Big Brother 5 (UK)
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| Big Brother UK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fifth series (2004) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Big Brother 5 in 2004 was the fifth season of Big Brother in the UK, a reality show shown on Channel 4 in which a number of contestants live in an isolated house trying to avoid being evicted by the public with the aim of winning a large cash prize at the end of the run.
[edit] Housemates
[edit] Ahmed Aghil
Ahmed Aghil (born March, 1960) fled to Britain from Somalia during the early 1990s, and is now a successful property developer and has graduated with a degree in law. He gained a reputation for his eccentricity and his inexplicable outbursts of violence while in the house. He always remained least favourite to win, with odds ranging from 33/1 to 50/1.
Ahmed usually spent time alone in the garden, or asleep. He was fairly sedate, in sharp contrast to most of the house, meaning that he did not bond with anyone in the house much, and indeed was fairly irritated by many of the housemates.
After a few weeks of participation in the programme, Ahmed began to have spontaneous violent outbursts, in which he threw plates around, chopped the head of a papier-mâché statue off with a spade and screamed out loud (the first two were in response to the playing into the house of a crying baby, the first time to try to wake the housemates up, the second time to try to get them to talk after they refused to speak for a day in protest at failing a task. He explained his behaviour later on by stating that as a father, he found the sound of a crying baby extremely disturbing). It eventually became clear that he was under enormous psychological pressure in the house, and that he was becoming increasingly deranged-he recognised this himself, but refused to leave the house of his own accord, since he harboured a dream of having an eviction night and interview like all other evictees (he referred to this as "his night"). Eventually, it got to the point where he was asking the other housemates to nominate him for eviction. Even when he did so, he was not evicted.
He became somewhat unpopular in the house, with the public turning against him after an incident in the house during a weekly "Big Brother Boot Camp" task, in which he was assigned the role of a private (along with 5 other housemates) while two others were assigned the role of sergeant. He refused to do several activities as required by the task, came to blows with (more popular) sergeant Michelle and eventually tried to instigate a military coup. In an interview with the Daily Mirror after the show had finished, he said that his reluctance to take part in the task was due to the memories of the militia in his own country that contributed to his claim for asylum in the UK. Despite this, the group passed the task: however, in accordance with the rules of the task, the privates were immediately up for eviction. He was evicted with 56% of the vote. In his post-eviction interview, he remarked that he did not expect to remain in the house past the third week. Ahmed recently appeared on The Friday Night Project, and on entering the stage he threw a stack of plates to the ground, smashing them.
[edit] Becki Seddiki
Becki Seddiki (born July 24, 1970) is a singer-songwriter from London, with Italian and Moroccan blood. Big Brother told her she must nominate a housemate for eviction, she must kiss the housemate to indicate who she has chosen, this was compulsory. Her choice of Michelle as recipient of her 'Judas kiss' was hugely unpopular with viewers and resulted in her being evicted at the earliest opportunity.
Since Big Brother, Becki has landed a twice weekly radio DJing slot on a radio station in London (from 2006 onwards) and is still recording her music and performing at several gigs all over the UK.
[edit] Daniel Bryan
Daniel (born January 3, 1974) is a hairdresser from Hull. During his stay in the house, Daniel made clear that he was gay due to many conversations about fellow housemate Jason's "bum" and many conversations about men. Dan finished third behind Jason and Nadia. He was an extremely popular contestant on the show and was at one point nicknamed "Dandalf" due to his excessive wearing of a grey hooded dressing gown.
[edit] Emma Greenwood
One of the lip gloss bitches, Emma (born October 12, 1983) was formerly an admin assistant. She was removed from the house for safety reasons after the notorious "fight night" in which she played a leading role. Emma is originally from Oldham, Greater Manchester and had a minor singing career before and after her time in the house. Emma has also been a member of the British Army
Since leaving the Big Brother house Emma enjoyed her "moment of fame" by making various public appearances. Emma moved into a flat in London with fellow housemate Marco for several months until ultimately returning to the army.
[edit] Jason Cowan
Jason, from Glasgow, was the runner-up of the series. During the house, he formed a friendship with Victor Ebuwa and Ahmed Aghil that led to the formation of a prominent clique known as the Jungle Cats. Cowan's presence at the end brought a balance to the house after all the villains had left and only friends or people that sat on the fence were left. He spent most of his time laying in bed and bitching about the other housemates with Victor, shaving every conceivable part of his body for lengthy periods of time, and exercising almost constantly. Happy on entry to the house, Jason became the house villain, he and Nadia hated each other for the second half of the show. He and Victor also had a strong dislike for the group Victor dubbed "The Hareem" consisting of Marco, Michelle, Emma, Nadia and to a lesser extent Stuart.
He was born on November 1, 1973, in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. He was in Five's recent show Commando VIP, in which he and five other celebrities had to complete SAS-style tasks.
[edit] Kathryn "Kitten" Pinder
Kathryn ("Kat", or "Kitten") Pinder (born October 13, 1979) is a human and animal rights activist. She entered the house on May 28, 2004 and was ejected one week later on June 4 after continuously breaking house rules and receiving three formal warnings. After her ejection, Kitten occasionally appeared on the parallel show Big Brother's Little Brother, also on Channel 4.
Kitten describes herself as an anarchist, heavily involved in political activism and opposition to war, the class society and capitalism. Before becoming an anarchist, she used to be a member/supporter of the Alliance for Workers Liberty. She also claimed to be a prostitute in London at the age of 16, although her father denied this in the press, stating that she was in boarding school in Staffordshire at the time. She was also previously a student at the University of Hull. Kitten moved to Australia with her lesbian lover in late 2004 in order to make a fresh start after she claimed to have been shunned by the lesbian community following her actions whilst in the Big Brother house.
On entering the Big Brother house, Kitten refused to enter until she had seen her girlfriend and made obscene gestures to the crowd and the media. This action led her to be the first housemate to be booed on entry to the house. Her behaviour did not improve once in the house as she refused to obey the rules of Big Brother, leading to three official warnings.
In an effort to get Kitten to toe the line, Big Brother warned the housemates that they would evict any housemate without warning if Kitten continued to break the rules. However Kitten again broke the rules by daubing anti-war slogans on the wall of the house. On the second week, live on Channel 4, Kitten was finally ejected from the house for her persistent rule-breaking, initially refusing to leave. She was eventually removed from the house after Big Brother began reducing the £100,000 prize fund by £1,000 for every 6 seconds she stayed in the house. On leaving Kitten shouted at the media against the Queen and the Aristocracy.
Some days later she appeared in court regarding her non-payment of parking fines amounting to £225. She blamed it on Tony Blair's education policy, saying she could not pay the fines because of student debts.
[edit] Marco Sabba
Marco Jaye Sabba (born April 20, 1983) was a law student from Kingston University, and was particularly friendly with Nadia Almada,Emma Greenwood and Michelle Bass. The quartet called themselves the 'lip gloss bitches', but were dubbed Marco's harem by Victor. Also, he hilariously tripped his own mother by sliding along a slippery stage when he emerged from the Big Brother house. Marco has appeared in a West End stage show and reappeared on British Television since leaving the Big Brother house. He, along with fellow housemate Emma, provided a commentary of Celebrity Big Brother UK on Richard and Judy. His overt campiness and high pitched and loud voice irritated many housemates and viewers alike. Currently in a relationship with long-term partner Brendan Crowley
[edit] Michelle Bass
Michelle Bass (born February 2, 1981 in Newcastle) was formerly a mortgage advisor. She was a member of the 'Lip gloss Bitches', along with Marco Sabba, Emma Greenwood and Nadia Almada. She was best known for her the spell in the bedsit with Emma Greenwood, as well as her relationship with Stuart Wilson - they allegedly became the first couple to have sex live on British television after Michelle fashioned a "fort" so they could have some privacy from the cameras. Michelle was referred to as a "bunny boiler" by the press due to her obsessive pursuit of Stuart. She also referred to most people by the pet-name "chicken" which became a popular catchphrase during her time in the house.
[edit] Michelle "Shell" Jubin
Shell, (originally from Hampshire), was a former History of Art student and lived in Glasgow where she still has a home. Soon after the series ended she appeared alongside Vanessa appearing in raunchy photo shoots. She has since returned to higher education studying for a masters degree in Art History. She has been a contributer to BBC Radio Scotland and works with The Look Agency in Glasgow. In 2006 Shell moved to New York in order to work at the Guggenheim museum
[edit] Nadia Almada
Nadia Almada (born January 28, 1977) was born on the Portuguese Island of Madeira, under the name of Jorge, but she was known as Carlos. She moved to England in 1996 and worked in a department store in Woking, where she lives. She has also managed a children's book store. Before entering the Big Brother house she worked as a cashier in a well-known bank
The Sun dubbed Nadia the Portugeezer, the "Portuguese Man O' War" and NADS, NADS being a slang term for gonads (testicles) [1].
She became the first transwoman in the Big Brother house, competing in the 2004 series in the UK. After 71 days in the house she emerged as the winner, securing 74% of the overall vote and winning £63,500.
It was not the prize money which meant the most to Nadia but the fact that that she believed to have been accepted into society for who she was.
[edit] Stuart Wilson
Stuart Wilson (born April 28, 1984) is a student from Macclesfield. He was initially a member of the jungle cats, although when things got serious with Michelle, he was neither here nor there. He was best known in the house for his relationship with Michelle and for his constant need to dress up and child-like personality. He claimed to be the most intelligent contestant ever to appear on Big Brother.
During one task, Stuart was given a cowboy outfit which he fell in love with; particularly with the hat. After eventually giving it back to Big Brother, he asked for it back again. They gave him an oversized one instead, and then a miniature one. Later on, when the contestants refused to co-operate with Big Brother, they put the TVs on and showed them burning the original hat, much to the distress of Stuart. Throughout all this, up until the burning, Big Brother's Little Brother held a campaign for Stuart to get his hat back. Soon after Stuart's eviction, Michelle bought him a cowboy hat.
Michelle and Stuart enjoyed a year long relationship, in which they attended showbiz parties and covered many articles in glossy magazines. Soon after the sixth series of Big Brother started, it was revealed these two had split up.
Stuarts time in the house was a quiet one, he didn't speak much (other than to Michelle). This was reflected in his votes, he was not nominated once during his time in the house but in the final he received the least number of votes (votes to win), no one liked him, no one disliked him. His eviction was a surprise, days before the final Big Brother asked him into the diary room and told him to leave the house
[edit] Vanessa Nimmo
Vanessa Nimmo (born 12 August 1977) is a former double South African archery champion. She was born in Cape Town but moved to Leeds in 1994. Since being on Big Brother, she has been dating Ben Fogle. During "Fight Night", it took half of the housemates to hold Nadia back after Vanessa had supposedly slapped her. Like Michelle Bass, Vanessa also had breast implants which prompted her to do raunchy photo shoots with fellow housemate Shell Jubin.
[edit] Victor Ebuwa
Victor Ebuwa (born January 17, 1981), from London, was the co-Leader of the 'Jungle Cats', styling himself as 'Slick (Vic)' in the house, and formed a close partnership with Jason Cowan, and also with Ahmed Aghil. He was known for his memorable one-liners and rap/-izzle-style speech, for speaking his mind and having a game plan. He is also probably the first housemate ever to openly discuss his plan in the Diary Room in the house.
On day 57 he was evicted following an argument with fellow housemate Shell Jubin, after which a fan of Victor's sent death threats to Shell's parents house. Previous to this argument Victor was second favourite to win the show.
Many TV critics, including Ally Ross (The Sun TV Critic), have credited Victor for saving the Big Brother UK franchise, thanks to stirring controversy and his 'straight talking' attitude towards housemates. The previous year's show was slammed by critics for being dull, leading to record low viewing figures and a subsequent drop in eviction votes. Viewing figures increased this year to an average of 7 million every night.
Since leaving the house, Victor has appeared on Celebrity Poker Club.
[edit] What Happened
Trailed as "Big Brother turns evil", it was controversial from the start. The house was smaller and more claustrophobic; there was one bedroom; and the prize money of £100,000 was reduced if housemates failed their tasks. Big Brother promised tougher challenges as well as surprises to test the minds of housemates. The makers were initially criticised for choosing contestants specifically to boost ratings, opting for people that were openly gay (Marco, Dan and Kitten), a transsexual (Nadia Almada), a former asylum seeker (Ahmed), and a person who claimed to be bisexual (Jason, although he later revealed that this had been a fabrication to improve his chances of being selected). This feeling soon dissipated to a large extent as the personalities of the housemates overshadowed these issues.
The housemates were all strong, opinionated characters. Kitten Pinder was ejected in the first week for constant rule-breaking. A fake eviction in the second week saw two of the housemates, Emma and Michelle, confined to the nearby "Big Brother Bedsit" where they could see and hear what was happening in the house without the others knowing. After their return to the house, scenes of aggression and violence erupted resulting in on-site security staff having to enter the house for the first time in the show's history. Some viewers of the live feed also called the police; after a short investigation, a joint statement by Hertfordshire police and producers Endemol said that they were satisfied with steps being taken to ensure housemates' safety and well-being. Police were also reportedly questioning each contestant as they left the house. Emma was moved back to the bed-sit and later evicted permanently. Several remaining housemates (Victor, Jason, Nadia, Vanessa, Marco) were given a formal warning. A psychologist on the show resigned, claiming that his warnings that Endemol's deliberate selection of housemates likely to cause conflict would lead to the fight went unheeded.
Following the fight the arguments continued, but nothing on the scale of what producers refer to as "Day 20" or "Fight Night". Following an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live Emma and Victor clashed again and had to be separated by the security on the show.
A surprise new housemate, Becki Seddiki, was evicted at the first opportunity. She had been told by Big Brother to (based on first impressions) kiss one of the housemates and that housemate would be up for eviction. This became known as the "Judas kiss". She chose popular housemate Michelle, leading to her being perceived by many as a traitor, and her fate was sealed.
The weekly live task was dropped in this series; housemates still competed in a "Saturday Challenge" though, but only highlights were shown. The week after Seddiki's eviction, Ahmed Aghil was evicted. The following week the flamboyant, aggressive Victor Ebuwa was evicted in a shock result that was mainly a result of a fight with Shell Jubin during a Wedding Day task. This task was also the scene for one of the most embarrassing Big Brother moments of recent times as wannabe-singer and chorister for the day, Michelle Bass, ad-libbed her way through the classical Pie Jesu.
The following week Michelle was evicted. The series was notable for her romance with Stuart Wilson. It is widely believed that they were the first couple to have full penetrative sex on the main Big Brother UK show (this having already taken place on Teen Big Brother in 2003), following two incidents where they made a crude tent under the dining table and discarded their microphones. However their actions were not visible, and both parties have refused to confirm or deny it. Michelle's self-confessed jealous behaviour gave some viewers the impression that Stuart was an unwilling participant in the affair, but he has stated since that this was not the case. The relationship continued after both had left the house. They have since split up.
Two days before the final day Stuart Wilson received only 7% of the votes to win, the lowest amount of the contestants in the house, and so was evicted in a surprise move mid-way through a party. He was told he was to leave immediately, without saying goodbye to the remaining housemates. He received a rapturous reception upon leaving the Big Brother house.
Nadia, as expected by all the bookmakers (she was favourite for six weeks) won Big Brother (UK) 2004 with 74% of the vote. She was greeted by an adoring crowd who chanted her name.
BB5 was also notable for the introduction by two of the housemates of the 'eviction pose', which led to several evictees doing poses during Big Brother 6. First Victor struck a 'cool' pose in keeping with his house 'gangsta' persona, leaning against the wall sideways on to the waiting audience. Later Dan (who could possibly have seen Victor before the inner doors closed) stood, head bowed, arms out, before lifting his head.
Final vote breakdown:
- Nadia: 3,863,696
- Jason: 1,335,246
- Dan: 685,995
- Shell: 347,051
Total number of votes in the final week: 6.3 million
[edit] Jungle Cats
Jungle Cats, also referred to as the JCs, were the clique that were prominent in the reality show Big Brother UK series 5. The group consisted of a trio who were Ahmed Aghil, Jason Cowan and Victor Ebuwa. Stuart Wilson was also initially part of the Jungle Cats, yet became more of a jungle kitten than a jungle cat as his relationship with Michelle Bass developed whilst in the house. They earned a loyal fan base of around 1.2 million of the average 7 million who watched the series. They were seen as the masculine peoples favourite clique as opposed to the feminine peoples clique represented by the Jungle Cats rivals the Lip Gloss Bitches who were founded by Marco Sabba. In the show Ahmed Aghil lasted 7 Weeks followed by Victor Ebuwa who lasted 8 weeks. Jason Cowan the founder of the Jungle Cats finished the show as Runner up in a programme seen by the JCS and by leading TV critic Ally Ross [citation needed], of the sun as biased in favour of Nadia Almada who eventually won the show.
[edit] Nominations, evictions and percentages
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Against Public Vote |
None | Ahmed, Emma, Michelle |
Daniel, Vanessa |
Daniel, Vanessa |
Marco, Michelle, Nadia |
Ahmed, Becki |
Ahmed, Daniel, Nadia, Shell, Stuart, Victor |
Daniel, Jason, Nadia, Victor |
Daniel, Jason, Michelle, Nadia, Stuart, Shell |
Daniel, Jason, Nadia, Stuart, Shell |
|
| Evicted and Vote Percentage | Kitten to evict |
Emma 54% to move Michelle |
- | Vanessa 86% to evict |
Marco 52% to evict |
Becki 61.5% to evict |
Ahmed 56% to evict |
Victor 47% to evict |
Michelle 67% to evict |
Stuart
7% |
Shell
9% |
| Daniel
17% |
Jason
21% |
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| Nadia
74% |
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[edit] External links
| Big Brother UK | |
|---|---|
| Big Brother | 1 (2000) | 2 (2001) | 3 (2002) | 4 (2003) | 5 (2004) | 6 (2005) | 7 (2006) |
| Celebrity Big Brother | 2001 | 2002 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Teen Big Brother | 2003 |
