Big Brother 4 (UK)

Big Brother

◄ ►  Series 4 (2003)

Housemates Name Entered Exited       Cameron Day 1 Day 64 Ray Day 1  Day 64    Scott Day 1  Day 64    Steph Day 1  Day 64    Nush Day 1  Day 57    Lisa Day 37  Day 50    Gos Day 1  Day 44    Tania Day 1  Day 36    Jon Day 1 Day 50  Day 29 Day 64    Federico Day 1  Day 29    Sissy Day 1  Day 22    Justine Day 1  Day 15    Anouska Day 1  Day 8    Winner Runner-up Evicted

Big Brother 2003, also known as Big Brother 4, was the fourth series of the British reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The series premiered on Channel 4 on May 23, 2003 and lasted nine weeks until the live finale on July 25, 2003. Big Brother 4 had more than 10,000 applications for the season, for which 2,700 were selected to officially audition for the show.Big Brother 4 averaged a total of 4.6 million viewers throughout the course of the series, a dramatic decrease from the previous edition. Despite relatively successful viewing figures, however, Big Brother 4 is often noted as the most "boring" Big Brother season, with this season being mocked during the finale of Ultimate Big Brother in 2010. The Housemates selected this season were seen as the main reason for the negative reception, resulting in Big Brother 5 featuring a more controversial group of Housemates.

The premise of the series remained largely unchanged from the previous installment in the series. The series revolves around ten strangers living in a house together with no communication with the outside world. They are filmed constantly during their time in the house, and can have no communication with those filming them. Each week, each contestant, referred to as "Housemates", choose two people to be up for nomination. The two or more people with the most votes will be nominated to leave the house. The viewers then decide which of the nominees should leave, with the selected person leaving during a live show. This process continued until only four Housemates remained, in which the viewers would decide which of the Housemates would win the £70,000 grand prize. A housemate can be ejected from the show for breaking rules, such as discussing nominations when not permitted. This season featured a total of 13 Housemates, the second highest amount at the time. The series ended after 64 days, in which housemate Cameron Stout was crowned the winner.

Housemates from Big Brother 4 have failed to make many appearances in the series since their evictions, however, some events have occurred. Housemate Anouska was a participant in the 2004 spin-off series Big Brother Panto, along with Housemates from the first five seasons. Housemate Federico later appeared in Big Brother 10, participating in a task celebrating ten years of the series. Housemate Lisa made an appearance in Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, participating in a task inspired by Lisa herself. None of the Housemates from Big Brother 4 returned to participate in Ultimate Big Brother as Housemates.

Production

Broadcasts

The series premiered on May 23, 2003, on Channel 4. The contestants were recorded 24 hours a day with cameras fixed around the house, and had to wear portable microphones. Big Brother 4 was the second of the main series to feature a live launch. The launch night saw Davina give a house tour, as well as discuss rumors that had been going on about the series. She then introduced the new Housemates, and they entered the house live. Channel 4 broadcasted a daily highlights show, and from the first week there was a live eviction show hosted by Davina McCall, where the evicted housemate was interviewed. In the nightly highlight episodes, viewers are shown various highlights of a specific day in the house. Big Brother 4 saw the return of the psychiatrists providing commentary on events in the game, with the episodes featuring them being the highlights show after the most recent eviction. The live eviction episode was held on Friday, with a pre-eviction episode and an official eviction episode being held with a 60 minute gap between them. The season ended on July 25, 2003, lasting for a total of 64 days. The Saturday Night Live spin-off series, first introduced the previous year, saw Housemates competing in live tasks. It would last until midway through Big Brother 5, when it was axed due to poor ratings. Though not introduced this season, the Big Brother's Little Brother spin-off continued throughout this season, giving the show it's third season. Following this season, the special What the Housemates Did Next aired, and would later air after every season until Big Brother 9.

Prizes

The thirteen Housemates in the game are competing for the grand prize of £70,000. Each week, the Housemates attempted to complete various tasks assigned by Big Brother in exchange for a weekly budget, which they used to buy food and luxuries; this included buying things such as alcohol and cigarettes.

House

Big Brother 3 saw the series move to a different location, as Newham London Borough Council ordered the complex to be returned to a natural habitat after planning permissions expired in 2002 for the former house. The Big Brother house has been located at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire since Big Brother 3 onward. The house this season featured a completely new look compared to the previous season. The living room for this season is one-third smaller than the one featured in the previous season, and features red and green couches and chairs. Host Davina McCall described the living room as having "softer colors" in it. The kitchen remained simple, with only necessities such as an oven, fridge, and sink. A table by the kitchen is yellow and white, and can be used for Housemates to socialize at. The Diary Room, where Housemates can share their private thoughts, features a soft pink background, with a large blue chair. This season does not include the Big Brother logo in the background like the past two seasons. Like the previous editions, there are two bedrooms this season, with the two being located beside one another for the first time. Like the last few seasons, the men and women chose to sleep in separate bedrooms, though this was not required by the rules. Big Brother 4 saw the return of chickens in the backyard, which was also a feature used in the first two seasons. The chickens are used as a source to get eggs, thus Housemates are not required to buy eggs as part of their shopping list. The house also features a garden, which the housemates use to grow plants and vegetables to eat. This season also featured a much larger seating area in the garden, which Davina described as being very "posh."

Format

Big Brother is a game show in which a group of contestants, called housemates, live in isolation from the outside world in a custom built "house", which includes everyday facilities such as a fully equipped kitchen, garden, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. The house is also a television studio with cameras and microphones in most of the rooms to record the activities of the housemates. The only place where housemates can escape the company of the other contestants is the Diary Room, where they are encouraged to voice their true feelings. Not all Diary Room footage is broadcast due to the privacy of the contestants. Each week all housemates nominate two of their fellow contestants for potential eviction. Failure to do so may result in a punishment, such as a reduction in the prize fund. The two, or more, housemates with the highest number of nominations face a public vote conducted by phone, with the contestant receiving the most votes being evicted from the house. The last contestant remaining in the house is declared the winner and is awarded a cash prize of £70,000. On eviction night, there were two live eviction shows held. In the first, host Davina McCall would reveal to the housemates who had been evicted from the house, though the percentages were withheld from the group. Following the announcement, the evicted housemate had two hours to back their belongings and prepare to leave the house. At the start of the second episode, McCall would inform the evicted housemate that they had only moments to walk out the door. Upon exiting through the house's front door, McCall led the evictee into a studio where they met with their family and friends. While in the studio, McCall had an interview with the evicted housemate, and showed their best bits - a video compilation of their time in the house.

Over the duration of the series, the Housemates are given a series of tasks by Big Brother which test them in many ways. They are also put to the test by their own ideals, prejudices and opinions against other people from different walks of life; something that has survived from the original "social experiment" of Big Brother 1. They live in the communal House and share cooking and cleaning chores among themselves, which usually provides plenty of tension. Housemates are forbidden to sleep during daylight hours (unless unwell) - Big Brother plays the wake-up call persistently in the morning if housemates do not wake up and will play an alarm clock noise into the house if a housemate falls asleep during the day. Housemates must also live by the fundamental rules of Big Brother; if the rules are broken it can result in formal warnings, various punishments or even a housemate's removal from the House. They must wash their own clothes by hand, and they have to make their own bread from scratch. Each week Big Brother sets the Housemates a task in order to determine the shopping budget for the following week. They must work together to win the tasks in order to win a luxury shopping budget which changed based on the amount of people remaining in the house. If all food runs out in the House, Big Brother provides emergency rations of chickpeas and rice. Housemates are responsible for their own shopping and decide which items the budget will allow them to have. Only a small percentage of the overall budget can be spent on alcohol. Each night, the housemates were also given a discussion topic, and they would have group discussions in the living room.

Much like the previous two editions, a twist was featured on the launch night in an attempt to keep the series interesting. In Big Brother 4, Housemates had to nominate one Housemate for eviction on the first night, and any Housemates who received even one nomination was automatically against the public vote. In total, four Housemates were nominated for eviction, with the first eviction occurring one week later. One housemate, Cameron Stout, accepted a challenge from Big Brother and discovered it meant spending a week in the Big Brother Africa house. Housemate Gaetano spent time in the Big Brother 4 house while Cameron was in Africa.Big Brother 4 was also the first season to feature a Double Eviction, with two out of three nominated Housemtes being evicted on Day 29. On Day 37, an intruder, Lisa, later entered the game. This season was also the first to allow previously evicted Housemates to return, with Housemate Jon entering the house for a second time on Day 50. He remained in the house until the finale, but was unable to win the series.

Housemates

Main article: List of Big Brother 4 housemates (UK)

Name	Age on entry	Hometown
Anouska Golebiewski	20	Greater Manchester
Cameron Stout	32	Stromness, Orkney
Federico Martone	23	Glasgow
Herjender "Gos" Gosal	31	London
Jonathan "Jon" Tickle	29	Staines
Justine Sellman	27	Leeds
Lisa Jeynes	35	South Wales
Annuszka "Nush" Nowak	23	Worcestershire
Ray Shah	25	Dublin
Scott Turner	27	Liverpool
Joanne "Sissy" Rooney	26	Toxteth
Stephanie "Steph" Coldicott	27	Redditch
Tânia do Nascimento	22	London

Summary

On Day 1, Anouska, Cameron, Federico, Gos, Jon, Justine, Nush, Ray, Scott, Sissy, Steph and Tânia all entered the house. That same night, they learned that they would each be required to nominate one Housemate for eviction. If a Housemate received even one vote, they were automatically nominated for the public vote; Anouska, Federico, Jon, and Scott were all nominated for eviction. Anouska received the most nominations with six total, while Jon received four and Federico and Scott received one each. On Day 3, housemates began their first weekly task; powering a pedalo non-stop for 72 hours. The housemates failed the task. Anouska was evicted on Day 8.

On Day 9, housemates took part in teams in a game of tug of war; Gos, Jon, Justine, Scott and Steph were all on the green team, Cameron, Federico, Nush, Ray and Tania were all on the yellow team, and Sissy was the umpire. The green team won the challenge, meaning they gained access to the reward room. On Day 10, the housemates began their second weekly task; a chance to become honorary members of the Cub Scouts. The housemates failed the task. Justine was evicted on Day 15.

On Day 16, housemates took part in a game of pass the parcel. Cameron, Federico, Gos, Jon, Nuch, Tania and Scott all won access to the reward room. On Day 17, housemates were set their third weekly task; housemates had to memorise and perform a musical tune on a set of handbells. The housemates failed the task. Sissy was evicted on Day 22.

On Day 23, housemates took part in a game of charades. Cameron, Federico, Jon, Nush, Ray, Steph and Tania all won access to the reward room. On Day 24, housemates began their fourth weekly task; creating superhero alter egos and performing tasks within their chosen alter ego. The housemates passed the task. Federico and Jon were both evicted on Day 29, in a double eviction.

Gaetano entered the House, as a guest, on Day 32. On Day 30, housemates took part in a geography quiz. As Cameron was the winner of the quiz, he had to pick five of the remaining six housemates to join him in the reward room; he chose Gos, Ray, Scott, Steph and Tania. On Day 31, Cameron travelled to the Big Brother House in South Africa; he returned to the Big Brother UK House on Day 36. On Day 33, housemates began their fifth weekly task; memorising facts about each other. The housemates passed the task. Gaetano left the House on Day 35. Tania was evicted on Day 36. Lisa entered the House on Day 37.

On Day 37, housemates each drew straws in order to determine who entered the reward room. All housemates eventually drew long straws, meaning they all entered the reward room. On Day 38, housemates were set the sixth weekly task; a gymkhana. The housemates passed the task. Gos was evicted on Day 44. On Day 50, Jon was chosen by the public to re-enter the House as a guest.

On Day 45, housemates chose a robot animal to represent them in a race. Ray won the challenge, this meant he became the Head of House. Cameron lost the challenge, this meant he was the only housemate not permitted to enter the reward room for the entire week. On Day 46, Ray was the only housemate permitted to nominate. On Day 48, Ray had to gamble money from the shopping budget on the spin of a roulette wheel. Ray won the group a shopping budget of £2. Lisa was evicted on Day 50.

On Day 51, housemates took part in a game of bingo. As the winner of the task, Ray chose Cameron to join him in the reward room. On Day 52, housemates took part in another game of bingo. As the winner of the task, Scott chose Nush to join him in the reward room. On Day 54, housemates were set the eighth weekly task; housemates had to write and perform six songs based on their experiences in the House. The housemates passed the task. Nush was evicted on Day 57.

On Day 58, housemates had five minutes to find five needle in a hay stack that Big Brother had placed in the garden. Housemates found two needles in hay stack, this meant they gained two nights in the reward room. On Day 59, the group were set their final weekly task; housemates were given various topics which they had to discuss with Big Brother for a minimum of ten minutes. The group failed the task. Steph and Scott both left the house separately as evictees (4th and 3rd place) on Day 64. Ray was the runner up and Cameron was the winner. Both also left on Day 64.

Nominations table

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Final Week 9		Nominations received
Cameron	Anouska	Jon, Tania	Jon, Federico	Jon, Federico	Tania, Nush	Nush, Ray	Not eligible	Nush, Ray	Winner (Day 64)		11
Ray	Jon	Jon, Justine	Jon, Cameron	Jon, Cameron	Tania, Steph	Nush, Gos	Cameron, Lisa, Steph	Nush, Cameron	Runner-up (Day 64)		11
Scott	Anouska	Steph, Jon	Steph, Jon	Jon, Cameron	Steph, Tania	Gos, Steph	Not eligible	Steph, Cameron	Third place (Day 64)		7
Steph	Federico	Scott, Federico	Jon, Sissy	Federico, Ray	Ray, Nush	Ray, Nush	Not eligible	Scott, Nush	Fourth place (Day 64)		11
Nush	Scott	Ray, Jon	Jon, Federico	Federico, Jon	Gos, Steph	Steph, Gos	Not eligible	Steph, Cameron	Evicted (Day 57)		11
Lisa	Not in house					Exempt	Not eligible	Evicted (Day 50)			1
Gos	Anouska	Justine, Jon	Federico, Sissy	Federico, Scott	Ray, Nush	Ray, Nush	Evicted (Day 44)				5
Tania	Jon	Cameron, Sissy	Jon, Sissy	Cameron, Jon	Gos, Scott	Evicted (Day 36)					6
Jon	Anouska	Justine, Federico	Sissy, Nush	Federico, Ray	Evicted (Day 29)			Guest (Day 50-64)			21
Federico	Jon	Justine, Tania	Cameron, Steph	Tania, Cameron	Evicted (Day 29)						12
Sissy	Anouska	Ray, Scott	Scott, Federico	Evicted (Day 22)							5
Justine	Anouska	Jon, Ray	Evicted (Day 15)								4
Anouska	Jon	Evicted (Day 8)									6
Nomination note		none
Against public vote	Anouska, Federico, Jon, Scott	Jon, Justine	Federico, Jon, Sissy	Cameron, Federico, Jon	Nush, Steph, Tania	Gos, Nush, Ray	Cameron, Lisa, Steph	Cameron, Nush	Cameron, Ray, Scott, Steph
Evicted	Anouska 46% to evict	Justine 57% to evict	Sissy 45% to evict	Federico 40% (out of 3) to evict	Tania 72% to evict	Gos 46% to evict	Lisa 82% to evict	Nush 67% to evict	Steph 7% (out of 4)	Scott 27% (out of 3)
				Jon 37% (out of 2) to evict			Jon 62% to return		Ray 43% (out of 2)	Cameron 57% to win

Channel 4 official site voting history

Notes

• ^1 All housemates had to nominate one fellow housemate on Day 1, only a short while after they had entered the house. Every housemate who received a nomination faced eviction
• ^2 In Week 4, there was a double eviction.
• ^3 Cameron made his nominations from the Big Brother House in South Africa over the phone to Gaetano. Even though he was allowed to nominate, nobody could nominate him
• ^4 As Lisa had only entered the house a couple of days earlier, she was exempt from nominations. As Cameron had only recently returned to the house from South Africa, he was allowed to nominate, but not be nominated. On Day 43, the night the eviction was supposed to be on, a bomb scare forced all housemates to be evacuated. The eviction, therefore, happened the next day, on Day 44 (a Saturday). When Gos was evicted, there was no crowd outside due to Health & Safety precautions
• ^5 Ray, as leader of the house in Week 7, had to choose the three housemates to face eviction. Following Lisa's eviction, voting lines opened for the public to vote for an evicted houseguest (either Justine, Sissy, Federico, Jon, Gos, or Lisa) to return to the house. As a guest in the Big Brother Australian house, Anouska was ineligible to go back, neither was Tania, who refused to return. As the chosen ex-housemate, Jon was granted re-entry into the house, but was ineligible to win
• ^6 Because Jon was a guest in the house, and was not eligible to win, he was exempt from nominations
• ^7 There were no nominations in the final week

Bomb scare

Big Brother 4 had a bomb scare on Day 43, and numerous events occurred to ensure the safety of the Housemates. That night, at 7:58, all Housemates were asked to go to the boys' bedroom until further notice, being told that there was a security alert inside the studio. The staff had already left the scene twenty minutes earlier, with the exception of the senior members of the production team watching the Housemates through the mirrors. At 8:43, police advised that the house be evacuated. Production then entered the house, and removed the Housemates from the area. They were taken to a secure area on the perimeter of the studio complex, with two chaperons and four security guards. At 9:35, presenter Marcus Bentley informed the viewers that the cameras were being shut off, and archive footage of the season was then played. At 12:49 of the following morning, a few hours after their initial departure, the Housemates were allowed to enter the house after it was confirmed to be safe. Due to the bomb scare, no audience was present for the next eviction.

Promotion controversy

To promote the series, a large 300 ft hill figure of the eye logo was painted on the top of White Horse Hill, Oxfordshire, right above the famous Uffington White Horse, believed to be around 3,000 years old. Although permission for the figure's construction was agreed to by The National Trust, the figure angered local residents. It was washed off only a few days after completion.

External links

• Big Brother - Series 4 at Channel4.com