Big Brother (series)

Big Brother is a British reality competition television series, an incarnation of the Dutch franchise of the same name originally created by John de Mol Jr.

In the show, contestants, called "housemates" or "houseguests", are made to live together for a number of weeks, in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world, within which they are continually monitored by live television cameras and personal audio microphones. Contestants are eliminated throughout the duration by being "evicted" from the house, provided they have received the most nominations from their fellow housemates, and have accumulated the lowest number of votes by the viewing public. The last contestant to remain in the house on the final night is the winner.

The UK version of the series was originally launched on Channel 4 on 18 July 2000, becoming a smash hit for the channel, and ran until 2010. It was then revived the following year by Five, on which it ran until once again being axed in 2018. It was revived for a second time in 2023 on ITV2, on which it continues to run today.

Appearance on Doctor Who
A futuristic version of Big Brother appeared in the Series 1 episode, Bad Wolf, where it was among the various reality television shows produced and broadcast from the Game Station in the year 200,100. Its appearance is unique among cultural references within the Doctor Who universe for its explicit usage of the real show's trademarks, such as its distinctive "eye" logo and theme music. This version of the series has a similar format to its real life counterpart, albeit with a sinister twist: everyone on Earth was a potential contestant, being picked at random by the station's Transmat beam against their will, with the losers seemingly being disintegrated, in an antechamber approximating the position of the house's front door, with it later being revealed that they are actually being transported to the Dalek Emperor's flagship where they became part of the growing Dalek army. The station is said to have sixty Big Brother houses running at once, non-stop. The episode saw the Ninth Doctor being made to compete on the series, alongside other housemates that included Lynda Moss. After discovering the grim fate that awaited potential evictees, the Doctor deliberately got himself evicted by damaging a camera, giving him the chance to escape when the disintegrator failed.

Connections
Davina McCall, then-presenter of the real life Big Brother series, was brought on to voice her futuristic counterpart, the Davinadroid, within the episode.

The diary room chair used in the episode's version of the series was reportedly sold off to Channel 4.

Celebrity Big Brother housemates
Running alongside the regular Big Brother series, in which contestants are members of the public, is the celebrity edition, on which some individuals associated with Doctor Who media have taken part.

Sue Perkins, who played herself in Looking for Pudsey, took part in the second series (2002), and was evicted on day 9, putting her in fourth place.

Rula Lenska, who played Styles in Resurrection of the Daleks, took part in the fourth series (2006), and was evicted on day 16, putting her in ninth place.

Cheryl Fergison, who played Mrs Lloyd in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, took part in the tenth series (2012), and was evicted on day 10, putting her in tenth place.

Gillian Taylforth, who played Kathy Beale in Dimensions in Time, took part in the eleventh series (2013), and was evicted on day 16, putting her in ninth place.

Christopher Biggins, who voiced Banto Zame in the Big Finish audio The One Doctor, and Ricky Norwood, an interview subject for The Ultimate Guide, both took part in the eighteenth series (2016). Biggins was removed (without eviction) on day 9 after making offensive comments, putting him in fourteenth place. while Norwood was the runner-up on the final night.

Ann Widdecombe, who played herself in The Sound of Drums, took part in the twenty-first series, and was the runner-up on the final night.

Companion and spin-off shows
Both Big Brother series' are typically accompanied by panel shows in which the recent events of the parent series are discussed. Two of these series' were and, which were hosted by Russell Brand and Dermot O'Leary, respectively.

A one-off Big Brother series titled aired on Channel 4 in 2008. The series saw the Big Brother house (with civilian housemates) being controlled by celebrity guests, with the celebrity in charge changing each day. Among the celebrities to take part were Matt Lucas, Alan Cumming, James Corden, and Jimmy Carr.