BB8 FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)                                      Home

Before you e-mail us, please read through the questions below: (Updated mid-May 2007)

1. January's CBB5 series was highly controversial and I heard talk about the format being cancelled. So, will there be any more more series of Big Brother in the UK?

Yes, definitely.

Big Brother has been the summer's big 'hit' TV show for the past for seven years, and the viewing figures for Big Brother 7 last year were great. Therefore, Big Brother 8 – set to take place within a matter of days now – will definitely go ahead.

We've been saying for a long time that as long as the public still want to watch Big Brother, there's no reason to cancel it. Indeed, we suggested that the show could run for 10 series/ years, and perhaps even longer?

Well, Channel 4 obviously agree with us, as the show was re-commissioned late last year for an extended period. Please see this story from December 2006 for more details

Whether there'll be any more short-format Celebrity versions of the show or not, is debatable. It's entirely possible that C4 will lay-off those for a year or two, so there may not be another series featuring celebrities for a while. We'll just have to wait and see.

2. Okay, so can you please let me know when Big Brother 8 will end, as I'm planning my family Holiday around it?

Blimey, you are a Big Brother fan!

Actually, we get lots of enquiries like this, as people hate to watch a series for a couple of months and then miss the Finale because they booked their holiday a week too 'early'.

We can now confirm that Big Brother 8 is set to run for 13 weeks – the same as last year. So, the series hasn't been shortened after all, exactly as we speculated on this very page some time ago.

The new series will therefore end on Friday the 31st of August 2007. Please see the relevant article in our Latest News section for the start date.

3. It's now May of 2007; can I still apply to be on Big Brother 8 this summer?

No, absolutely NOT.

Sorry but you've missed all the auditions, which took place between Saturday the 6th of January and Sunday the 11th of February 2007. There were thirteen auditions in total, however there was no 'Casting Coach' this time around, which visited the more remote locations around the UK last year.

In case you were wondering, the auditions were a lot earlier for BB8, as they usually take place in February and March, after Celebrity Big Brother has ended.

If you'd like to read about the BB8 application/ audition process in order to prepare yourself for next year, please see this article from our News section, dated 4/1/07. This article, which is all about applying for Big Brother 8, also contains a dedicated page full of audition-specific 'Frequently Asked Questions'. Here, we give some idea of how long people who did well at auditions would need to wait before hearing back from the producers.

FYI, applications for next year's show – Big Brother 9 in 2008 – will take place in the new year (i.e. January 2008). Please DO NOT e-mail us and ask how to apply for BB9 yet, as there's a good seven months to go until you'll be able to do-so.

4. I couldn't make it to an audition because I was working/ sick/ looking after my family etc. I'm desperate to be on BB8, so will the Producers pleeeeease give me a chance to apply/ audition late?

No chance.

Sorry, but not only were there thirteen auditions, spread-out over a 5-week period and taking place at seven different locations, fans also had an opportunity to send-in a video application this year. Indeed, such applications remained open until late February 2007, two weeks after the final audition.

Try again next year perhaps?

5. Hmm... what about if I send some sexy/ naked pictures of myself in?

LOL. You're welcome to send 'em in, but it won't make any difference to your chances! The final contestants have now been chosen and are currently in hiding, in anticipation of the show starting.

The only thing you can hope-for at this stage, is for Channel 4 to implement some kind of competition for fans to get on the show, as they did last year. If you recall, special KitKat bars went on sale in May 2006 – some containing Golden Tickets – which helped Suzie Verrico win a place on Big Brother 7.

It's unlikely that they'll repeat the same stunt again though, but we'll be sure to let you know in our Latest News section if they do.

6. I came to an audition for Big Brother 8, but I'm annoyed at the way I was treated. The producers ignored me/ overlooked me/ only paid attention to the loud-mouths and show-offs/ asked me stupid questions/ seemed very pretentious/ were ridiculously young etc.

STOP! To be frank, there's only one response to this type of e-mail, and that's to re-iterate that you weren't successful, so get over it! Harsh, but true.

Please bear in mind that, as detailed in our dedicated Audition FAQ's, no-one gave any guarantees that you'd be selected, called back or even noticed by the producers. Our advice is to just be philosophical about it and look forward to watching the show this summer. It's their loss, so try again next time maybe?

Writing-in to say that the show will be completely rubbish now that you're not on it, is somewhat ridiculous and rather pathetic to be frank. This kind of thing will likely just make us laugh out loud at your desperation!

7. Just remind me: who won the last series of Big Brother?

Notwithstanding January's CBB5 which was won by Shilpa Shetty, the last (13-week) series – Big Brother 7 – began on the 18th of May 2006 and ended on Friday the 18th of August, when Pete Bennett was crowned the Winner. The Tourettes sufferer beat 21 other contestants including student Glyn Wise, who came second.

FYI, the 6th series of the show, which ran for 11 weeks (previous series were 9 and 10 weeks long), began on the 27th of May 2005 and ended on the 12th of August.

There were a total of 16 housemates during that series and disco-dancing Geordie Anthony Hutton was the eventual Winner of BB6, beating certified geek Eugene Sully to the remainder of the prize money.

We've been meaning to properly archive our stories from all the previous series for a while now, and also publish a chart detailing everyone who's ever taken part in the show. Hopefully, we'll have this done by the time BB8 starts.

8. Was there a DVD release of Big Brother series 5, 6 and 7? What about Celebrity Big Brother?

No, there wasn't a DVD for BB5, 6 or 7 (notwithstanding the very limited one covering Big Brother 6 that comes with Paul Flynn's book, 'Big Brother Access All Areas')

The first four series of the show had an Official DVD and Video released, but there wasn't one for the last few series, and there isn't going to be one. That's a shame, as there was definitely a demand for it.

Part of the reason for Channel 4's decision not to release anything recently can be put down to Big Brother 4 (aka 'the series we don't talk about'). Basically, it was rubbish and as a consequence the DVDs and videos didn't sell very well. And when it came to Big Brother 5, all the controversy surrounding the infamous 'fight night' – which took the show off-air for a while – quashed any notion that a DVD might get released that year.

You should never say never though, and we reckon that if enough people wanted and pre-ordered a DVD for series 8, one could be produced. On that note, Channel 4 could release an Official DVD this summer covering BB8, and include a bonus disc containing highlights of Big Brothers 5, 6 and 7.

A DVD covering any of the 'Celebrity Big Brother' series is very unlikely to ever be produced.

FYI, we wrote this story a while ago about a freebie DVD covering Big Brother 5 (sans fight scenes!) which was produced in conjunction with The Sun newspaper. However, we have none left now so we definitely can't send you one. They come up for sale on Ebay every so often though.

9. Where can I buy an item of clothing or jewellery that I've seen a particular housemate wearing during a series? Also, where can I buy the House furniture?

Sorry, but we have no idea where the housemates shop!

Actually, some of the housemates' clothes are supplied to Channel 4 by certain companies before they enter the House. Indeed, some-such companies choose to advertise with us during Big Brother, or we attract advertisers who sell very similar products and want to tell the public about them. So, be sure to pay attention to the adverts appearing on this website when the show is on-air.

The same goes for the suppliers of furniture used both inside and outside of the Big Brother House. Again, look-out for any relevant advertising on the BBO website. In fact, during Big Brother 8 we may turn our (frankly languishing) 'Shop' section into a kind-of directory for suppliers.

Therefore, we invite all official suppliers to get in touch if they'd like to directly promote their goods/ company/ services to a substantial number of Big Brother fans next summer.

10. Will there be another series of (Teen) Big Brother featuring teenage contestants? If so, can I apply to be on it?

Almost certainly not. There's been just one series of 'Teen Big Brother' (in 2003), which lasted for ten days and was won by a young guy called Paul. At one point, we thought there might be a second series of this experimental show, however that is extremely unlikely now.

So, unless you're 18 or over when the next series of Big Brother starts, you won't be entering the Big Brother House any time soon. Sorry! Should that situation change we'll be sure to detail it in our Latest News section.

In the meantime though, please DO NOT write-in asking us how to apply, or even suggest the idea or concept of a Big Brother show featuring just teenagers, a mixture of teenagers and adults, or one with pre-teens as contestants (a similar show was made once and the kids completely wrecked the place!)

FYI, Endemol's Big Brother TV show concept remains, as always, aimed at an adult audience.

11. Can you pass a message on to one of the ex-Big Brother contestants for me, or tell me how to contact them? If not, could you send me a signed photo instead?

Nope. Sorry, but we genuinely can't help you with such queries.

The ex-housemates are often quite difficult for even the media to get hold of, sometimes because they want to slip into obscurity when the show ends. Also, some of their respective agents, who are generally allocated by Endemol as soon the housemates are evicted, can be tricky to deal-with. For that reason, we gave-up trying years ago, even though we regularly receive details of proposals which could provide the former housemates with paid work.

As an aside, if any of the BBO team were going on the show, we'd definitely try and maintain a good relationship with this website, seeing as it's the leading site dedicated to Big Brother and all that. Hey ho, the agents know best!

Anyway, please don't write and ask us to help you contact the ex-housemates, or to forward-on your business ideas/ correspondence/ marriage proposals etc. It ain't gonna happen!

12. Where is the Big Brother House located?

The current house, the second one used for BB in the UK, is built in the grounds of the world-famous Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The original house, located in Bow, London, was knocked down when programme-makers Endemol couldn't get planning permission for it to remain in use.

There's been rumours in the past that a new, third house will be built at some point, mainly because the current one causes problems for the people living in the nearby residential area (i.e. the noise, the crowds of people hanging around etc.)

However, this obviously didn't happen for series 7 and it doesn't look likely to happen for BB8 either. We'll you know in our Latest News section if we get any more news.

FYI, the current house, which cost around £500,000 to build, always receives an extensive and costly makeover for each new series.

13. I'm a huge Big Brother fan; can I come and work either full-time or part-time on the show? What about helping-out as part of my Work Experience?

It's probably not feasible to be honest, as the programme makers usually give contracts to experienced producer/ engineer/ editorial type people, not just fans of the show. However, you would need to contact Endemol with such queries, as the making of the actual show is nothing to do with us here at BBO.

14. Is it okay to e-mail you and let you know about errors on the BBO website? Can I also make some suggestions for improvements to the site?

Of course you can. It's really helpful when people write and let us know about technical problems or grammatical/ spelling errors within the site, although they're rare... or so we like to think!

With regard to suggestions about the BBO website in general, go ahead – we run this site for fans like you after all. However, to be brutally frank, after 7 series and with a busy workload all-year-round, we literally don't have time to entertain blatant criticism just for the sake of it (the sort of thing owners of some less successful websites are happy to dish out sadly).

Don't be put-off though, as we might actually get around to redesigning the site in time for Big Brother 8. So, feel free to let us know how we can improve the navigation and look etc. Of course, we can't guarantee to include your suggestions.

The FAQ section will change as we receive more of the same questions in the run-up to (and during) Big Brother 8 in the summer of 2007. Please check back every now-and-then.

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