Big Brother

Big Brother is the British version of the international reality television franchise Big Brother created by producer John de Mol in 1997. Broadcast yearly from 2000 to 2018, and due to return in 2023, the show follows the format of other national editions, in which a group of contestants, known as “housemates”, live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. They are continuously monitored by live television cameras and personal audio microphones. Throughout the competition, housemates are “evicted” from the house by public televoting. The last remaining housemate wins the competition and a cash prize. The series takes its name from the oppressive character known by that name in George Orwell’s 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

 

The series premiered in 2000 on Channel 4 and immediately became a ratings hit. It featured a 24-hour live feed in which fans could view inside the house at any time. Big Brother aired for eleven series on Channel 4, followed by one final special edition, Ultimate Big Brother, which ended in 2010. Channel 5 acquired the rights to the series, and relaunched it in 2011. On the day of the nineteenth series launch in 2018, Channel 5 announced that Big Brother would not be returning to the channel after the end of that series. In 2020, Channel 4 announced that previous episodes of Big Brother would be shown on E4 in a series titled Big Brother: Best Shows Ever to mark the 20th anniversary of the programme. Two years later, on 1 August 2022, it was announced by ITV that Big Brother would return for a new series in 2023 on ITV2.

 

The programme was initially presented by Davina McCall from its inception until its cancellation by Channel 4. McCall declined to return as presenter following the programme’s move to Channel 5, and the role was taken up by former series winner Brian Dowling. He remained as presenter throughout the twelfth and thirteenth series. Emma Willis later replaced Dowling from the fourteenth series onwards until its cancellation from Channel 5. Marcus Bentley served as off-screen narrator of all series since the show premiered in 2000. Big Brother has had numerous spin-off series occur since its premiere, most notably Celebrity Big Brother, a shorter version of the main series wherein the cast is composed solely of celebrities. Numerous other spin-off series that are not competition based have aired, with Dermot O’Leary, Russell Brand, George Lamb, Emma Willis and Rylan Clark-Neal all presenting spin-offs.

Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 64
Housemates: 11
Winner: Craig Phillips
Runner Up: Anna Nolan
Network: Channel 4
18 Jul 2000 – 15 Sep 2000
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 64
Housemates: 11
Winner: Brian Dowling
Runner Up: Helen Adams
Network: Channel 4
25 May 2001 – 27 Jul 2001
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 64
Housemates: 14
Winner: Kate Lawler
Runner Up: Jonny Regan
Network: Channel 4
24 May 2002 – 26 Jul 2002
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 64
Housemates: 13
Winner: Cameron Stout
Runner Up: Ray Shah
Network: Channel 4
23 May 2003 – 25 Jul 2003
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 71
Housemates: 13
Winner: Nadia Almada
Runner Up: Jason Cowan
Network: Channel 4
28 May 2004 – 6 Aug 2004
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 78
Housemates: 16
Winner: Anthony Hutton
Runner Up: Eugene Sully
Network: Channel 4
27 May 2005 – 12 Aug 2005
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 93
Housemates: 22
Winner: Pete Bennett
Runner Up: Glyn Wise
Network: Channel 4
18 May 2006 – 18 Aug 2006
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 94
Housemates: 23
Winner: Brian Belo
Runner Up: Amanda & Sam
Network: Channel 4
30 May 2007 – 31 Aug 2007
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 93
Housemates: 21
Winner: Rachel Rice
Runner Up: Michael Hughes
Network: Channel 4
5 Jun 2008 – 5 Sep 2008
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 93
Housemates: 22
Winner: Sophie Reade
Runner Up: Siavash 
Network: Channel 4
4 Jun 2009 – 4 Sep 2009
Presented by: Davina McCall
Days: 77
Housemates: 21
Winner: Josie Gibson
Runner Up: Dave Vaughan
Network: Channel 4
9 Jun 2010 – 24 Aug 2010
Presented by: Brian Dowling
Days: 64
Housemates: 15
Winner: Aaron Allard-Morgan
Runner Up: Jay McKray
Network: Channel 5
9 Sep 2011 – 11 Nov 2011
Presented by: Brian Dowling
Days: 70
Housemates: 17
Winner: Luke Anderson
Runner Up: Adam Kelly
Network: Channel 5
5 June 2012 – 13 Aug 2012
Presented by: Emma Willis
Days: 68
Housemates: 14
Winner: Sam Evans
Runner Up: Dexter Koh
Network: Channel 5
13 June 2013 – 19 Aug 2013
Presented by: Emma Willis
Days: 72
Housemates: 19
Winner: Helen Wood
Runner Up: Ashleigh Coyle
Network: Channel 5
5 June 2014 – 15 Aug 2014
Presented by: Emma Willis
Days: 66
Housemates: 18
Winner: Chloe Wilburn
Runner Up: Joel Williams
Network: Channel 5
12 May 2015 – 16 July 2015
Presented by: Emma Willis
Days: 50
Housemates: 19
Winner: Jason Burrill
Runner Up: Hughie Maughan
Network: Channel 5
7 June 2016 – 26 Jul 2016
Presented by: Emma Willis
Days: 54
Housemates: 22
Winner: Isabelle Warburton
Runner Up: Raph Korine
Network: Channel 5
5 June 2017 – 28 July 2017
Presented by: Emma Willis
Days: 53
Housemates: 16
Winner: Cameron Cole
Runner Up: Akeem Griffiths
Network: Channel 5
14 Sep 2018 – 5 Nov 2018
Presented by: AJ Odudu & Will Best
Days: 42
Housemates: 16
Winner: Jordan Sangha
Runner Up: Olivia Young
Network: ITV2
8 Oct 2023 – 17 Nov 2023

Spin-Off

Presented by: Dermot O’Leary
Days: 10
Housemates: 8
Winner: Paul Brennan
Runner Up: Caroline Cloke
Network: Channel 4
13 Oct 2003 – 17 Oct 2003
Presented by: Jeff Brazier
Days: 11
Housemates: 10
Winner: N/A
Runner Up: N/A
Network: E4
20 Dec 2004 – 5 Jan 2005