Big Brother (franchise)

File:LogoBBsimpel.jpg

The original Big Brother logo

Big Brother is a popular reality television format, where for around three months, a number of contestants (normally fewer than fifteen at any one time) try to avoid periodic publicly-voted evictions from a communal house and hence win a cash prize. The show, a kind of 'real life soap', was invented by the Dutchman John de Mol and developed by his production company, Endemol. It has been a prime-time hit in almost 70 different countries, earning Endemol large sums of money. The show's name comes from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which Big Brother is the all-seeing leader of the dystopian Oceania.

Format

Location of different versions of Big Brother

The first series of Big Brother was aired in the Netherlands in September 1999, and the show was subsequently adapted to virtually every other part of the world. Though each country has made its own adaptations and changes to the format, the general concept has stayed the same: "housemates" are confined to a specially designed house where their every action is recorded by cameras and microphones at all times; and these housemates are not permitted any contact with the outside world. The housemates are allowed no television or radio, means of contacting the outside world, or other media; not even writing material. Private chats with a psychologist are a special exception, and are always allowed at any time, often by means of a telephone in the Diary Room. At regular intervals, normally once weekly, the public is invited to vote to have a housemate of their choice evicted from the House. 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 winner of that particular series, and receives prizes; often including a large amount of money, a car, a holiday, and in some editions, a house.

Besides the same living together, which is the principal axis and major attraction of the contest, this one turns concerning 4 basic props: the stripped-bare back to basics environment in which they live, the evictions system, the weekly tasks set by Big Brother, and the "diary room", in which the housemates individually convey their thoughts, feelings, frustrations and their eviction nominees.

In the first of most Big Brother seasons, the House that the housemates had to live in for the duration of the competition 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 an element of survival into the show, thus increasing the potential for tensions within the house. Now almost every country has a modern house for the contest, with a jacuzzi, a sauna, a VIP suite, a loft, and other luxuries.

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

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 nomination points are then named announced, and viewers are given the opportunity to vote for whom they wish to see evicted. 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 live studio audience.

The series is notable for involving the Internet. Although the show typically broadcasts daily updates in the evening, sometimes criticised for its 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, the Internet broadcasting was supplemented by updates via email, WAP and SMS. The House is even shown live on satellite television (with a 10-15 minute delay to permit muting of unacceptable content in the UK).

Despite derision from many intellectuals and other critics, the show has been a commercial success around the world. Criticisms typically are based on the ironic aspects of George Orwell's dystopic vision of Nineteen Eighty-Four being consciously aped by producers for public entertainment. More generally, the voyeuristic nature of the show, where contestants volunteer to surrender their privacy in return for minor celebrity status and a comparatively small cash prize, has attracted much scorn.

While any pretences to be a cultural experiment are dubious, reports of the different results of the show around the world have been mildly interesting from a pop-anthropology standpoint. Some versions have been filled with sex-crazed housemates, whereas others decided to base the conflict within their programs around difficult or romantic personalities, as in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Philippines or Spain. With the passing of time, it has been demonstrated that the most successful versions were the ones that emulated a soap opera, whereas the versions where the principal attraction was sex have been eliminated, as in Hungary or Poland. The amount of sex shown on the televised versions around the world depends on local and national television censorship rules, with some countries editing out all sex and nudity, while others broadcast what is considered to be borderline pornography.

Some peculiarities

• In France and Canada, the format has been developed using couples. Twelve single people stay in the same house until only the winning couple are left.
• Big Brother USA currently uses a different set of rules from the other countries' versions of the show, as it has starting with its second season (the first season followed the traditional format) In the US version, viewers do not vote for eviction; all voting is done by houseguests. Public voting is limited to periodic "America's Choice" votes, with the public deciding who gets typically minor prizes such as phone call from home, or a walk-on appearance in a television show. In season 6, however, the public was allowed to vote one of the evicted contestants back into the house. Also, the nominations are done by one houseguest, the HoH (Head of Household). The US Big Brother also introduced the Power of Veto, with a houseguest having power to save a housemate from the nominations. It's been adapted in Brazil and since then some countries modified their nominations rules.
• 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 Australia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Scandinavia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Australia, Italy and Mexico added punishment zones to their houses.
• The fifth UK edition introduced the "Evil" touch, where the Big Brother voice became almost a villain. He was establishing punishments and was proposing hard tasks and secret tricks. This was also seen in Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Pacific, Scandinavia, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, and Mexico.
• In 2004 edition, the fifth German edition was the first version to run for 365 days consecutively. In this season, the contestants were separated into three teams (rich, regular, survivor) and equivalent living areas. The ultimate winner got a prize of 1,000,000 €. Immediately after, Big Brother VI started. This was the first version which should have no time limit. The show was called Big Brother: Das Dorf, lit. Big Brother: The Village, as it was recorded in a small artificial town. The set included a dummy church tower, a marketplace, 3 houses, 3 working areas (farm, car-garage, dressmaking), a matcharena, a pub and a fitness room. The season ended early after 363 days in February 2006.
• The fourth Greek season introduced a new element: the mother. In Big Mother nine houseguests 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.
• There are five special pan-regional versions of Big Brother. All these follow the normal Big Brother rules with the exception that contestants come from different countries in the region where it airs:
  • Africa: Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
  • Balkans: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia
  • Middle East: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria and Tunisia.
  • Pacific: Chile, Ecuador and Peru.
  • Scandinavia: Norway and Sweden.

Big Brother adaptations

Big Brother VIP / Celebrity Big Brother

The Big Brother format has been adapted in some countries in that the housemates are locally known celebrities. 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 the same as the ones from the original version, although in many occasions they are not so strict due to the exceptional character of the program. The series has been a prime-time hit in 12 different countries and was aired for the first time in 2000, in the Netherlands. In this country, a new variant appeared 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.

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 in the celebrity edition.

• 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 I 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). Season with contestants from several reality shows, including Big Brother.
• Teen Big Brother (United Kingdom, 10 days; Philippines, 42 days). Teenage houseguests competing in a BB house.
• Big Brother, All Star (Belgium, 21 days; United States, 72 days). Big Brother where all the housemates come from previous seasons of the contest.
• Veliki Brat: Generalna Proba (Big Brother Try Out - Serbia, 7 days). Twelve Serbian contestants competing for a spot in the next Big Brother Balkans season. Without nominations or evictions.

Also, there are a series of pre-seasons with the only objective of testing the house. A group of celebrities or journalists living together in the house during a few days. No competition nor winner. It has been made in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Pacific, Philippines, Spain and many other countries. In some cases, it is not emitted.
Other special season without nominations, evictions, winner nor prize is Big Brother Panto, in the UK. In a kind of "All Star" season, several Big Brother UK contestants live together during over two weeks in order to perform a pantomime of Cinderella.

Big Brother around the world

Region	Local name Official website	Channel	Winners
Africa	Big Brother Africa	M-Net	Season 1, 2003: Cherise Makubale (Zambia)
Argentina	Gran Hermano Big Brother	Telefe Canal 4 (Uruguay)	Season 1, 2001: Marcelo Corazza Season 2, 2001: Roberto Parra Season 3, 2002-03: Viviana Colmenero Season 4, 2007: Upcoming season
Australia	Big Brother Australia Official website	Network Ten TV 2 (New Zealand)	Season 1, 2001: Ben Williams Season 2, 2002: Peter Corbett Season 3, 2003: Regina Bird Season 4, 2004: Trevor Butler Season 5, 2005: Greg Mathew Season 6, 2006: Jamie Brooksby Season 7, 2007: Upcoming season
	Celebrity Big Brother	Network Ten	Season 1, 2002: Dylan Lewis
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: Upcoming season
	Big Brother VIPs Official website	VTM Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2001: Sam Gooris Season 2, 2006: Current season
	Big Brother All Stars	Kanaal Twee	Season 1, 2003: Heidi Zutterman
Brazil	Big Brother Brasil Official website	Globo	Season 1, 2002: Kléber de Paula Season 2, 2002: Rodrigo Leonel Fraga Season 3, 2003: Dhomini Ferreira Season 4, 2004: Cida da Silva Season 5, 2005: Jean Wyllys Season 6, 2006: Mara Viana Season 7, 2007: Upcoming season
	Big Brother VIP	Globo	Season 1, 2007: Upcoming season
Bulgaria	Big Brother Official website	NTV	Season 1, 2004-05: Zdravko Vasilev Season 2, 2005: Miroslav Atanasov Season 3, 2006: Lyubov Stancheva Season 4, 2007: Upcoming season
	VIP Brother Official website	NTV	Season 1, 2006: Konstantin Slavov Season 2, 2007: Upcoming season
Canada	Loft Story Official website	TQS	Season 1, 2003: Julie Lemay & Samuel Tissot Season 2, 2006: Mathieu Baron & Stéphanie Bélanger Season 3, 2006: Jean-Philippe Anwar & Kim Rusk
Colombia	Gran Hermano	Caracol TV	Season 1, 2003: Mónica Tejón
Croatia	Big Brother Official website	RTL	Season 1, 2004: Saša Tkalčević Season 2, 2005: Hamdija Seferović Season 3, 2006: Current season
Czech Republic	Big Brother Velký Bratr Official website	TV NOVA	Season 1, 2005: David Šín
Denmark	Big Brother Danmark	TV Danmark	Season 1, 2001: Jill Liv Nielsen Season 2, 2001: Carsten B. Berthelsen Season 3, 2003: Johnni Madsen
	Big Brother VIP	TV Danmark	Season 1, 2003: Thomas Bickham
	Big Brother Reality All Stars	TV Danmark	Season 1, 2004: Jill Liv Nielsen (Big Brother)
Ecuador	Gran Hermano Big Brother	Ecuavisa	Season 1, 2003: David Burbano
Finland	Big Brother Suomi Official website	SubTV	Season 1, 2005: Perttu Sirviö Season 2, 2006: Sari Nygren Season 3, 2007: Upcoming season
France	Loft Story	M6	Season 1, 2001: Christophe Mercy & Loana Petrucciani Season 2, 2002: Karine Delgado & Thomas Saillofest
Germany	Big Brother Official website	RTL RTL II Tele 5	Season 1, 2000: John Milz Season 2, 2000: Alida Kurras Season 3, 2001: Karina Schreiber Season 4, 2003: Jan Geilhufe Season 5, 2004-05: Sascha Sirtl Season 6, 2005-06: Michael Knopf Season 7, 2007: Upcoming season
Greece	Big Brother The Wall Big Mother	ANT1	Season 1, 2001: Giorgos Triantafyllidis Season 2, 2002: Alexandros Moskhos Season 3, 2003: Thodores Jspógloy Season 4, 2005: Nikos Papadopoulos
Hungary	Big Brother Nagy Testvér	TV2	Season 1, 2002: Éva Párkányi Season 2, 2003: Zsófi Horváth
	Big Brother VIP	TV2	Season 1, 2003: Ganxsta Zolee
Italy	Grande Fratello Official website	Canale 5	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: Upcoming season
India	Bigg Boss Official website Official website	SET	Season 1, 2006-07: Current season
Mexico	Big Brother México Official website	Televisa	Season 1, 2002: Rocío Cárdenas Season 2, 2003: Silvia Irabien Season 3, 2005: Evelyn Nieto
	Big Brother VIP	Televisa	Season 1, 2002: Galilea Montijo Season 2, 2003: Omar Chaparro Season 3.1, 2004: Eduardo Videgaray Season 3.2, 2004: Roxanna Castellanos Season 4, 2005: Sasha Sökol
Middle East	Big Brother الرئيس (The Boss)	MBC	Season 1, 2004: Discontinued
Netherlands	Big Brother Official website	Veronica Yorin Talpa	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
	Big Brother VIPs Hotel Big Brother Official website	Veronica Talpa	Season 1, 2000: No winner Season 2, 2006: No winner
Nigeria	Big Brother Nigeria Official website	M-Net	Season 1, 2006: Katung Aduwak
Norway	Big Brother Norge Official website	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Lars Joakim Ringom Season 2, 2002: Veronica Agnes Roso Season 3, 2003: Eva Lill Baukhol
	Big Brother: Tilbake I Huset	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Leena Brekke
Pacific	Gran Hermano del Pacífico Official website	Telesistema (Ecuador) RedTV (Chile) ATV (Peru)	Season 1, 2005: Juan Sebastián López (Ecuador)
Philippines	Pinoy Big Brother Official website	ABS-CBN	Season 1, 2005: Nene Tamayo Season 2, 2007: Upcoming season
	Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition Official website	ABS-CBN	Season 1, 2006: Keanna Reeves
	Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Official website	ABS-CBN	Season 1, 2006: Kim Chiu
Poland	Big Brother Wielki Brat	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Janusz Dzięcioł Season 2, 2001: Marzena Wieczorek Season 3, 2002: Piotr Borucki
	Big Brother: Ty wybierasz	TVN	Season 1, 2001: Małgorzata Maier & Sebastian Florek Season 2, 2001: Barbara Knap & Jakub Jankowski
Portugal	Big Brother O Grande Irmão	TVI	Season 1, 2000-01: Zé Maria Povinho Season 2, 2001: Henrique Guimarães Season 3, 2001: Catarina Eufémia Season 4, 2003: Nando Geraldes
	Big Brother Famosos	TVI	Season 1, 2002: Ricardo Vieira Season 2, 2002: Vítor Norte
Romania	Big Brother Fratele Cel Mare	PrimaTV	Season 1, 2003: Soso Joi Season 2, 2004: Iustin Popovici
Russia	большой брат (Big Brother) Official website	TNT	Season 1, 2005: Anastasia Yagaylova
Scandinavia	Big Brother Official website Official website	Kanal5 (Sweden) TVN (Norway)	Season 1, 2005: Britt Goodwin (Norway) Season 2, 2006: Jessica Lindgren (Sweden)
Serbia	Veliki Brat Official website	Pink BiH (Bosnia-Herzegovina) Pink M (Montenegro) B92 (Serbia)	Season 1, 2006: Current season
	Veliki Brat Proba	B92	Season 1, 2006: Jelena Provči & Marko Miljković
Slovakia	Big Brother Súboj	TV Markíza	Season 1, 2005: Richard Tkáč
South Africa	Big Brother South Africa	M-Net	Season 1, 2001: Ferdinand Rabie Season 2, 2002: Richard Cawood
	Celebrity Big Brother	M-Net	Season 1, 2002: Bill Flynn
Spain	Gran Hermano Official website	Telecinco	Season 1, 2000: Ismael Beiro Season 2, 2001: Sabrina Mahi Season 3, 2002: Javito García Season 4, 2002-03: Pedro Oliva Season 5, 2003-04: Nuria Yáñez Season 6, 2004: Juan José Rocamora Season 7, 2005-06: Pepe Herrero Season 8, 2006: Current season
	Gran Hermano VIP Official website	Telecinco	Season 1, 2004: Marlene Mourreau Season 2, 2005: Ivonne Armand
Sweden	Big Brother Sverige Official website	Kanal5	Season 1, 2000: Angelica Freij Season 2, 2002: Ulrica Andersson Season 3, 2003: Danne Sörensen Season 4, 2004: Carolina Gynning
	Big Brother Stjärnveckan	Kanal5	Season 1, 2002: Anki Lundberg (Baren)
Switzerland	Big Brother Schweiz	TV3	Season 1, 2000: Daniela Kanton Season 2, 2001: Christian Ponleitner
Thailand	Big Brother Thailand Official website	iTV	Season 1, 2005: Nipon Perktim Season 2, 2006: Arisa Sonthirod
United Kingdom	Big Brother Official website	Channel 4 S4C (Wales)	Season 1, 2000: Craig Phillips Season 2, 2001: Brian Dowling Season 3, 2002: Kate Lawler Season 4, 2003: Cameron Stout Season 5, 2004: Nadia Almada Season 6, 2005: Anthony Hutton Season 7, 2006: Pete Bennett Season 8, 2007 : Upcoming season
	Celebrity Big Brother	BBC One Channel 4	Season 1, 2001: Jack Dee Season 2, 2002: Mark Owen Season 3, 2005: Bez Berry Season 4, 2006: Chantelle Houghton Season 5, 2007: Upcoming season
	Teen Big Brother Official website	Channel 4 E4	Season 1, 2003: Paul Brennan
United States	Big Brother Official website	CBS Global (Canada)	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
	Big Brother: All-Stars Official website	CBS Global (Canada)	Season 1, 2006: Mike Malin

Big Brother facts

• General
  • Winners: 89 males and 64 females
  • Country with most seasons: 12 finished seasons, UK, (7 main, 4 Celebrity & 1 Teen)
  • Country with most days with Big Brother on air: Germany, 1,142 days
• 1999
  • First Big Brother: Netherlands
  • First contestant to be evicted: Martin Jonkman, BB1 Netherlands
  • First contestant to voluntarily leave: Tara van den Bergh, BB1 Netherlands
  • First replacement housemate: Mona Rooth-de Leeuw, BB1 Netherlands
  • First housemates to be voted into house by the public: Anouk Drost & Cyrille van Hoof, BB1 Netherlands
  • First Big Brother winner: Bart Spring in 't Veld, BB1 Netherlands
• 2000
  • First housemate to be nominated by 100% of the household (including herself): Despina Eftimescu, BB1 Germany
  • First Big Brother with all the housemates voluntarily up for eviction: GH1 Spain
  • First Big Brother VIP: Netherlands
  • First contestant to be expelled by Big Brother: Nicholas Bateman, BB1 UK
  • First housemate to be evicted by his fellow housemates: Rex van Iersel, BB2 Netherlands
  • First evicted housemate voted back into the house: Marion, BB2 Germany
  • First double eviction: Camilla Björk & George Dieck, BB1 Sweden
• 2001
  • First Big Brother with a couple competing: Cornelius "Coco" Schmitz and Katja, BB3 Germany
  • First Big Brother mole: Silvia Leder, BB3 Germany
  • First Big Brother VIP winner: Jack Dee, CBB1 UK
  • First contestant to participate on two different Big Brother shows: Betty Owczarek, BB1 Belgium & BBVIP1 Belgium
  • First incorrect eviction: Klaudiusz Sevkowič, BB1 Poland
  • First replacement housemate to win Big Brother: Marcelo Corazza, GH1 Argentina
  • First Big Brother to have more than one winner: Christophe Mercy & Loana Petrucciani, LS1 France
  • First Big Brother with Head Of House: BB2 USA
  • Big Brother winner with the highest percentage: 90.03%, Ferdinand Rabie, BB1 South Africa
  • First Big Brother: The Battle: BB3 Netherlands
  • Least eviction difference: 71 votes, Martin 50% vs. Ghazal 50%, Martin evicted, BB2 Denmark
  • Season with fewest contestants: 4, BBTIH1 Norway
• 2002
  • First Big Brother Reality All Stars: Sweden -Big Brother Stjärnveckan-
  • Shortest Big Brother: 6 days, BB Stjärnveckan Sweden
  • First housemates swap: BB1 Mexico - GH3 Spain
  • Most successive times up for eviction survived: 8, Kiko Hernández, GH3 Spain & Nok, BB2 Thailand -2006-
  • First Big Brother with Power Of Veto: BB3 USA
  • Oldest Big Brother winner: Bill Flynn, 53, CBB1 South Africa
  • First pregnant housemate: Michelle, BB2 South Africa
• 2003
  • Most Big Brothers to start in a year: 27
  • First international version: BB1 Africa
  • First Big Brother with ex-couple housemates: Alison & Justin, Amanda & Scott, David & Michelle, Erika & Robert, Jee & Jun, BB4 USA
  • First Big Brother with only teenage contestants: UK
  • First contestant to become pregnant in the house: Sissal, BB3 Denmark
  • Most times up for eviction: 11, Tatiana Madureira, BB4 Portugal
  • Most times up for eviction survived: 11, Tatiana Madureira, BB4 Portugal
• 2004
  • First blood-related housemates: Domenico and Ilaria Turi, father and daughter, GF4 Italy
  • Only Big Brother suspended: BB1 Arabia
  • Only contestant to win two Big Brothers: Jill Liv Nielsen, BB1 -2001- & BB Reality All Stars Denmark
  • Only Big Brother VIP season divided in 2 parts: BBVIP3.1 and BBVIP3.2 Mexico
  • First "Evil" Big Brother: BB5 UK
  • First faked eviction: Emma and Michelle, BB5 UK
  • Most housemates to leave the house voluntarily: 18, BB5 Germany
• 2005
  • First celebrity to compete in two different countries: Brigitte Nielsen, BBVIP Denmark -2003- & CBB3 UK
  • Oldest contestant: Jackie Stallone, 81, CBB3 UK
  • Longest Big Brother: 365 days, BB5 Germany
  • Season with most contestants: 59, BB5 Germany & BB6 Germany
  • Longest time in Big Brother house: 365 days, Sascha Sirtl and Franziska Lewandrowski, BB5 Germany
  • Highest eviction percentage: 95%, Aline Cristina, BB5 Brazil
  • First Big Brother where all the housemates have a secret playing partner: BB6 USA
  • First twins to win Big Brother: Greg and David Matthew BB5 Australia
  • First Big Brother birth: Tanja Slangenberg gave birth to Joscelyn Savanna, BB5 Netherlands
• 2006
  • Most Big Brothers to start in a year: 27
  • Most housemates left on the final night: 6, BB6 Germany, VIP Brother 1 Bulgaria & BB7 UK
  • First non-celebrity on Big Brother VIP: Chantelle Houghton, CBB4 UK
  • First HIV-infected contestant: Kenny van Quickelberghe, BB5 Belgium
  • Youngest contestant: 15 years, 10 months & 12 days old, Aldred Gatchalian, BB Teen Edition Philippines
  • Youngest Big Brother winner: 16, Kim Chiu, BB Teen Edition Philippines
  • First child to live in the house: Danaya (3 years old), VIPB1 Bulgaria
  • Most successive times up for eviction: 9, Nok, BB2 Thailand
  • Lowest eviction percentage with positive voting: 0.9%, Jennie Corner, BB7 UK
  • First housemate to compete in two different countries: Sava Radovic, BB4 Germany -2003- & VB1 Serbia
  • First housemate to evict herself: Ingrid Berghmans, BBVIP2 Belgium

Near copies of Big Brother

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

The Farm, created by the Swedish producer house Strix. This is the fourth biggest 'people-living-together' reality show on Earth, only exceeded by Star Academy / Operación Triunfo (France/Spain, 2001, Endemol) broadcast in 52 countries; Survivor (Sweden, 1997, Strix), shown in 65 countries and Big Brother (The Netherlands, 1999, Endemol) emitted or planned to be emitted in 73.

• Countries: Algeria, Bahrein, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, UK and Yemen.

The Bar, another format from Strix.

• Countries: Argentina, Cambodia -planned-, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland

Protagonistas..., a format from the Spanish producer house GloboMedia, developed by its subsidiary in America, Promofilm. It's a mixture among Big Brother and Star Academy and has had a huge success in different latin countries, as Chile, Brazil (formerly known as Casa dos Artistas), Venezuela, Colombia or Mexico. It also had its own version in Spain and in USA, for the Latin market, airing on Telemundo.

There are also some local formats that in one or other way are pretty similar with Endemol's Big Brother:

• Albania, Kafazi i Arte; Syri Magjik; To Sam Ja
• Austria, Taxi Orange
• Bolivia, Uno Busca
• Bosnia, 60 Sati; To Sam Ja
• Canada, Occupation Double
• Chile, La Casa
• Croatia, To Sam Ja
• Czech Republic VyVolení
• France, Les Colocataires; Nice People
• Germany, Girls Camp; Der Container Exklusiv
• Hungary, Való Világ
• Indonesia, Penghuni Terakhir
• Iraq, Bait Beut
• Ireland, Cabin Fever
• Israel, Project Y; The Yacht
• Korea, Twenty Eyes
• Latvia, Fabrika; Barbarossa
• Macedonia, Toa sum jas
• Netherlands, De Bus; 7 Plagen ; De Gouden Kooi
• Norway, Singel 24-7
• Peru, La Casa De Gisela; Gran Hermano De Chollywood
• Poland, Dwa Światy, Amazonki, Gladiatorzy, Łysi i blondynki
• Puerto Rico, 360 Estudio
• Russia, 12 Negrityat; Dom; Golod; Za Steklom
• Serbia and Montenegro, To Sam Ja; Cirkus Voajer
• Slovakia, VyVolení ;
• Slovenia To Sam Ja
• Spain, El Bus; Hotel Glam; La Casa De Tu Vida
• Turkey, Biri Bizi Gözetliyor
• UK, Back To Reality
• USA, Unan1mous
• Ukraine, Dom