Celebrity Big Brother 2006, also known as Celebrity Big Brother 4, is the fourth series of the British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother. It was hosted by Davina McCall and was broadcast on Channel 4 from 5 January 2006 until 27 January 2006, running for three weeks.

Eleven housemates entered the house on Launch Night, but only ten of them were being paid for their appearance. Chantelle Houghton, who was the first to enter the house, had actually auditioned for the sixth regular series the previous summer but was instead selected to enter the celebrity series. Her secret mission was to pretend she was a member of girl band Kandy Floss, and to convince the others that she was a genuine celebrity in order to remain in the house.

Controversies emerged during the run of the series, such as the participation of a sitting Member of Parliament (expelled Labour MP George Galloway, then-MP for Bethnal Green and Bow for Respect). Eighties pop star Pete Burns included a coat allegedly made from gorilla fur among his possessions; the coat was removed from the house on Day 16, following complaints from viewers and housemates. It was later discovered the coat was made from colobus monkey. No charges were brought forward as it was believed the coat was imported before colobus fur became illegal in 1975.

By the time of the series finale, six housemates remained in the house. This was a first in Big Brother UK history and the next regular series, Big Brother 7, also adopted this format. Houghton was voted the winner on Finale night and was awarded £25,000 for her victory. She was also crowned the first female winner of this series and Celebrity Big Brother.

Chantelle and fourth place finalist Preston took part in Ultimate Big Brother in 2010 and both made it to the final, with Preston finishing in sixth place and Chantelle finishing third. Jodie Marsh also returned to the house in 2012, as part of a task during Celebrity Big Brother 9.

Production

Eye logo The eye used for the series was the same eye used for Big Brother 6 the previous summer, the only modification being a star used to replace the pupil, in keeping with the celebrity theme.

Broadcasts Davina McCall once again hosted the live launch, eviction shows and finale, all broadcast on Channel 4, nightly highlight shows were broadcast on Channel 4, narrated by Marcus Bentley. Big Brother's Little Brother was moved to an early morning time slot on Channel 4, but kept its Sunday lunchtime slot as per each series, Dermot O'Leary remained as host.

On E4, live coverage once again dominated its daily and nightly schedule, this was the first series to be broadcast since E4 Music became part of the daytime schedule rather than an intermission, E4 Music was rested throughout Celebrity Big Brother 4's run. Diary Room Uncut and Nominations Uncut also returned on E4, this would be Nominations Uncut's final series. Russell Brand also returned as host of Big Brother's Big Mouth which for the first time had been moved to a late night slot, being broadcast on E4, straight after the Channel 4 highlights show, this would remain its regular time slot until Ultimate Big Brother in 2010, where Big Brother's Big Mouth was retired.

Sponsor Carphone Warehouse were this year's sponsors.

Prize money Chantelle Houghton was not being paid for her participation, however as she won the show, she was awarded £25,000.

House The house remained largely unchanged since the previous summer. The only modifications made were mainly in the garden. With the grass being replaced by AstroTurf, the swimming pool becoming an indoor swimming pool and the outdoor showers being removed. In the bedroom, a private shower was placed beside the toilet. Unlike the previous celebrity series where there was a camera in the shower, this year returned to having no camera in the shower for the celebrity series.

Housemates Celebrity Age on entry Notability Day entered Day exited Result Chantelle Houghton 22 Non-celebrity 1 23 Michael Barrymore 53 Comedian and presenter 1 23 Maggot 29 Rapper 1 23 Preston 23 Singer 1 23 Pete Burns 46 Singer 1 23 Traci Bingham 37 Actress and model 1 23 Dennis Rodman 44 Basketball player 1 21 George Galloway 51 Politician and journalist 1 21 Rula Lenska 58 Actress 1 16 Faria Alam 39 Former football secretary 1 14 Jodie Marsh 27 Glamour model 1 9

Chantelle Houghton Chantelle Houghton (born 21 August 1983, Wickford, England) was a non-celebrity housemate. Prior to entering, she worked in promotions and as a Paris Hilton lookalike. She had auditioned for Big Brother 6, but was instead chosen for the Celebrity series. Houghton was the first housemate to enter on Day 1 and was immediately told her secret mission: to pretend she was a real celebrity in a girl group called Kandy Floss. She managed to fool her housemates into believing this after they ranked her the ninth most famous housemate in a task on Day 4. She was crowned the winner in the series final, receiving 56.4% of the final vote. Houghton married fellow housemate Preston just months after the show, but they divorced ten months later. She also released an autobiography. In 2010, she appeared as a contestant in Ultimate Big Brother and finished third. She has spent a total of 41 days in the Big Brother House; 23 days for Celebrity Big Brother 4 and 18 days for Ultimate Big Brother.

Dennis Rodman Dennis Rodman (born 13 May 1961, Trenton, New Jersey, USA) is a retired American professional National Basketball Association player of the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. He was evicted on Day 21 with 23.5% of the vote. He exited the house smoking a cigar and wearing sunglasses and a cap which he refused to remove during the interview angering Davina McCall. He gave a confusing interview not answering direct questions which he also did for Dermot O'Leary whilst making a rude gesture, this caused him to be banned from the reunion. The following summer he appeared as a house guest on Love Island.

Faria Alam Faria Alam (born 13 February 1966, Dhaka, Bangladesh) is a former Football Association secretary who, in 2004 had affairs with the then England football team manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson and FA chief executive Mark Palios, leading to Palios's resignation. She was booed on her way into the house and during her time there, she seemed to have an attraction to Dennis Rodman. Despite telling Big Brother in the Diary Room that she wanted to nominate herself for the second eviction, she was upset that her housemates nominated her and claimed that she would be evicted as the public would not allow a black or an Asian to win. She was evicted on Day 14 with 45% of the vote. During her interview, Davina jokingly asked her if she thought Sven might have voted to evict her. Despite her unpopularity with Big Brother fans she appeared on Big Brother's Little Brother and Big Brother's Big Mouth to positive receptions during Big Brother 7. She had exclusively spoken to Sky News in January 2007 about the Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy.

George Galloway

George Galloway (born 16 August 1954, Dundee, Scotland) is a politician and first became a member of parliament in 1987. During his time in CBB4, he was the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow. He was booed on his entrance into the house. His participation in the show caused controversy, partially due to him being a sitting MP at the time of his entry into Big Brother - although, as the only MP of his party in the House of Commons, he did not take a whip. He consistently put a great deal of effort into the tasks assigned in the show, which included an incident, often re-shown, in which he pretended to be Rula Lenska's pet cat. Another task involving Galloway wearing a leotard also led to public derision by the British media. Galloway broadly aligned himself with Dennis Rodman and Pete Burns throughout the show. He referred to Jodie Marsh as a "wicked person" after she had an argument with Michael Barrymore, however he himself later had a heated altercation with Barrymore. He attacked Preston and Chantelle for their relationship, and though initially friendly with Rula Lenska, incurred her hostility upon the broadcast of his correspondence with Big Brother to the other housemates. Galloway said he was shocked at the lack of interest in politics from the younger housemates – particularly Chantelle, who referred to the House of Commons as "the place with the green seats" – he also said that he would be most famous housemate worldwide as he is known to every Muslim. On Day 17 the housemates decided that he could not nominate for continuous rule breaking. He was evicted on Day 21 with 65% of the vote. He presented Big Brother's Big Mouth in the first week of Big Brother 8, during the time that Emily was removed for saying the n-word.

Jodie Marsh Jodie Marsh (born 23 December 1978, Brentwood) is an English glamour model and reality television personality. Before entering the house, she said she would hate to be locked up with Peter Andre, because she 'hates his missus' (Katie Price). She appeared to have no time for Faria Alam on launch night, as she did not believe Faria was a deserving celebrity. Jodie was by far the most unpopular with her fellow housemates, she was involved in a series of arguments with George Galloway, Michael Barrymore and Pete Burns, she received eight nominations on Day 5, and was evicted on Day 9 with 42% of the vote. She cried during her interview with Davina, whilst she reflected on her time in the house. Jodie claimed on finale night that she would not be appearing on any more reality shows, however she has since appeared on her own reality show, Totally Jodie Marsh, and even had the wedding of her short-lived marriage broadcast on MTV. She has since regularly appeared on Big Brother's Little Brother and Big Brother's Big Mouth. She and Chantelle did not continue their friendship once they left the house. She also appeared in 2012 as judge for a body building task.

Maggot Maggot (born Andrew Major, Wales) is a Welsh rapper from the band Goldie Lookin' Chain, he finished in third place on the finale, receiving 23.5% of the vote. When he entered the house it was reported that he was 24, however he stated on Richard & Judy in early 2006 that he was actually 29.

Michael Barrymore Michael Barrymore (born Michael Ciaran Parker 4 May 1952, Bermondsey, London, England) is an English comedian. This was seen by many as his comeback since the body of Stuart Lubbock was found dead in his swimming pool on 31 March 2001. He was initially the bookies' favourite to win, but lost support due to his arguments with Jodie Marsh, however he won back many fans after his row with George Galloway. He finished in second place on finale, receiving 43.6% of the final vote.

Pete Burns