Big Brother 2002, also known as Big Brother 3, was the third series of the British reality television series Big Brother. The show followed fourteen 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, Kate Lawler, was declared the winner, winning a cash prize of £70,000.
As with the previous two series, Big Brother 3 lasted 64 days. It launched on Channel 4 on 24 May 2002 and ended on 26 July 2002. Davina McCall returned as presenter for her third consecutive year. Twelve housemates entered on launch night, with two additional housemates being introduced in later weeks.
The series was watched by an average of 5.8 million viewers, making it the highest viewed series of the show to date. Its finale peaked at 10 million viewers - making it both the most watched episode of Big Brother UK and the ninth most watched broadcast by Channel 4 to date.
Production
Auditions
The potential housemates applied via home video, successful candidates were invited to further auditions.
Presenters
Davina McCall returned as host of the weekly eviction show, launch night and finale night. Marcus Bentley narrated the highlight shows, McCall narrated the highlights shown on Friday night, which she did not continue the following year. Dermot O'Leary returned as host of spin-off show Big Brother's Little Brother on E4.
Sponsorship
The series was the first to be sponsored by the newly named O2, the mobile network had sponsored the previous series however with their old name BT Cellnet.
Broadcasts
The series premiered on 24 May 2002, on Channel 4. The contestants were recorded 24 hours a day[1] with cameras fixed around the house, and had to wear portable microphones. Big Brother 3 was the first of the main series to feature a live launch.[2] Previously, Celebrity Big Brother 1 had featured a live launch. The launch night saw Davina give a house tour, as well as discuss rumors that had been going on about the series. She then introduced the new Housemates, and they entered the house live. Channel 4 broadcast a daily highlights show, and from the first week there was a live eviction show hosted by Davina McCall, where the evicted housemate was interviewed. In the nightly highlight episodes, viewers are shown various highlights of a specific day in the house. Big Brother 3 saw the return of the psychiatrists providing commentary on events in the game, with the episodes featuring them being the highlights show after the most recent eviction. The live eviction episode was held on Friday, with a pre-eviction episode and an official eviction episode being held with a 60-minute gap between them. Live coverage was a major part of E4's schedule for the second year running. The season ended on 26 July 2002, lasting for a total of 64 days. Big Brother 3 saw numerous spin-off series' occur while it was on air. The Saturday Night Live spin-off began this season, and saw Housemates competing in live tasks. It would last until midway through Big Brother 5, when it was axed due to poor ratings. Though not introduced this season, the Big Brother's Little Brother spin-off continued throughout this season, giving the show its second season. Following this season, the special What the Housemates Did Next aired, and would later air after every season until Big Brother 9.
Eye logo
The eye logo for the series was an orange eye with circular shapes evolving from the pupil, with a green background.
Format
This series saw a number of changes and a number of firsts which would continue in future series: it was the first and only series to issue a 'three strikes and you're out' form of disciplinary, all succeeding series have simply issued formal warnings to a housemate who breaks the rules. Big Brother 3 also started the eviction process not being limited to housemate nominations, in Week 1, the public made the nominations and the housemates made the final decision on who would go, in Week 7, two housemates faced eviction simply for being given video messages from home, future series also began experimenting with the eviction process. The first eviction took place a week earlier than the previous two series', rather than wait two weeks to evict a housemate, the first eviction took place just one week after the housemates entered, evictions in the first week have since become common in subsequent seasons. It was the first non-celebrity series to feature a Live Launch Show - although the previous celebrity series featured one. Previously, 10 housemates would enter the house on Day 1, usually with one other housemate arriving later on in the series, Big Brother 3, saw the arrival of 12 housemates on launch night, two housemates left the house voluntarily - this was the first time this happened, but quitting has become more common over the years - both were replaced by standby contestants, making it the first time to feature more than one non-original housemate, again late entry housemates have become more common in subsequent series. Big Brother 3 saw the house divided into 'Rich/Poor' for four weeks, a live task broadcast on Saturday nights would determine which side the housemates would end up living for the week. The Rich/Poor divide was not used again until the ninth series in 2008, where it was renamed Heaven/Hell.
House
Big Brother 3 was the first series to be filmed at Elstree Studios, where it still operates as of 2017; interviews with the housemates took place inside the George Lucas Stage and remained here until Ultimate Big Brother in 2010.
Prizes
The fourteen Housemates in the game are competing for the grand prize of £70,000. Each week, the Housemates attempted to complete various tasks assigned by Big Brother in exchange for a weekly budget, which they used to buy food and luxuries; this included buying things such as alcohol and cigarettes. Big Brother 3, much like the previous seasons, did not feature luxury competitions or prizes throughout the season. Big Brother 3 did offer prizes to the Housemates such as phone calls and video messages from home.
House
Big Brother 3 saw the series move to a different location, as Newham London Borough Council ordered the complex to be returned to a natural habitat after planning permissions expired in 2002 for the former house. The Big Brother house has been located at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire since Big Brother 3 onward. The house this season featured a completely different layout and look when compared to the two previous seasons. The house featured vibrant colors such as reds and oranges for both the walls and the furniture. This house was the first to feature stairs going from the front door to the house. On the launch night, host Davina McCall stated that there were numerous arguments over the sofa in the house, and that the one selected was the third to be placed in the house. The kitchen remained simple, with only necessities such as an oven, fridge, and sink. In the "Diary Room", in which housemates may speak privately and reveal their true feelings to the public, there is a more interesting look to it. The background of the room has the features the Big Brother logo of an eye in the background, with the chair this season big a bright red. Like the previous editions, there are two bedrooms this season, with Davina referring to one of them as the "uncomfortable bedroom." Like the last season, the men and women chose to sleep in separate bedrooms, though this was not required by the rules. Big Brother 3 saw the return of chickens in the backyard, which was also a feature used in the first two seasons. The chickens are used as a source to get eggs, thus Housemates are not required to buy eggs as part of their shopping list. The house also features a garden, which the housemates use to grow plants and vegetables to eat. This season had a pool in the backyard, making it the first season in which one was provided. Before the season began, there were rumors that a twist this season would see two houses being former, however, Endemol confirmed that this was just a rumor.[3] During the third to sixth week in the house, there was a large plastic gate separating the Poor and Rich sides of the house.
Format
Big Brother is a game show in which a group of contestants, called housemates, live in isolation from the outside world in a custom built "house", which includes everyday facilities such as a fully equipped kitchen, garden, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. The house is also a television studio with cameras and microphones in most of the rooms to record the activities of the housemates. The only place where housemates can escape the company of the other contestants is the Diary Room, where they are encouraged to voice their true feelings. Not all Diary Room footage is broadcast due to the privacy of the contestants. Each week all housemates nominate two of their fellow contestants for potential eviction. Failure to do so may result in a punishment, such as a reduction in the prize fund. The two, or more, housemates with the highest number of nominations face a public vote conducted by phone, with the contestant receiving the most votes being evicted from the house. The last contestant remaining in the house is declared the winner and is awarded a cash prize of £70,000. On eviction night, there were two live eviction shows held. In the first, host Davina McCall would reveal to the housemates who had been evicted from the house, though the percentages were withheld from the group. Following the announcement, the evicted housemate had two hours to pack their belongings and prepare to leave the house. At the start of the second episode, McCall would inform the evicted housemate that they had only moments to walk out the door. Upon exiting through the house's front door, McCall led the evictee into a studio where they met with their family and friends. While in the studio, McCall had an interview with the evicted housemate, and showed their best bits - a video compilation of their time in the house.
Over the duration of the series, the Housemates are given a series of tasks by Big Brother which test them in many ways. They are also put to the test by their own ideals, prejudices and opinions against other people from different walks of life; something that has survived from the original "social experiment" of Big Brother 1. They live in the communal House and share cooking and cleaning chores among themselves, which usually provides plenty of tension. Housemates are forbidden to sleep during daylight hours (unless unwell) - Big Brother plays the wake-up call persistently in the morning if housemates do not wake up and will play an alarm clock noise into the house if a housemate falls asleep during the day. Housemates must also live by the fundamental rules of Big Brother; if the rules are broken it can result in formal warnings, various punishments or even a housemate's removal from the House. They must wash their own clothes by hand, and they have to make their own bread from scratch. Each week Big Brother sets the Housemates a task in order to determine the shopping budget for the following week. They must work together to win the tasks in order to win a luxury shopping budget which changed based on the number of people remaining in the house. If all food runs out in the House, Big Brother provides emergency rations of chickpeas and rice. Housemates are responsible for their own shopping and decide which items the budget will allow them to have. Only a small percentage of the overall budget can be spent on alcohol. Each night, the housemates were also given a discussion topic, and they would have group discussions in the living room.
Much like Big Brother 2, this series featured a twist in the format in an attempt to keep the series interesting. On the first night, it was revealed that all of the Housemates were nominated for eviction, and the public then began voting for who they would like to see leave the house. It was later revealed that the two Housemates with the highest number of eviction votes would be nominated for eviction, and that their fellow Housemates would vote to evict one of them. This resulted in the first eviction of the season occurring on Day 8, the first time that an eviction had occurred this early in the series. Another change in the format this season was the addition of the Rich and Poor sides of the house, in which one side would feature more benefits and luxuries than the other. This season also began using the "strikes" system, in which Housemates were allowed to have only three strikes before they were expelled from the series.
On Day 1, Housemates Alex, Jonny, Lee, PJ, Sandy, Spencer, Adele, Alison, Jade, Kate, Lynne and Sunita entered the house, with the men entering first.[4] During the premiere night, host Davina McCall revealed that the public would vote for their least favorite Housemates, and the two with the most votes would be up for eviction that week. However, as the public decided the nominees, the Housemates themselves would have to choose which of the nominees to evict. The Housemates received no official task during their first week in the house, and were given money for their shopping budget by Big Brother. On Day 5, the Housemates were told to each paint one of the dining room chairs however they wanted. Later that night, Sunita revealed to Kate that she was debating walking from the game, with Kate attempting to talk her out of it. Sunita voluntarily left the house on Day 7. That same day, Lee celebrated his 22nd birthday in the house, and Big Brother provided the Housemates with a wrestling themed party. On Day 8, Davina revealed that there had been a total of 1.2 million votes for who the public would like to see nominated for eviction this week. That night, the Housemates learned of the twist, and were then informed that Jade and Lynne had received the most votes and were nominated for eviction. They were then sent to a bedroom away from the other Housemates, with the nine voting Housemates discussing who they would like to leave the house. Ultimately, the Housemates unanimously voted to evict Lynne, making her the first Housemate evicted this season.[5]
On Day 9, the Housemates participated in the first live task of the season as part of the Saturday Night Live spin-off series. For their first live task, they had to take a general knowledge quiz to win their shopping budget for the week. Failure to win the task resulted in no budget at all that week, and they would be required to use basic rations such as rice and vegetables supplied by Big Brother. To succeed, the Housemates were required to answer seven out of ten questions correctly. The group successfully completed the task, getting eight out of the ten questions correct. That same day, both Alison and Kate were reprimanded for discussing nominations. Sophie entered the house on Day 10, replacing former Housemate Sunita. That night, Big Brother allowed them to select a style of dinner for which they would be provided with that night; they chose Chinese. On Day 11, Housemates participated in their first round of nominations. Sophie, as a new Housemate, could not participate in the nominations process, and was not allowed to make nominations or be nominated. Due to a tie, Alex, Alison, and Sandy were all nominated for eviction. Alex received the most nominations with six, while Alison and Sandy both had four. PJ, Adele, Spencer, and Lee all received no nominations from their fellow Housemates this week. On Day 13, Jade celebrated her 21st birthday in the house. She was given the option of either having a party or receiving a video message from her mother. She emotionally chose to take the party instead. On Day 15, it was revealed that Alison had become the second person evicted from the house this season, receiving 39% of the public vote.[6] It was also revealed that there were only slightly over one thousand votes between her an Alex, the closest eviction margin in the series to date.[7]
On Day 16, the Housemates participated in a live task to determine which Housemates would be on Rich side and which would be Poor.[8] For their task, Housemates had to take turns in trying to shoot a basketball through a hoop. The first five Housemates to score would live on the rich side. These Housemates were Jonny, Kate, Lee, Sophie and Sandy. The remaining housemates - Adele, Alex, Jade, PJ and Spencer - would live on the poor side. Housemates on the poor side would live off basic rations and would only have the use of the outside toilet and shower. On the rich side, Housemates would be on a large shopping budget, the pool and inside toilet facilities. On Day 17, Housemates celebrated Sophie's 25th birthday, and had a party later that night. On Day 17, Kate and Spencer were scolded for sharing a kiss across the divide. When Kate gave him beer through the kiss, Big Brother forced her to confiscate six cans of beer from the fridge as punishment. On Day 18, Housemates participated in the second round of nominations. Jonny and Lee were this week's nominations, having both received five votes from their fellow Housemates. All of the Housemates on the Poor side nominated Housemates on the Rich side. Housemates Adele, PJ, and Spencer received no nominations this week. On Day 19, Sandy revealed that he would be leaving the house the following night. The following morning, however, he climbed over the wall in the backyard and escaped from the house.[9] Later that day, both Kate and Spencer received their first official strikes in the house for crossing the divide. On Day 22, Lee became the third Housemate evicted from the house, having received 84% of the public vote against Jonny.[10]
Big Brother 3 helped make Jade Goody the most famous former Housemate to date.
On Day 23, Housemates participated in their third live task. In order to determine which Housemates would live on which side of the house, the group had to take turns throwing darts at a dartboard. The Housemate with the best score at the end of the task would choose three Housemates to join them on the Rich side of the house. Alex was the winner of the task, and selected Adele, Jade, and Sophie to be on the Rich side of the house. This meant that the others were on the Poor side of the house. On Day 24, new Housemate Tim entered the house as Sandy's replacement.[11] Due to the divide in the house, the Housemates had to decide amongst themselves whether he should live on the Rich side or the Poor side; they chose the Rich side. To celebrate his entrance into the house, the Housemates were given dinner and a movie that night. On Day 25, Housemates participated in their third set of nominations. Jade was banned from making nominations this week, as Big Brother had repeatedly scolded her for discussion past nominations; she could still be nominated for eviction. Tim was exempt from the nomination process as well, as he was a new Housemate. This week saw Alex and Spencer nominated for eviction, with both of them receiving four nominations from their fellow Housemates.[12] Adele, Jonny, and Kate received no nominations from their fellow Housemates this week; this was the third time that Adele had avoided nominations. On Day 26, following an altercation with Adele, Jade told Big Brother she wanted to leave; she eventually changes her mind. Jonny received one strike on Day 29, for crossing the divide. On Day 29, it was revealed that Spencer had been evicted from the house, having received 55% of the public vote.[13]
On Day 30, Housemates participated in their fourth live task to determine how the Housemates would be separated this week. They played a game of musical chairs in the Rich bedroom, with one Housemate being eliminated each round. The last Housemate remaining would select three Housemates to join them on the Rich side of the house. For the second week in a row, Alex was the winner of the task, and chose Adele, Jade, and PJ to join him on the Rich side of the house. On Day 31, Jade received her first official strike for discussing nominations with Adele. This was one of numerous punishments Jade had received over discussing nominations, as she had received five formal warnings before and had even been banned from making nominations the previous week. On Day 32, Housemates participated in their fourth round of nominations. This week saw Sophie and Jonny nominated for eviction, with Jonny receiving four nominations and Sophie receiving three. This was the first week in which every Housemate received one or more nomination from their fellow Housemates. This was also the first week Adele had been nominated, having received one nomination from her fellow Housemates. That same day, they were given a new task in which they must learn two dances by the following night, earning a garden party if they were successful; the group passed the task. On Day 36, Sophie was evicted from the house, having received 85% of the public vote against Jonny.
On Day 37, Housemates were given the opportunity to take down the divide and be one house yet again. During their fifth weekly task, they were given a "Memory Quiz" where they were each asked questions about the house in the Diary Room. They were told that if they all got their questions right, the divide would be taken down. Kate and Tim were the only Housemates to successfully complete the task. Despite this, however, Big Brother gave them a second chance to take the divide down. Kate entered the Diary Room and was told that if she could name all of the Housemates in alphabetical order then the divide would be taken down; failure would result in Kate being moved to the Poor side as well. Ultimately, Kate forgot to mention Alison and Lynne and thus failed the task. This made Tim the only Housemate on the Rich side of the house, causing much controversy amongst the group. On Day 39, Housemates participated in their fifth round of nominations. The outcome saw Adele, Jade, Jonny, and Kate being nominated for eviction.[14] PJ was the only Housemate this week to receive any nominations from his fellow Housemates. This week, Adele received two nominations, making it the most she had ever received in one week, and only the second week she had been nominated in the game. This week, Housemates were given a task of making sock puppets to represent the fourteen Housemates that have appeared on Big Brother 3. Adele became the sixth evicted Housemate on Day 43, having received 62% of the public vote.
On Day 44, the divide in the house was officially taken down, and the "Rich & Poor" twist ended. That same night, they learned that they must select two Housemates to be given a video message from home. In exchange for this, the two selected Housemates would be the nominees for eviction that week, and the nominations on Monday would be cancelled. Ultimately failing to make a decision, the group chose to pull straws, resulting in Kate and PJ being selected. This meant that they would receive their messages, and would face the public vote that week. On Day 45, Tim was reprimanded by Big Brother for stealing two bottles of alcohol. On Day 47, Housemates were given a new task, known as "Master and Slave," in which one Housemate would be the master and the other would be the slave; the following day, the roles were reversed. Masters could demand slaves to do anything for them, with the slaves having to comply. Following this task, the Housemates had to select the one Housemate who they felt best played the role of the slave; they chose Kate. Kate's reward for being selected was that she received thirty minutes of music played for her in the Diary Room. On Day 50, it was revealed that PJ had been evicted from the house, having received 81% of the public vote.
On Day 51, the Housemates were given a quiz about one another as part of their weekly task. Each Housemate was separately called to the Diary Room to answer three questions about their fellow Housemates. All of the questions were based on answers given in their application form. For each correct answer, the Housemates earned £25 for their shopping budgets and five seconds added on to a phone call with a loved one, which one Housemate would receive. Following the task, the group had earned a total of £200 for their budget, and awarded Tim with the phone call from home. On Day 53, Housemates began their new task, in which had a roller disco theme. The second bedroom had been converted into a roller disco, and Housemates had three minutes to put on their roller blades and pads and get on the floor each time a buzzer sounded. If a Housemate failed to achieve this, it would count as a "no-show," and three strikes would mean that the Housemates had failed the task. The group later passed the task, and earned a 70's themed party as a reward. On Day 53, Housemates participated in their final round of nominations. Tim and Alex both received three nominations each, and were nominated for eviction. Kate was the only Housemate to not receive a nomination this week, while Jade and Jonny received two each. This ensured Jade, Jonny, and Kate a spot in the finale of the season. On Day 57, Tim was evicted from the house, having received 81% of the public vote against Alex.
On Day 57, the Housemates were given their final weekly shopping task. The first part of the task was an obstacle course which they had to complete blindfolded. For the second part of the task, the Housemates had to bet a proportion of their money, on an egg and spoon race, and would bid on one of their former fellow Housemates to win the race. They were shown a video of Spencer, PJ, Lee and Sophie racing, and had to bet on which of these Housemates they felt would win; they chose to bet on Sophie, who won the race. On Day 58, Kate was reprimanded by Big Brother for writing a birthday message to her sister, using make-up. On Day 64, it was revealed that Jade had received 20% of the public vote, and had been evicted from the house in fourth place. Alex was later evicted in third place, receiving 27% of the public vote. Jonny was later crowned the Runner-Up with 42%, while Kate was crowned the Winner with 58%. This makes Kate the first female Housemate to win the series; Jonny exited the house that day, followed by Kate minutes later.
^Note 1: Instead of the housemates nominating and the public voting to evict, the public decided who to nominate and the housemates would decide who to evict. After the phone lines were opened Sunita decided to walk from the House, her line was therefore closed. Jade and Lynne received the most votes, and the remaining housemates collectively voted to evict Lynne.
^Note 2: As a new housemate, Sophie could not nominate and could not be nominated by her fellow housemates.
^Note 3: As punishment for discussing nominations, Jade was banned from nominating. As a new housemate, Tim could not nominate and could not be nominated by his fellow housemates.
^Note 4: There were no nominations in Week 7. Instead, Kate and PJ were nominated for eviction by drawing lots during the live Saturday task.
^Note 5: There were no nominations in the final week. The viewers voted for the housemate they wanted to win, rather than evict.
Ratings
Weekly ratings for each show on Channel 4. All numbers are in millions and provided by BARB.[15]
Viewers (in millions)
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Saturday
–
–
3.6m
4.5m
4.9m
5.1m
–
5.6m
5.1m
5.3m
Sunday
–
4.4m
3.9m
4.1m
4.2m
4.6m
5.1m
5.2m
4.8m
5.5m
Monday
–
4.5m
3.2m
6.4m
6.1m
6.4m
5.8m
6.8m
7.0m
6.9m
Tuesday
–
4.0m
5.4m
6.3m
6.0m
6.4m
6.7m
6.4m
6.8m
7.0m
Wednesday
–
5.0m
5.9m
6.1m
5.6m
6.5m
7.0m
7.1m
7.2m
7.0m
Thursday
–
5.2m
4.9m
5.5m
6.0m
6.2m
6.4m
6.5m
7.0m
6.0m
Friday
6.0m
4.0m
4.6m
5.0m
5.3m
5.0m
6.3m
6.3m
5.7m
8.5m
5.0m
5.6m
6.5m
6.6m
6.4m
7.9m
7.5m
8.0m
10.0m
Weekly average
4.8m
4.7m
5.6m
5.6m
5.8m
6.5m
6.4m
6.5m
7.0m
Running average
4.8m
4.7m
5.0m
5.3m
5.3m
5.5m
5.6m
5.7m
5.8m
Series average
5.8m
Controversy and criticism
Much like the previous two editions of the series, Big Brother 3 had controversial moments and issues as well. The main issue this season was with Housemates voluntarily choosing to leave the game. On Day 7, Housemate Sunita chose to walk from the game, stating she "was feeling claustrophobic" and the show had effectively deprived contestants of their rights.[16][17] Housemate Sandy decided to walk from the game on Day 20. Despite agreeing to leave that night through the door, he later climbed over the wall in the backyard and escaped the house.[18] On his decision to walk, Sandy stated "I went on to the show with no preconceptions. I did what I feel was right and left when I felt it was right to leave."[19] Housemates Lee and Sophie also talked about quitting the series, though neither of them did. The Rich and Poor divide caused numerous issues in the house, mainly when Housemate Tim became the only Housemate living on the Rich side for a week. The other Housemates were upset, with PJ later stating that the group should all walk; however, no Housemates left the game due to this issue.[20] The production this season has also been criticized as being too edited, mainly in terms of Housemate Jade Goody. British newspaper The Sun reported that an insider for the series stated there "was a deliberate move to keep Jade in the house, because she stirs things up—and to avoid criticism they have turned Jade into a monster." They also wrote that "[p]roducers were ordered to tone down their coverage of her antics amid fears she may crack up or try to sue when she leaves the show and learns how viewers see her."[21] These statements were later denied by production. This season was also the first to have controversy surrounding sexual relations in the series.[22] Though no actual sexual intercourse occurred in the house, Housemate Jade later gave Housemate PJ oral sex under the covers, and that same night Housemate Sophie was believed to have done the same with Housemate Lee.[23] There was a debate on whether or not to show the events occurring on the highlight episode, eventually they chose to show them.
References
↑ Anthony, Andrew (23 July 2000). "Let's bomb them". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
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