After being axed five years ago, Big Brother came back with a bang this autumn – with October’s launch night receiving the most viewers the show has had in a decade. Let’s take a look back at the show’s most memorable moments, as well as what has made it such an influential and iconic staple of British culture.
When it comes to British reality TV, Big Brother reigns supreme. From the wide variety of scandalous arguments during the show’s initial decade-long Channel 4 run to the more divisive yet subdued Channel 5 run, the show enjoyed a successful tenure and enduring fanbase from 2000 to 2018.
After it was announced last year that ITV had taken on the brand, fans were naturally overjoyed. Hit shows from Love Island to I’m a Celebrity… have adopted similar formats to Big Brother and remain widely watched. It is therefore no surprise that fans of the original show have eagerly awaited its return for some time.
Back in 2000, reality TV was still finding its footing, and Big Brother 1 helped to establish the format by having a range of entertaining people, with vastly differing opinions, be enclosed together for weeks on end. Although this format is commonplace nowadays, the early years of Big Brother were fresh, shocking and must-watch TV.
While later series would receive criticism for being overly scripted, initially Big Brother became a staple because of its raw portrayal of human interactions in such a unique, confined environment. Nick Bateman – or “Nasty Nick” – became the first of many divisive housemates during Big Brother 1.
Despite receiving zero eviction nominations, Nick’s deception was visible to the public; he cunningly made his fellow housemates go against one another. Eventually the show’s producers forced his exit, but Nick’s scheming ways remain a major part of the show’s legacy.
Big Brother 6 was perhaps the most controversy-ridden series. Kinga Karolczak shocked fans with her intimate wine bottle incident, while Makosi Musambasi’s steamy hot tub fling with fellow housemate and eventual winner Anthony Hutton caused a media storm with many outlets reporting that the show had become too explicit.
The show’s most iconic housemate has to be Nikki Grahame. Appearing on various series throughout the show’s run, it was Nikki’s charming yet turbulent ways that made the nation support her. Daily Diary Room tantrums followed Nikki’s time on the show – from being too cold, to complaining about housemates eating way too much cereal, to the everlasting ‘Who is she?’ meme; Nikki was unforgettable.
Though Channel 5’s run of the show had less noteworthy moments, there were still many iconic housemates, most of which came from Big Brother 14, with Gina Rio’s luxurious lifestyle, Jemima Slade’s gold digger pride and Dexter Koh’s calculating ways all particularly notable.
Celebrity Big Brother is also heavily rumoured to be returning in 2024, and it too has many unforgettable scenes. Iconic moments include former MP George Galloway pretending to be a cat, Kim Woodburn’s scolding remarks, as well as Tiffany Pollard hilariously mistaking the death announcement of musician David Bowie for fellow housemate David Gest.
More controversially, the racism scandal enacted by Jade Goody and other housemates towards Shilpa Shetty resulted in responses from the UK and Indian governments, as well as the show being off-air the following year. While the show’s last series, as of now, included the highly publicised ‘Punchgate moment, whereby Roxanne Pallett falsely accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of physically assaulting her. The incident sparked thousands of complaints and national outrage.
Since high school, I have been immersed in numerous areas of journalism.
Volunteering and interning at establishments focused on sports journalism, media reporting on underrepresented groups including disabled people, as well as writing monthly articles in my own time, the field of journalism has always captured my attention over the past decade.
I graduated in 2022 in English Literature MA Hons from the University of Edinburgh, and I feel as though those analytical and stylistic teachings have only aided my pursuit for a career in media writing and reporting, especially as I undertake a Masters in Digital Journalism MLitt at Strathclyde University.
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