Big Brother 2000, retrospectively known as Big Brother 1, is the first series of the British reality television series Big Brother. The show followed eleven contestants, known as housemates, who were isolated from the outside world for an extended period of time in a custom built house. Each week, one or more of the housemates were evicted by a public vote. The last remaining housemate, Craig Phillips, was declared the winner, winning a cash prize of £70,000.
This was the only series not to feature a companion show until the second series in 2001.
The series lasted 64 days and was presented by Davina McCall. It launched on Channel 4 on 18 July 2000 and ended on 15 September 2000. Ten housemates entered on the first day, with one additional housemate being introduced in the sixth week. The series was watched by an average of 4.5 million viewers. It became the subject of intense press attention throughout its broadcast, and gained particular notoriety after one housemate, Nick Bateman, was ejected from the House for breaking the rules.
Format
Big Brother was a game show in which a group of contestants, referred to as housemates, lived in isolation from the outside world in a custom built "house", constantly under video surveillance. During their time in the house, the housemates were required to nominate two of their fellow contestants for potential eviction, and the two or more with the most votes would be nominated. This process was mandatory for all housemates, and failure to comply could result in ejection from the house. Despite this, should a housemate enter the house following the launch, they are immune from the first round of nominations they are present for. The public, through a vote conducted by phone, would vote to evict one of the nominated housemates from the house, and the housemate with the most votes from the viewers would be evicted from the house. When only three housemates remained, the public would vote for which of them should win the series, and the housemates with the most votes would become the winner. The housemates were competing for a £70,000 cash prize.
During their time in the house, housemates were given weekly tasks to perform. The housemates would wager a portion of their weekly shopping budget on the task, and would either win double their wagered fund or lose the wagered fund depending on their performance in the task. The housemates were required to work as a group to complete the task, with the format of the tasks varying based on the number of remaining housemates. Should the housemates run out of the food provided for them, an emergency ration was available to them. The housemates were forbidden from discussing nominations, and doing so could result in punishment. The format of the series was mainly seen as a social experiment, and required housemates to interact with others who may have differing ideals, beliefs, and prejudices. Housemates were also required to make visits to the Diary Room during their stay in the house, where they were able to share their thoughts and feelings on their fellow housemates and the game. While in the house, the housemates are free to leave at any time, however, will not be allowed to return to the house. Similarly, a housemate can be removed from the house by production should they repeatedly break the rules set for the housemates. Should a housemate choose to leave the house or be ejected, a replacement housemate will enter the house sometime after their departure. Upon entering the house, new housemates are exempt from the first round of nominations they are present for.
Housemates
Name Age on entry Hometown Day entered Day exited Result Craig Phillips 28Liverpool 1 64 Anna Nolan 29Dublin 1 64 Darren Ramsay 23Catford, London 1 64 Melanie Hill 26North London 1 57 Claire Strutton 25 Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire 37 50 Thomas "Tom" McDermott 31Omagh, County Tyrone 1 43 Nichola Holt 28Bolton, Lancashire 1 36 Nicholas "Nick" Bateman 32Kent 1 35 Caroline O'Shea 37Birmingham 1 29 Andrew Davidson 23Hemel Hempstead 1 22 Sada Walkington 28Edinburgh/Wakefield 1 15
Nominations table Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Week 6Week 7Week 8Week 9FinalNominations receivedRound 1Round 2Craig Caroline,Sada Caroline,Nichola Caroline,Nichola Nichola,Darren Darren,Anna Darren,Anna Darren,Anna Darren,Melanie Winner(Day 64) 20Anna Andrew,Darren Andrew,Tom Craig,Tom Craig,Tom Craig,Tom Claire,Craig Claire,Craig Craig,Darren Runner-up(Day 64) 6Darren Sada,Caroline Andrew,Melanie Craig,Tom Craig,Tom Tom,Melanie Melanie,Craig Claire,Craig Melanie,Anna Third place(Day 64) 17Melanie Sada,Craig Craig,Caroline Caroline,Nichola Nichola,Darren Craig,Darren Claire,Craig Craig,Claire Craig,Darren Evicted(Day 57) 9ClaireNot inHouse Exempt Darren,Melanie Melanie,Darren Evicted(Day 50) 5Tom Caroline,Sada Darren,Caroline Darren,Caroline Anna,Nichola Anna,Darren Evicted(Day 43) 12Nichola Andrew,Tom Andrew,Craig Melanie,Tom Craig,Tom Evicted(Day 36) 9Nick Sada,Caroline Caroline,Craig Nichola,Caroline Craig,Nichola Ejected(Day 35) 0Caroline Darren,Andrew Tom,Andrew Tom,Melanie Evicted(Day 29) 14Andrew Sada,Caroline Caroline,Nichola Evicted(Day 22) 8Sada Darren,Andrew Evicted(Day 15) 6 Notes none 1 2 none 3Againstpublic vote Caroline,Sada Andrew,Caroline Caroline,Tom Craig,Nichola Anna,Craig,Darren,Tom Claire,Craig,Darren,Melanie Claire,Craig Craig,Darren,Melanie Anna,Craig,DarrenEjectednone Nick noneEvictedSada55%to evictAndrew68%to evictCaroline62%to evictNichola72%to evictTom30%to evictNoneClaire79%to evictMelanie69%to evictDarren13%(out of 3)Anna49%(out of 2)Craig51%to win
Notes
: As a new Housemate, Claire could not nominate or be nominated in this week. : During Week 7's nominations held on Day 46, Darren's nominations for Melanie and Craig were overheard by the rest of the house. Big Brother decided to void all nominations and housemates had to nominate for a second time in which Darren changed his nominations. Had this not happened, Claire, Craig, Darren and Melanie would have faced the public vote. : There were no nominations in the final week. The public voted for who they wanted to win, rather than evict.
Weekly summary Week 1 Entrances On Day 1, Andrew, Anna, Caroline, Craig, Darren, Melanie, Nichola, Nick, Sada and Tom entered the house. Tasks On Day 2, housemates were given their first weekly shopping task, which required them to make a clay bowl and mug using a potter's wheel. The housemates would fail the task if three or more objects cracked upon being fired. The housemates wagered 20% of their weekly shopping budget on the task. The housemates failed their shopping task. Week 2 Tasks On Day 9, the housemates were given their second weekly shopping task, which required them to memorize ten facts about each housemate. The group was later quizzed about these facts later in the week. If the housemates as a group miss more than one question, their shopping budget will be decreased. The housemates wagered 40% of their weekly shopping budget on the task. The housemates passed their shopping task. Nominations On Day 11, the housemates nominated for the first time. Caroline and Sada received the most nominations and faced the public vote. Exits On Day 15, Sada was evicted from the house receiving 55% of the public vote to evict. Week 3 Tasks On Day 16, the housemates were given their third weekly shopping task, in which they had to travel a total of 1,800 km on an exercise bike, thus theoretically traveling from Land's End to John O'Groats while passing through all of their hometowns. The housemates wagered 50% of their weekly shopping budget on the task. The housemates passed their shopping task. On Day 19, the group had to write and perform a play. Their reward was the right to watch a film of their choice. They chose to watch Happy Gilmore. Nominations On Day 18, the housemates nominated for the second time. Andrew and Caroline received the most nominations and faced the public vote. Exits On Day 22, Andrew was evicted from the house receiving 68% of the public vote to evict. Week 4 Tasks On Day 23, the housemates were given their fourth weekly shopping task, which required the housemates to learn the Semaphore signaling system. The housemates worked in pairs and attempted to both communicate and transcribe messages using the code. They wagered 35% of their weekly shopping budget on the task. The housemates failed their shopping task. The same day, housemates were given a second task, in which they had to perform a good deed, which the housemates passed. Nominations On Day 25, the housemates nominated for the third time. Caroline and Tom received the most nominations and faced the public vote. Exits On Day 29, Caroline was evicted from the house receiving 62% of the public vote to evict. Week 5 Tasks On Day 30, the housemates were given their fourth weekly shopping task, in which housemates were given an assault course and had to complete the course within eight minutes. They wagered 50% of their weekly shopping budget on the task. The housemates passed their shopping task. On Day 31, housemates had to write poems about one another, and then guess who wrote which poem as well as whom they wrote about. On Day 34, housemates were given the task of writing a song, with lyrics, and would perform it in 24 hours. Nominations On Day 32, the housemates nominated for the fourth time. Craig and Nichola received the most nominations and faced the public vote. Exits On Day 35, Nick was ejected from the house after he had attempted to influence nominations and was found with a pen and paper in his possessions. On Day 36, Nichola was evicted from the house receiving 72% of the public vote to evict. Week 6 Entrances On Day 37, Claire entered the house. Tasks On Day 37, housemates were given their fifth weekly shopping task, in which they had to go outside and find the face of a housemate outside every time an alarm went off; the housemates would later have to remember the order in which the faces appeared. The housemates wagered 50% of their weekly shopping budget on the task. The housemates passed their shopping task. On Day 41, the housemates were required to make outfits for their fellow housemates. Nominations On Day 39, the housemates nominated for the fifth time. Anna, Craig, Darren and Tom received the most nominations and faced the public vote. Due to being a new housemate, Claire was exempt from the nomination process. Exits On Day 43, Tom was evicted from the house receiving 30% of the public vote to evict. Week 7 Tasks On Day 44, housemates were given their next weekly shopping task, which saw the housemates creating a life-sized sculpture of themselves with wire. Should the sculpture stand on its own for one consecutive minute, the housemates would pass the task. The housemates wagered 50% of their weekly shopping budget on the task. The housemates failed their shopping task.