Big Brother

The king of TV reality shows, Big Brother first hit UK screens on 14 Juy 2000. The show follows the lives of a group of people who have volunteered to spend over nine weeks in the Big Brother house, being filmed 24 hours a day, in the hope of winning a large cash prize. The contestants are free to leave at any time, but, if they do, they walk away empty-handed. At regular intervals contestants nominate two members of the group for eviction, with viewers making the final decision as to who is to leave.

The show - based on a Dutch programme first shown in 1999 on the Veronica TV channel - was an immediate hit in the UK.