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'Big Cheese' Producer Reflects On Series-3 Contestants

Phil Edgar-Jones, a 'big cheese' at TV company Endemol, has given an insight into why his team chose the final Big Brother 3 housemates.

Reflecting on the contestant group, which was initially greeted with something of a lukewarm reception by fans, Phil said, "We went to great lengths to ensure that Big Brother 3 was radically different to the previous year's show. There would be no point putting people in the House who were carbon copies of BB2's Brian or Dean".

Even when two contestants, Sunita and Sandy, dramatically quit the show, Phil was confident that his team had chosen the right bunch of people and had picked a 'Fresh and diverse group of applicants'.

"The beauty of this show is that we never know what's going to happen", said the Executive Producer, defending the two walkouts and inferring that the incidents actually contributed to the success of the show.

But what made his team choose this year's bunch of wannabes? Here's what Phil had to say on each one:

JADE - "When we first met Jade we thought, 'Oh my god! Is she for real?' However, when you really get to know her she is a lovely girl. She had certainly been through a lot in her life before applying for the show, but underneath it all she has a heart of gold and that is what endeared her to us."

ADELE - "When she started rapping in her audition video it almost put us off at first - Big Brother is not a showcase for 'would-be rappers'. But, there was something about Adele that made us want to meet her. She'd had a very interesting life and we knew that her bisexuality would make her interesting to the group."

SOPHIE - "Sophie didn't make the 'final twelve' for the show, but she was on the short-list in case anyone needed replacing, which is what happened in the end. As a standby contestant, we chose her because it's always difficult to come into the show late and you need the right character to deal with that. We thought she'd do well because we perceived that she was robust, strong and able to cope with tough situations."

TIM - "Tim was like Sophie in that he was a strong character and we knew that if we had to put him in the house later-on, he would cope okay. He was a very confident chap, almost bordering on arrogant; I'm sure he would admit that himself. We liked him because he was so completely different to any of the other blokes in there... he was posh!"

KATE - "Hands up over this one! We liked Kate straight away because basically she was a very sexy girl. We knew she was just the type of girl who would not only be popular with the male housemates, but also with the viewers. She was attractive, but also had a very nice personality and a great sense of fun."

PJ - "He was one of the interesting housemates because he showed another side to himself in the house, that we hadn't seen at interview. Because PJ was a trainee solicitor we thought he'd be a very solid, sensible person - we predicted that he would be 'the quiet one', but he turned out to be a real lad."

SPENCER - "Spencer was very enigmatic. We knew he'd give everyone a run for their money in the house because he's just an overgrown kid at heart. If you watched him closely, you'd have seen that he was just like a petulant child - always challenging Big Brother's rules and pushing things to the limit. But, behind that cool facade he was a very gentle bloke and he made us laugh throughout the interview."

JONNY - "Jonny was actually one of the last people we met at the auditions and I really liked him because he had a real sense of fun. His character started to come across once the divide had gone up. He is a real hero - a fireman - and he saves lives. He also has a big heart."

ALEX - "We took to Alex straight away because he was hilarious. He made us laugh all the way through the interview and we knew that he'd be just what the house needed. He was well-travelled and had seen-and-done a lot even though he was relatively young. He was a very sensitive person and very funny."

LYNNE - "We really liked her and felt sorry when she went, the first person to be booted out. Lynne was great and had a lovely sense of mischief in her. She was a mature student who'd not only done a lot in her life, but had an interesting edge to her. I didn't think she'd go so quickly."

SANDY - "He genuinely surprised me when he walked. We told him that he could leave by the back door, but I guess he wanted to make his exit more dramatic and so climbed over the wall. Sandy was quite a complex character - he'd been in the army and ended-up as a personal shopper at Selfridges. He had an engaging personality and we thought he'd last."

SUNITA - "There were two sides to Sunita - one was a party-loving funky young girl and the other was a serious barrister. Sadly, only one side of Sunita came out whilst in the house. She'd been warned in the 'Talk of Doom' that being on the show could affect her career, but when the call came to join Big Brother, the temptation was too great. In the end she was desperate to get out and was in tears."

LEE - "Despite what we've said in the past about being turned off by people stripping in their audition videos, Lee was proof that you can go bare and still get on Big Brother. I liked him a lot. He charmed us during the interview with his cheeky smile and I guess he'll be remembered for his peculiar attitude towards faithfulness."

ALISON - "We took to her the moment she arrived for interview. In fact, we were still smiling long after she'd left us! She can eat for England - we met her at 11 in the morning and by then she'd already eaten beef and black bean sauce. Then, during our chat, she munched her way through a bag of chips and two bananas! Alison left a lasting impression on us."

So, hopefully that gives you more of an idea of why the 'chosen ones' were actually chosen? If you're one of the many thousands of would-be contestants looking for your chance to meet and impress Phil next year, don't forget that you only have a matter of weeks left to apply for Big Brother 4.

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