Dale la vuelta (Turn it over)
	GH: El reencuentro 3 (The reunion)	La Re-vuelta (The Rebellion)
Slovenia	1	Big Brother vas gleda! (Big Brother is watching you!)
	2
	Celebrity 1	Big Brother Slavnih (Celebrity Big Brother)
UK	Celebrity 1	In Aid of Comic Relief
	2	View, Vote, Control
	Teen 1	The Experiment
	5	Big Brother Gets Evil
	Celebrity 3
	7	Big Brother Gets Twisted
	Celebrity 7	Hell Lies in Others
	11	The Big Send-Off
		Welcome to the Mad House
	Ultimate 1	The Final Send-Off
	13	Let the fun and games BEGIN!
US	3	Expect The Unexpected
	4	The X-Factor
	5	Project DNA - Do Not Assume
	6	Summer Of Secrets
	7	All-Stars
	9	'Til Death Do You Part
	10	Back to Basics
	11	High School Cliques
	12	Summer of Sabotage
	13	The Summer of Double Trouble
	14	Supersized

Near-copies of Big Brother

There are a number of different formats around the globe that use rules similar to Big Brother, here are the most notable:

• 12 Negrityat: Russia (1 season)
• 360 Estudio: Puerto Rico (1)
• Back To Reality: UK (1 )
• Big Mama House: Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
• Carré Viip: France (1)
• Casa dos Artistas: Brazil (4)
• Der Container Exklusiv: Germany (1)
• Dilemme: France (1)
• Golod (The Hunger): Russia (2)
• Hotel Glam: Spain (1)
• Kazafi I Arte: Albania (6)
• Les Colocataires: France (1)
• Nice People: France (1)
• Penghuni Terakhir: Indonesia (6)
• Proyect Y: Israel (2)
• Singel 24-7: Norway (1)
• Soñando por Bailar: Argentina (2)
• Syri Magjik: Albania (1)
• The Bar
• The Bus
• The Farm
• The Frame: Austria (1), France (1), Germany (1), Greece (1), Spain (1), USA (1)
• The Box: Ireland (1)
• The Glass House: USA (1)
• The Golden Cage: Netherlands (1)
• Taxi Orange/Biri Bizi Gözetliyor: Austria (2), Cyprus (1) and Turkey (6)
• Unan1mous: Arab World (1), Italy (1), Norway (1), Russia (1), Spain (1), UK (1) and US (1)
• Való Világ / VyVolení: Czech Republic (3), Hungary (5), Slovakia (3)
• Za Steklom (Behind the Glass): Russia (3), Ukraine (1)
• הדור הבא 24/7 (The next generation 24 / 7): Israel (1)

See also

• List of television show franchises

Bibliography

• Johnson-Woods, Toni (2002). Big Bother: Why Did That Reality TV Show Become Such a Phenomenon?. Australia: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-3315-3.