Big Brother puts sadism first in slum house

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 04-Jun-09, 09:15

LONDON - In the tenth series of Channel 4's 'Big Brother', which starts tonight, the contestants will have a rough start, spending their first night sleeping on the floor and bathing in cold water.

The contestants, eight men and eight women, will not get access to the full Big Brother house until they individually earn their housemate status over the next three days by completing a set of tasks.

Each task has been designed to challenge the contestants' pride and fears, and some will require the participants to go head to head in a bid to become an official housemate.

Until the contestants successfully complete the tasks, they will only be able to access a toilet, the garden and a living room void of any creature comforts.

They won't have access to their suitcases and will be forced to spend their first night sleeping on the living room floor.

The only accessible washing facilities will be a bath in the garden, which can only be filled by carrying cold water in a hole-ridden bucket across the garden.

Big Brother 10, which starts tonight at 9pm and is sponsored by Lucozade, is set to last for 13 weeks. The winning housemate will walk away with £100,000.

All 16 people entering the house have been in hiding for the past few weeks. They have been described as "the most diverse group yet", from a wide range of countries and backgrounds.

The eldest person is 40 and the youngest is 18. Only one contestant's identity has been leaked -- a Scottish model called Karly Ashworth.

Viewer numbers have been in steady decline in recent years. The finale of 'Big Brother 9' last September saw Welsh primary school teacher Rachel crowned the winner and drew 4.7m viewers.

The series averaged an audience of 3.2m viewers, compared with 3.8m in 2007 and 4.5m viewers in 2006.

Inside the Big Brother 10 house