BBUK: A Love Letter

The Logo of Big Brother Ultimate

IMPORTANT NOTE: This DOES contain unmarked spoilers for the entirety of BBUK from 2000 to 2018, including winners. There are also passing mentions of sexual assault and racism, but neither are mentioned in-depth.

This is not an official review, more or less a rambly love letter to one of my favorite shows.

A Personal Intro

As a kid, I always loved reality TV. Perhaps my first foray wasn't actually reality TV per se, it was a little animated show by the name of Total Drama Island. I didn't even realize at the time the shows it was parodying, nor did I really care. That isn't to say I didn't watch actual reality TV; I was a child of the 00s with a family who often spent time watching something or another on a Friday night– Super Nanny, Wifeswap, The Apprentice (woof...), Cake Boss, Shark Tank, ect. As I got older, I also fell in love with The Soup, a show that amalgamated each of the week's weirdest and most outrageous moments from reality TV (with the odd scripted show here and there). I liked a plethora of different shows, but I would never have called myself a super fan of reality TV as a genre despite that (perhaps it was my own pretension about the idea of reality TV; as it was often seen as a ‘lesser’ thing despite its popularity.).

However, I think one thing changed it all for me: Big Brother UK.

In a way, it's kind of funny; Here I am in the 2010s, an American teenager who has never seen the US version of Big Brother (I don't think Celebrity Big Brother US had aired at that point), but I was enthralled with the UK version. Well, my mother was the one who introduced me to it. I don't exactly know how she got into it; British TV wasn't unfamiliar territory in my family despite it being harder to get in those days (In the late 00s, 2010s, you did occasionally have breakthrough shows like the success of BBC’s Sherlock and things like The Mighty Boosh made it onto Adult Swim; If you had Netflix, there was a chance you could get certain things (I’m pretty sure I watched the original few seasons of Peep Show via the mailing option!). However, a steady stream like today of international shows was not the same.)

A Celebrity Entrance

Ryland Clark and Emma Willis; Hosts of Big Brother's Bit On The Side and Big Brother UK [2011-2018]

My memories of the period I started watching it are a little hazy, but I distinctly remember the set-up: Me in a reclining armchair and my mom beside me on the couch, watching it on Youtube, quality rarely exceeding 540p. I know my first was one of the celebrity versions, because for some reason, I thought those were inherently more interesting (Even though the celebrity contestants were foreign to me usually; If there was one I knew, it was more or less in passing I had heard the name and usually an American export.).

I’d be inclined to say my first was Celebrity Big Brother Season 15– Won by Katie Price and noteworthy for having the likes of Perez Hilton, Michelle Visage and Katie Hopkins (another ramble for another day, but it cemented my hatred of Michelle before I even saw her on RPDR years later.) To say the season was vicious was an understatement; I’m not a fan of Perez Hilton (didn’t really have enough to go off of regarding him as a person back then), but it was insane to see what they allowed week after week without much intervention. I remember the look of the season was so peculiar to me, unlike anything I’d had seen previously in reality TV, presenting a fairytale-esque theme. Despite the carnage, I was hooked, like a trainwreck I couldn’t take my eyes away from.

The cast of CBBUK 15

A view of the CBBUK House

From there, I devoured the Celebrity seasons like candy; I remember being obsessed with CBBUK Season 4, where Pete Burns of all people was in it (Strangely enough, I watched that right before his death months later). From there, it was iconic moment after iconic moment: George Galloway, a politician, pretended to be a cat for a challenge. American actor Gary Busey’s win in which he stood awkwardly and confused by the whole process; Chantelle, a non-celebrity, winning a whole celebrity edition, Jedward, as a whole.

George Galloway and Pete Burns on CBBUK S04

I don’t remember the first civilian series I watched, but they did not disappoint. I think my issue with other editions of Big Brother (US, CAN, AU) comes down to the casting; UK just picks really interesting people who create a unique environment. Love them or hate them, there’s usually something to say about them. I think again of Chanetelle, a genuinely sweet girl and a beloved winner. I think of Brian Dowling, a 2-time winner who went on to briefly host the show during its 2nd iteration. I think of Nikki Grahame, a beloved figure who passed on way too soon but whose strength was beyond words. I think of Josie Gibson, someone who seemed to have so many personal demons but who was beloved by the public because of her personality.

And most of these people went on to live normal lives after the fact. You have a few standouts, such as Brian Dowling or Sam Pepper (bleh), but most people had the experience and went back to life as normal, out of the public eye.

Nikki Grahame, one of the most prolific contestants of the whole franchise

This also goes into what rocked me to my core about Big Brother: It was the first time I can clearly think of seeing representation on TV in a non-trite manner. By that I mean the fact that yes, people’s sexuality and gender was discussed, but in a very progressive manner from the time. The winner of the 2nd ever series was a recently out gay man... in 2001! And though I have yet to see her original season, the fact that Nadia, a transwoman, was able to win a reality TV show based on the public’s vote in 2004 is insane to me, especially 21 years later trans rights on a base level are still being fought for. Seeing Lady Sovereign, someone who I only knew for one hit song in middle school, be open about being a lesbian in 2010 was mindblowing as well! And years later, seeing in real time Courtney Act be an open and proud non-binary drag queen and win 2018’s season...

As someone who was not out at the time of watching these, it was explosive to my mind to see people live so proudly and unafraid, while also having mind-blowing support from the general public. (Again; from an American’s perspective. I’m not quite sure of the representation in British media as a whole. Also, this is not to say LGBT+ contestants have not been out and open American reality shows (I don’t want to dismiss people like Bunky of BBUS2, which aired in 2001 as well). In things like BBUS it’s harder to know the fan reception because that is internal voting only and was only on a public-vote system in BBUS1).

Courtney Act as they appeared on BBUK

Of course, to say only the good about BBUK isn’t fair either. You have people like Sam Pepper who I don’t think should’ve been platformed and even moreso not allowed to do half of the shit he did in that house (a LOT of sexual harassment to Josie that was not properly called out). A lot of things in earlier seasons I don’t feel people got properly warned for– but honestly, it was still a hell of a lot better than BBUS (I remember a season of BBUK a girl used a racial slur and was kicked out, and same with Tila Tequila being kicked out once her nazi controversy dropped. Comparing that to in a certain BBUS season, it was so rife with bullying of non-white housemates that there’s like a whole 10 minute compilation of some of the worst of it.)

Why BBUK stands out

I think the format of BBUK makes it stand out so much more than other (English-speaking) formats of the show. The only ones I can say have given a similar vibe are the first of the US and some of the original run of the Australian. I think this in part comes down to how BBUK is run versus other English-speaking versions in terms of challenges and evictions.

The main distinction between BBUK and over versions such as US, CAN and (modern) AU can be summed up neatly as BBUK feels more like a personality-based show whereas the others feel more competition based. This isn’t inherently bad; Everyone has their own likes to reality TV competition shows, I just tend to prefer more social-focused ones. BBUK eliminates a lot of the scheming, often not letting contestants talk about what nominations they want to make to sway others to do the same.

BBUK also votes differently– the houseguests vote for two people they want to go each week, which ends up with around 2-6 people facing a public vote. In BBUK, these houseguests’ fate is then up to the public who’ll vote (depending on the season) to save or evict. The ability to win immunity isn’t a common thing between seasons, though it isn’t unheard of (see: BBUK S11). This contrasts with the BBUS format, where there tends to be a head of house competition, in which one (or occasionally, two) people choose 2 people to put up and then the house decides who goes, with no public intervention at all.

The challenges in BBUK also make it stand out because in my opinion, I think they take a lot more care towards more elderly and physically disabled contestants. Where in BBUS, it’s not uncommon to have houseguests stand in back-breaking positions for hours to win a challenge, that’s a lot rarer to BBUK to force contestants into. Thus, you tend to see a lot of older people make it a lot farther, which is really refreshing to see. (Not to say they haven’t forced BBUK contestants into painful situations, i.e, eating hot peppers or wearing shock suits. However, I’d much prefer that than standing for hours unable to move.)

A very common challenge from BBUS which involves contestants standing on a small ledge until there's only one left.

The other part of the allure to BBUK for me is simple: The sheer spectacle of the show.

BBUK is at its best when it’s both personable and camp, and they bring it in spades. Davina McCall, the host of the first iteration of BBUK (2000-2011) felt so exemplary of this. You could tell she lived and breathed that series and it came through in the way she was able to so humanly tackle difficult questions and feel like she was having a conversation with a friend no matter who came out during eviction. Everytime a new season came up– hell, every Friday Night Eviction– she was excited and you could tell it was something she passionately felt in every fiber of her being. I’d definitely say the two who came after her, Brian Dowling and Emma Willis, had a very similar feeling to them as well, but perhaps recency bias is making Davina stand out more to me. I compare it to someone like (today’s) Julie Chen, who is not a bad host, but she doesn’t have sort of personal vibe to most of the contestants or the show, going through the motions (BBUS early on, I’d argue she had more, but again, I digress).

Every episode of its original two runs, BBUK felt like a party. You had such energetic hosts, you had fans cramming into this arena waiting to cheer to boo for whoever came out– sometimes deserved, sometimes being mean for the sake of it it felt like. It didn’t matter if you were watching it live or on “catch up”– the fanfare was there all the same and you could tell the passion behind the show on every level.

Big Brother Ultimate

The reason I started writing all of this down is because of finishing up Big Brother Ultimate; It was a culmination of the original run and was going to be the final series of Big Brother UK at that time with no certain future (though, it would only be a year until it was picked up by another network). It had brought back old housemates, celebrity and civilian, to compete.

Was it a perfect season? No, not quite. Hell, the winner of the civilian season before it, Josie, walked less than a week in! (Can’t blame her– She did 77 days locked away in a house with no contact to family and then was supposed to be in there another 3 weeks? All while people are telling her that the boyfriend she made in the house was a shithead?). However, the last 3 people I think were exemplary of what made that season and the show as a whole: Chantelle, Brian and Nikki. All three were just normal people who were so deeply touched by that show; Chantelle, who met her ex-husband on her first run and divorced by the time she had come back, reuniting with him in the house and having a hard time moving on while he already had. Brian– a man who 11 years prior had just come out and won his season, and later went on to become a presenter for the show. And Nikki– there’s so much to say about Nikki, but her openness and vulnerability, especially when talking about how the show turned her life around, was so beautiful to see. There were never a more deserving final 3 than them. They were all winners in their own right and it got me choked up to think how this reality show had changed the trajectory of their lives.

A very common challenge from BBUS which involves contestants standing on a small ledge until there's only one left.

All that being said, despite the sadness of the occasion, there was always a happiness surrounding it. There’s no doubt everyone was distraught over its ending... But where else can you get a funeral for the show, done in the backyard, with eulogies from the people who were on the cast? Where can you get the host doing her own eulogy for the series, dressed in black, after a faux funeral procession where they hold up the latest Big Brother Eye? Where can you get all of this and then the most loving tribute to that presenter as the show wraps up?

I think of seeing the last shots of Davina and Brian together at the end of Big Brother Ultimate. Davina would not return when they changed networks, but Brian would take over the helm. To look at them, conflicted with such happiness and sadness and to know what was to come only a year later felt so beautifully touching.

Brian Dowling, Winner of BBUK S2 and BBUK Ultimate, alonside Davina McCall

Closing

BBUK is special. I can’t say I like the modern iteration of it (2023-current) as much, as it feels a lot less personal and removed in terms of how the surrounding production is. The BBUK I cling to and adore, 2000-2018, is some of the most worthwhile reality TV.

BBUK to me is exemplary of the human experience– which may sound like a crazy thing to say about a reality TV show where people are locked in a house together and slowly voted out. However, it goes to show that you don't need to do insane physical challenges and make things convoluted to have good reality TV, you just need an interesting cast and to see how people make connections to get invested in their lives.

Though, perhaps making your contestants compete against a robot in a challenge of mixing doesn't hurt either... That and making a politician pretend to be a cat.