The seventh season of the Australian reality television series, Big Brother, also known as Big Brother 2007, began on 22 April 2007. Despite a drop in ratings compared to previous seasons, and a number of controversies, the then Big Brother executive producer Kris Noble considers the year's season a success.
During the 2007 series, Nick Colquhoun served as the primary voice of Big Brother. As in the previous two seasons, Colquhoun portrayed Big Brother with a stricter and more authoritarian tone, continuing the more intimidating style that had been introduced in 2005. Throughout the season, Big Brother maintained the firm disciplinary approach established in earlier series, frequently enforcing house rules and issuing fines or punishments when housemates breached them.
At the end of this season's finale broadcast 30 July 2007, it was announced by host Gretel Killeen that Big Brother would be returning for an eighth season in 2008. although she did not return. In the finale Aleisha Cowcher was announced as the winner. She won by the closest winning margin ever in the Australian version. The news the following day reported a margin of 51% versus 49% – a difference of 65 votes. This was the last season hosted by Gretel Killeen.
Development During the sixth-season finale, a seventh season of the show was confirmed. Auditions were held throughout November and December 2006, taking place in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, and Darwin. The house this season was confirmed to have an 'eco-friendly' theme and style; It featured a pedal-powered washing machine, a rubber garden turf made from recycled car tyres and carpets made from goat hair. On 18 April 2007, after housemates were put into lockdown, it was revealed that there would be no prize money this season. The launch date of the seventh season was rumoured to be 22 April 2007. These rumours were later confirmed.
No housemates on Rove Housemates this season were not featured as guests on variety/talk show Rove. Previously housemates would appear on Rove in the days following their eviction. As of 2007 Rove aired on Sunday nights at 8:30, immediately after the Big Brother eviction show. As Rove is taped in Melbourne, Victoria it was impossible for the housemates to travel so quickly to appear on both shows (it is normally a two-to-three-hour flight from the Gold Coast to Melbourne). Even so, Rove chose not to cross to evicted contestants following the eviction shows, as Rove would not start airing immediately after Big Brother.
Format Like other seasons of the show, the series revolves around a group of strangers living in a house together with no communication with the outside world. Referred to as "housemates", the group is constantly filmed during their time in the house and are not permitted to communicate with those filming them, except with the titular "Big Brother" – an embodiment of the show's producers.
Every week, the housemates would vote who they wished to leave the house, and those with the most votes are nominated for eviction, with the Australian public voting for which nominees should be evicted, with the evictee leaving during a live show. This process continued until only one housemate remained to win the grand prize.
Twists Big Brother 2007 introduced several new elements not seen in previous seasons of the series.
Prize money Big Brother originally informed the housemates that there was zero prize money. Later they were informed that they could earn prize money by completing various tasks (similar to that of The Mole). This was revealed at the conclusion of the secret relationship twist.
Secret Relationships It was revealed on the Game On episode that housemates Hayley and Andrew were secretly in a relationship. Big Brother set the task to both housemates to enter the house and keep their relationship secret for one week. If successful in this task both would be allowed stay in the house; if they failed then one of them would be evicted. All other housemates had individually been challenged by Big Brother to secretly discover who was in a secret relationship, each believing they were the only housemate to be issued this challenge. Housemate Billy was added on Day 2. Billy is Hayley's former boyfriend and was added specifically to complicate her task of keeping her relationship with Andrew secret. Hayley was not allowed to inform anyone, including Andrew, of Billy's true status. Each day he received a mission from Big Brother to put pressure on Hayley's secret challenge.
Billy's Tasks Day 2: Before Billy went to bed, he had to say "Goodnight Hayley, sweet dreams". Day 3: From the moment Hayley woke up, Billy had to "wait on her hand and foot" and become her best friend. He also had to pick a bunch of flowers from the garden and give them to Hayley, and ask her to help pick the herbs. Day 4: When Billy was asked to take a housemate with him to tend the animals, he had to choose Hayley. Day 5: Billy had to become Andrew's best friend. Big Brother confirmed on Day 8 that Billy's mission was an overall success, and his reward was becoming an official Big Brother 2007 housemate (who could compete to win the show) on Day 16. On 29 April episode, Big Brother revealed the secret relationship. Three housemates had correctly guessed Hayley and Billy were involved. As fewer than half of the housemates had guessed correctly, Big Brother deemed Hayley and Andrew as successful in their challenge so both were allowed to stay. Big Brother also revealed that as Hayley and Andrew had completed their task successfully $50,000 had been awarded into the prize pool.
White Room On 23 April 2007, the four remaining wild-card housemates not selected to enter the House via the public vote on Days 1 and 2 were isolated in the "White Room". The housemates were Cruz, Demet, Kara, and Harrison. The White Room and its fixtures and fittings were all entirely white, and the housemates had only white clothes to wear. White Room housemates were provided with a white porridge which fulfilled all nutritional needs. In the centre of the room was a red button. At any time, a housemate could press the red button if they wished to leave. This decision to leave was final and the quitting housemate could not return to the Big Brother House or the White Room. The challenge was that the housemate who stayed in the White Room the longest without pressing the red button would become a legitimate Big Brother housemate and enter the main house with the rest of the housemates.Monitors in the Big Brother House allowed the housemates to watch, without audio, the White Room housemates at all times. The White Room housemates were unaware that they were being watched by the Big Brother housemates.
Cruz was the first white room resident evicted when he pressed the red button after accepting a $750 bribe from Big Brother to whoever pushed the red button first. After Cruz accepted the Bribe, no one else volunteered to leave.
On Day 11 and after 9 days in the White Room, Big Brother told the remaining three White Room housemates that one would enter the House that night, first Big Brother instructed them to vote one of their own off - Kara was evicted when Harrison and Demet voted against her. Then, the Big Brother housemates, after watching the White Room Finalists compete in a Heights Challenge (similar to the Final Challenge from the First Friday Night Live), voted between the White Room Final 2 on who they wanted to enter the house. Demet was voted into the house in an 8–6 vote and became an official housemate.
Housemates' voting Demet: Aleisha, Andrew, Emma, Hayley, Jamie, Joel, Kate, Rebecca Harrison: Bodie, Susannah, TJ, Thomas, Travis, Zoran
Big Brother Starburst Golden Key On 29 January 2007, Network Ten, Endemol Southern Star, and Masterfoods announced "Australia's biggest ever integrated television promotion", the Big Brother Starburst Golden Key. This was modeled after a similar promotion on Big Brother UK 7, which would allow a member of the public to enter the Big Brother House as a Housemate via golden tickets in Kit Kat bars. During the promotion, 100 packets of Starburst featured a "Golden Key" - the concept was similar to the Golden Tickets in the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. These keys were in the form of a unique alphanumeric code. One hundred codes awarded the holder an all-expenses-paid holiday to the Gold Coast, during which they would participate in a special audition.
During a live special episode called "Golden Key", the 100 winners gathered in the Audience to discover who among them would be selected as the 5 Finalists based on the auditions as well as police and medical checks. By random draw, one Finalist would become a housemate, finding a Golden Key in a randomly selected box of Starburst and be eligible to win the season and all prizes. On Day 18, Nick Sady was announced the "Golden Key" winner and entered the Big Brother House.
Friday Night Live Changes This year, the winner of Friday Night Live was given greater power in nominations. Replacing the Three Point Twist of previous seasons, the Friday Night Live winner each week this season was required to choose one nominated housemate to be removed from the nomination line-up, and to nominate another to replace them - unlike past seasons, the outcome of their save and nomination was only revleaed to the Housemates shortly before the Sunday Eviction. The winner of Friday Night Live this season was also given the chance to discuss their nominations, both past and present, with their chosen housemate whilst inside the Rewards Room.
Nominations
Week 11 - Australia Cast Nominations Points The public were able to vote for a Housemate to nomination via SMS for 2 July nominations. The housemate with the most votes received two nomination points, and the next housemate received one point. With the tally counted, Michelle had the most votes from the public and so received an extra two nomination points. Daniela received an extra nomination point. As winner of Friday Night Games Daniela had the power of saving one housemate from eviction. She saved herself.
Week 12 - Australia Nominates & the Housemates Vote to Evict Big Brother changed the usual format for Week 12 nominations. For this week viewers could nominate housemates, and from the nominated housemates the housemates themselves could vote to evict, reversing the usual procedure. While housemates were put through the usual nomination procedure and their nominations were screened, unknown to them, their nominations were ignored. Viewer nomination points were counted. On Sunday's eviction, the housemates were surprised by this twist, and then were individually asked to nominate to evict any of the nominated housemates. The nominated housemate with the most votes was to be evicted. Daniela was evicted with a total of 12 points.
The House Storeroom All staple foods provided to housemates this year were vegan. The housemates could supplement this with milk and eggs supplied from the farm yard and herbs and mushrooms from the herb garden.
Telephone For the first time Big Brother Australia featured a telephone in the house. It was situated in the lounge and was shown on the Opening Night broadcast before the housemates entered the house. On Day 37, Big Brother informed housemates that if the phone rang only one housemate could answer it. Joel was nominated to answer it on the housemates' behalf. On Day 52 Joel received a call from Big Brother advising that he would be away from the house and would communicate via the phone to Joel at various times. On Day 58 Andrew picked up the phone as a joke, and was penalised by being sent to the Punishment Room to polish boots. Michelle joined him in the Punishment Room due to the weekly task which involved housemates remaining partnered.