The ninth season of the Australian reality television series Big Brother, also known as Big Brother 2012, was the first to air on the Nine Network who signed a deal with Southern Star Group in September 2011 to broadcast the show. The season began with a pre-recorded launch show on 13 August 2012. Benjamin Norris was announced the winner of the ninth season on 7 November 2012, making him the first openly gay person to win the Australian version of Big Brother. Benjamin proposed to his boyfriend, also named Ben, during the show's finale.
This season introduced Sonia Kruger as the new host of Big Brother. Mike Goldman continued his role of providing voice over narration for the show. The production was based at the same compound, located within the Dreamworld theme park, that had been used in all previous Australian seasons. This season also use some of the game mechanics from the Secret Story franchise. In this season, Big Brother was voiced by Leon Murray. Unlike the stricter and more authoritarian tones of previous voice actors such as Nick Colquhoun, Murray adopted a friendly and jokey style, often interacting with housemates in a more lighthearted manner. He maintained this approachable and humorous style throughout the 2013 and 2014 seasons, continuing the shift away from the more punitive tone of earlier years.
Production After four years off air, the Nine Network confirmed on 9 September 2011 that they had signed a contract with Southern Star Group to air the series in 2012; the first time a broadcaster other than Network Ten has broadcast the show in Australia. In September 2011, when the location of the Big Brother compound had not yet been officially confirmed, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh stated that she would do everything possible to see the show return to the Gold Coast. A spokesperson from Dreamworld, the original home of Big Brother, stated on 21 September 2011 that nothing was locked in but that the theme park would welcome the return of the show. In December 2011, The Daily Telegraph reported that Fox Studios Australia and Warner Bros. Movie World had also expressed interest. In an interview ahead of the season launch, Kruger suggested that Big Brother would be family friendly and air at 7.00 pm.
Several days after the news Big Brother was to return, Southern Star Group announced on their casting website that they would be accepting pre-audition applications for people who were interested in participating on the season. The official Facebook page for the show, as directed to by the Southern Star website, was opened on 15 September 2011. On 22 February 2012, it was officially announced that Big Brother would return to Dreamworld in 2012. Auditions began on 15 March, and took place in all major capital cities, as well as Gold Coast, in April and May 2012. More than twenty thousand people applied to be on the ninth season. The Official Big Brother Australia website reported that 14 housemates would be entering the house after going into lockdown on 4 August.
Format This season each of the original fourteen housemates entered with a secret. The task in the first week was for the female housemates to match up the male housemates with their secrets. The secrets were that: one has the IQ of a genius (Michael), one became scared of birds after an emu attack (Bradley), one has been fired from every job he's ever had (Benjamin), one hasn't had a girlfriend since he was 11 (Ryan), one was a juvenile offender (Ray), one has dated more than 100 women (Josh), and one is a multimillionaire (George). The following week the girl's secrets were revealed for the male members of the house to solve. The secrets were that: one had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Charne), one was a champion weightlifter (Angie), one is a high school dropout (Estelle), one was a nude protester (Sarah), one used to be an emo (Zoe), one was a hand model (Stacey) and that one is a member of a royal family (Layla).
Housemates On launch night, ten housemates (seven women and three men) entered the house on Day 0. The seven women first entered through a room called the parlour for a secret task, but later entered the house. Two more male housemates entered the house on Day 2, two via a live special, and two more revealed on the next day's show. After Week 5's and Week 6's nominations, a female and male intruder entered the house. Ava entered on Day 29, and Sam entered on Day 36. Unlike the original fourteen housemates, no intruders are keeping a secret in the house.
Name Age on entry Hometown Secret Day entered Day exited Result Benjamin Norris 32 Victoria "I have been fired from every job I've had" 3 87 Layla Subritzky 24 Brisbane (originally from the United Kingdom) "I am a member of a royal family" 0 87 Estelle Landy 24 Morwell, Victoria "I was a high-school drop out" 0 87 Michael Beveridge 26 Brisbane "I have the IQ of a genius" 0 85 Zoe Westgarth 23 New South Wales "I used to be an emo" 0 85 Sam Wallace 21 Gold Coast/ Tamworth, New South Wales 36 84 Stacey Wren 24 Sydney "I was a hand model" 0 77 Angela "Angie" Murray 21 Gold Coast "I was a champion weight lifter" 0 70 Josh Moore 28 South Australia "I have dated over 100 women" 0 60 Bradley Darke 19 Coraki "I have Ornithophobia as the result of an emu attack" 0 56 Ava David 29 Victoria 29 51 George Baramily 25 Western Australia "I am a multi-millionaire" 2 42 Ray Baxter 25 Brisbane "I was a juvenile offender" 2 35 Sarah Wentworth-Perry 30 Wagga Wagga "I was a nude protester" 0 28 Ryan Buckingham 22 Victoria "I haven't had a girlfriend since I was 11" 2 21 Charne Louise 31 Gold Coast "I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" 0 14
Weekly summary and highlights Week 1 Major events On Day 1, Michael, Sarah, Angie, Zoe, Layla, Josh, Charne, Estelle, Stacey and Bradley entered the Big Brother house. The women all entered through the parlour, while the men entered through the main entrance. On Day 2, George and Ryan entered the House. Benjamin and Ray, the final two male housemates, entered during the late hours of Day 2. On Day 5, Bradley celebrated his 19th Birthday with Big Brother organising a surprise Superheroes party for him. Bradley was given a Batman costume with B-Rad written on it. While Big Brother distracted Bradley in the Diary Room, the other housemates got dressed up as superheroes and set up the backyard for the party. Group task A secret task was given to the female housemates before entering the house. To ensure safety for the first eviction, they must match up seven secrets to the seven male housemates, by the end of the week. The female housemates can only discuss these secrets inside the parlour. After the task announcement, all the female housemates entered the House. On Day 3, all housemates were set their first weekly task that "kept them on their toes". Throughout the day, housemates had to dance to music being played by Big Brother. On Day 4, housemates were informed they had passed the task and given access to the gym and a generous food budget. Nominations There were no nominations in Week 1. Evictions There was no eviction in Week 1.Week 2 Group task On Day 7, the female housemates failed their secret task, granting the male housemates safety from nomination for the week. The male housemates then received the same task (to guess the female housemates secrets) with the same outcome should they fail. The male housemates can only discuss these secrets inside the 'man cave'. Housemates were also given their weekly task called the Road Trip Task. They would have to complete a 3627 kilometre trip in a motorbike and side-car (two housemates sitting in the vehicle at all times until the odometer passes 3627 km). Success will give housemates a luxury food budget. While cleaning the fish tank, Michael is given a secret task from Surly the Fish. After successfully hugging each housemate within ten minutes without raising suspicion, Michael is granted access to the Secret Executive Bathroom, complete with bath, shower, champagne, bath soaps and dressing gowns. Nominations On Day 8, Housemates nominated for the first time, dividing five nomination points between two houseguests. For failing the Week 1 task, only female housemates were eligible to be nominated. Charne received the most votes, with Estelle and Layla also nominated. Evictions On Day 14, Charne was the first evicted housemate. She received the lowest 'save' vote from the public (24%). Estelle received 27%, and Layla received 49%.Week 3 Group task On Day 14, the male housemates also failed their task, granting the female housemates safety from nomination for the week. Nominations On Day 15, only male housemates were eligible to be nominated. Ryan, Benjamin and Bradley were nominated. Evictions On Day 21, with 32% of the public 'save' vote, Ryan was the second housemate to be evicted from the Big Brother House. Benjamin narrowly escaped eviction with 33%, and Bradley with 35%. Ryan was given the opportunity to gift the 'Nominations Super Power' to any current housemate. He gave the power to Estelle, giving her a mystery advantage for the next round of nominations. Week 4 Group task As part of the Day 21 Eviction, an 'error' was broadcast to the house that accidentally revealed 'House 2', a second Big Brother house existing alongside them, following the same rules. The house competed in challenges 'against House 2' throughout the week. In reality, there was no House 2 and the housemates were shown fake footage with actors pretending to be another set of housemates. Nominations As holder of the 'Nominations Super Power', Estelle was able to view the nominations tally as it stood before she cast her votes. Sarah, Bradley and Ray received the most votes and were nominated. Evictions On Day 28, Sarah became the third housemate to be evicted. Sarah was given 18% of votes to save, Bradley was given 32% and Ray was given 50%. Sarah gave her 'Nominations Super Power' to Benjamin. Week 5 Major events On Day 29, intruder Ava entered the house. Group task Housemates acted as animals in the Big Brother wildlife documentary. Housemates must follow the instructions of a David Attenborough-esque narrator to pass the task. Nominations As holder of the 'Nominations Super Power', Benjamin was given two sets of five nomination points to distribute for the week, giving him the power to distribute ten points over four housemates. Ava was given safety from nomination for her first week in the house. Evictions On Day 35, Ray was evicted from the Big Brother House. He gave the 'Nominations Super Power' to George. Week 6 Major events On Day 36, intruder Sam entered the house. Group task Nominations As holder of the 'Nominations Super Power', George was given the right to view the nominations tally board as the housemates nominated, and saw the points distributed on the board as they changed. He was also given the right to select one housemate of his choice and erase their nominations. Unluckily, as a result George was one of the three nominees for the week.