Celebrity Big Brother Introduction

Celebrity Big Brother is now under way and it's all in aid of Comic Relief. Good of the celebrities to give it a go, however the actual choice of contestants doesn't initially seem the most inspired. Then again, the producers probably didn't have that much of a choice; the world of celebs wouldn't exactly have been forming a queue in order to give-up their time and face possible humiliation in the Big Brother house. Relatively little is known about some of the contestants, but you can bet we'll know a whole lot more about all six of the celebrity guinea pigs by the end of the week! Mad or brave, the six volunteers are:

Chris Eubank - the eccentric ex-boxer we all love to hate, but in a nice kind of way! Chris' fashion sense and (over) use of the English language are legendary.
Vanessa Feltz - famously slimmed-down ex-Chat Show host. Feisty, naturally chatty and well able to hold a serious conversation.
Jack Dee - successful 'deadpan' stand-up comedian who never smiles if he can help it. The most unlikely contestant of the bunch.
Anthea Turner - bubbly television presenter. You either love her or you hate her! Which will it be for the celebrity contestants?
Keith Duffy - Boyzone band member. Little is generally known of the Irishman’s personality. However as a fully-fledged 'pop star,' he can't be short on confidence and could entertain.
Claire Sweeney - pretty Brookside actress. Again, little is publicly known about Claire but as an actress she is used to getting on with people and is probably up for a laugh.

The six will live in the house as per the original Big Brother UK series 1 contestants. They are locked-in with no entertainment provided, will be limited on the money available for food, be continually monitored by multiple cameras/microphones (no cams in the toilet and shower) and will have to regularly nominate who they’d like to kick-out of the house. There is no live web coverage this time around.

As the show is an accelerated format and lasts only 8 days (9th-16th March,) the contestants will nominate on the first, second and fourth days. You, the public, have the final eviction vote and a contestant will leave the house on Days 2, 4 and 6. Of the remaining three, two will be evicted on the Friday of Comic Relief (16th March,) making the last one in the house the winner.

You can vote online from the Official Comic Relief Big Brother website or alternatively call the eviction phone lines. Each time you call, 15.5p will go to charity and we'll be detailing the phone numbers to call each time someone is up for eviction. So, please get involved and you'll be doing your bit for charity as well as having some fun! Click on the ‘News & Update’ link on the right-hand-side for the latest news and daily updates on the TV show.

Chris, Vanessa, Keith, Jack, Anthea and Claire. The Celebrity Big Brother Contestants await their fate at the hands of one another.