Big Brother 2001 (UK)

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Big Brother (UK)
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Second series (2001)

Big Brother 2 was broadcast in 2001 in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the Big Brother reality television series. It aired on Channel 4, from 25 May 2001 to 27 July 2001, lasting 64 days. The second series of the show 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. With a much larger budget for the second series, after the huge success of the first, the house in Bow, East London was renovated and in May 2001, the new batch of housemates moved in.

In a twist to the show, an 11th housemate entered the house two weeks later (Day 16) - as the result of a public vote, in which Josh Rafter was chosen out of 3 wildcard housemates as the 11th contestant. During the first week, at the end of each episode, clips were shown of all three possible housemates:

  • Josh, who claimed "to have made a million and then lost it";
  • Anne, an older woman who promised sense and maturity in the house, and a "late night talker";
  • Natasha, a fiery young girl who promised "naughtiness" and other late-night antics

The trio were not allowed to watch the show or find out what was happening in the house until the winner of the vote entered so they were taken to Portugal up to that point.

The series saw lovebirds Paul Clarke and Helen Adams grow close over the time they spent in the house. Their relationship helped bring in ratings, as tabloids speculated on the possibility of their indulging in sexual shenanigans in a manner similar to that seen in the show's continental equivalent.

Paul and Helen's romance wasn't the only ratings winner, the quick wit of Irish housemate Brian Dowling became an instant hit with viewers. Brian went on to win the series, and launch a successful television career. The public's continued affection for him was illustrated by his being voted the most popular Big Brother housemate from Series 1 to 5 in 2005. In a 2006 update to this poll he had, however, fallen to fourth. Brian went on to become the first openly gay man to present a children's television show in the UK when he joined SMTV Live.

Helen finished second in the show, her popularity was predominantly due to her dumb blonde persona. Famous quotes from Helen, known as 'Helenisms', have included "Is there chicken in chickpeas?" and "I like blinking, I do." Helen and Paul, after 5 years together, have since separated, citing a lack of time apart as the reason for the breakup.[1]

Series two tasks included:

  • Manning, fuelling, and keeping alight a fire
  • Learning first-aid techniques
  • Training a dog to do tricks
  • Dancing - it consisted of music being played, and housemates having a set amount of time to rush to a specially-constructed podium in the garden and dance with music. This was seen as popular and appropriate, and many tasks in future series have involved timed klaxons to perform certain rituals. A famous moment that inadvertently resulted from this time pressure occurred as Bubble raced to the podium, only to smash his knee into a chair as he did so.

Series two was also the first series to involve an interactive service, showing two live feeds, and two more with respective one and four hour time delays. This was not a 24-hour service, and the feed was stopped for a two-hour period every night, during which the show and another three programs aired. Endemol were also criticised for cutting the live feed when two intruders broke into the house on Day 39, and subsequently promised to tighten security.

Brian's winning margin was the highest ever garnered by a U.K winning contestant.

Total number of votes in the final week: 7.3 million

Contents

[edit] Housemates

[edit] Amma

Amma Antwi-Agyei, (born 1978) was a table dancer from London. Amma says she is obsessed with cooking, eating and playing with food, though custard and porridge make her cringe. Amma loves karaoke and her party trick is turning her eyelids inside out. Amma was evicted on Day 43. After leaving Big Brother Amma went back to a life outside the public eye, except for a brief acting role in the Sky One TV program Dream Team.[1]

[edit] Brian

Main article: Brian Dowling

Brian Patrick Robert Dowling (born 13 June 1978) was the winner of the Big Brother UK series 2. He orginates from Rathangan, County Kildare, Ireland. Before entering the Big Brother house he was a Flight attendant for Ryanair. He ;came out' as being gay to his parents only 2 weeks before the competition.[1] After Big Brother he has gone on to become a television presenter.

Brian was a contestant in the ITV reality series Hell's Kitchen during September 2007, in which he competed against other celebrities to impress celebrity chef Marco Pierre White. Brian finished in third place. Whilst participating, he had numerous clashes with fellow contestant Jim Davidson because of what Dowling interpreted as Davidson's homophobic slurs. Davidson was subsequently asked to leave the show as a contestant due to what ITV described as "unacceptable remarks" against Dowling.[1]

Brian says he doesn't like vegetables, salad or anything healthy but does make "a wicked shepherd's pie". His nickname is Bambie and is happy to describe himself as a "trolley dolly".

[edit] Bubble

Paul "Bubble" Ferguson (born 1977) from Surrey entered the Big Brother house at the age of 24, previously being a Warehouse Operative. Bubble is a huge fan of Chelsea Football Club. When he's not busy working, Bubble spends his time running around after his daughter Bryony and her hamster Pookiebaby. He loves curry, but hates peas after a childhood force-feeding peas incident. He used to run a nightclub and said he was very proud that on his last day at work all the staff wore black arm bands. He was evicted on Day 36.[1]

[edit] Dean

Dean O'Loughlin (born 1964)Dean ranks football and sex as his favourite things. He says his biggest achievement was performing as a comedian to a crowd in New York at an open-mic night where he "brought the house down". Dean is a member of both Greenpeace and Amnesty. He came in 3rd place loses out to Helen and Brian. After leaving the house Dean and fellow housemate Stuart formed the company Z List Ltd, which produces the Tea Bag Bin[1]. In 2004 Dean released the book he has written about his Big Brother experience: Living in the Box, and recently Dean announced that he was recording an album in New York.

[edit] Elizabeth

Elizabeth Woodcock (born 1974) from Cumbria was a website designer. Elizabeth loves avocados but hates smoking. Her favourite movies include Easy Rider and Dangerous Liaisons. Elizabeth adores animals and said she would miss her dog Billy while she's in the house. Elizabeth is a horse fanatic who has worked with MAFF on relocation of animals from foot and mouth-infected areas. She was evicted on Day 63, just missing out on the final which was the next day (Day 64)[1].

[edit] Helen

Main article: Helen Adams

Helen Adams (born 6 June, 1978, from Cwmbran, South Wales. Helen describes her perfect day as having a long bath, blow-drying her hair and covering herself in glitter and fluff. She says her best qualities are being enthusiastic and chatty. Originally a hairdresser in Classy Cutz, Newport[2] and part time dance instructor, Adams gained celebrity status in the UK due to her on-screen relationship with fellow Big Brother contestant Paul Clarke — a car designer from Reading. During their time in the Big Brother house, their relationship captivated the nation's interest, with millions of viewers tuning in to see the latest development in their soap-like romance. Adams became notorious for her spontaneous tendency to blurt out whatever came into her head, which often tended to be bizarrely illogical and were referred to as "Helenisms" by fans and the tabloid press. Despite being the bookies' early favourite for eviction, she went on to take second place in the contest, losing out to Brian Dowling in the final; Dowling polled 4,231,660 votes (58%) out of a total 7,255,094, while 2,680,463 viewers (37%) voted for Adams.[3]

[edit] Josh

Josh Rafter (born 1969)was a property manager. Josh was voted into the house on Day 16 by the public. He was one of three contenders with the opertunity to become a housemate along with Anne, an older woman who promised sense and maturity in the house, and a "late night talker" and Natasha, a fiery young girl who promised "naughtiness" and other late-night antics.Josh is a fitness fanatic who says his fitness instructor is the biggest influence on his life so far. He also admires his 89-year-old grandmother for her amazing amount of energy and zest for life. Josh says his dream job would be an international tennis player. Josh was Evicted on Day 50

[edit] Narinder

Narinder Kaur (born 1973) from Leicester was a Medcial Rep. Narinder decided to take part in Big Brother because she wants to entertain Britain for 10 weeks. Shortly after Big Brother she appeared on a UK late night Asian Pop Culture TV Program and when asked if she was set for World Stardom, she replied, "I need to conquer Britain First!"

Later in interviews she has expressed her desire not just to be remembered for being in Big Brother, but prophesised that when 90 and laying on her death bed the nurse will say "You're Narinder from Big Brother Aren't you?"

In 2002 she joined the Saturday Morning music programme Chart Choice. Initially she appeared as an outisde reporter interviewing people about new music releases. She left in November 2002 when the segment was dropped but returned in February 2003 to front the new Music News segment. Throughout 2004 & 2005 she co-hosted the show when various presenters were absent. She left the programme in December 2006 as part of a revamp to increase declining viewing figures.

In 2004 she appeared on Big Brother Panto, a Big Brother spin-off show that saw previous housemates from different series act in a play. Since then she has released her own book titled "Big Brother - The Inside Story"[1]. Narinder was evicted on Day 29.

[edit] Paul

Paul Clarke (born 1976) from Reading was a CAD Designer. Paul describes himself as a modern man who never forgets his moisturiser and his mirror.He says his biggest worry is impending flabbiness because there is no gym in the Big Brother House.Paul dislikes people who pick their nose in traffic, tomatoes and classical opera. Paul says he expects to impress the girls in the house because he "can work like a dog, laugh like a hyena". Whilst in the house he started dating Helen and they carried the relationship outside of the house. However now they have split up in 2006. Paul was evicted on day 57.

[edit] Penny

Penny Ellis (born 1968) from London was an English teacher.Penny says she is a bit eccentric and that her ambition is to make every teenager's dream come true. She says she does not like people sniffing near her, and claims to be very clean and tidy. Penny says she likes to relax listening to music and cuddling her teddy bear. Penny was first to be evicted from the Second Series on Day 15.

[edit] Stuart

Stuart Hosking (born 1965) from Oxfordshire was a Director of a Comunications Company. Stuart describes himself as a highly confident and articulate person whose passions are fast cars and fois gras. He says he has an aversion to Anne Robinson and he likes to think of himself as Mr Perfect. Stuart says he'll miss his wife's cooking and Indian takeaways the most while he's in the house. Stuart was evicted on Day 22. Since leaving the house Stuart and fellow housemate Dean formed the company Z List Ltd, which produces the Tea Bag Bin.

[edit] Nominations table

Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Final
Week 9
Brian Helen,
Elizabeth		 Stuart,
Helen		 Paul,
Amma		 Paul,
Amma		 Paul,
Amma		 Paul,
Josh		 Paul,
Helen		 Winner
Helen Bubble,
Narinder		 Narinder,
Bubble		 Brian,
Narinder		 Bubble,
Brian		 Josh,
Dean		 Dean,
Josh		 Dean,
Elizabeth		 2nd place
Dean Narinder,
Penny		 Narinder,
Paul		 Paul,
Narinder		 Paul,
Helen		 Paul,
Amma		 Helen,
Josh		 Paul,
Helen		 3rd place
Elizabeth Penny,
Helen		 Paul,
Stuart		 Narinder,
Paul		 Paul,
Brian		 Paul,
Helen		 Paul,
Helen		 Paul,
Helen		 Evicted
(Day 63)
Paul Amma,
Helen		 Amma,
Bubble		 Brian,
Bubble		 Amma,
Bubble		 Amma,
Elizabeth		 Brian,
Josh		 Brian,
Elizabeth		 Evicted
(Day 57)
Josh Not in house Exempt Narinder,
Bubble		 Paul,
Bubble		 Amma,
Brian		 Brian,
Helen		 Evicted
(Day 50)
Amma Paul,
Penny		 Paul,
Stuart		 Narinder,
Paul		 Paul,
Dean		 Paul,
Josh		 Evicted
(Day 43)
Bubble Paul,
Penny		 Paul,
Helen		 Narinder,
Josh		 Paul,
Josh		 Evicted
(Day 36)
Narinder Helen,
Bubble		 Stuart,
Helen		 Amma,
Bubble		 Evicted
(Day 29)
Stuart Penny,
Narinder		 Amma,
Narinder		 Evicted
(Day 22)
Penny Helen,
Amma		 Evicted
(Day 15)
Against
public vote		 Helen
Penny		 Paul
Stuart		 Narinder
Paul		 Bubble
Paul		 Amma
Paul		 Helen
Josh		 Helen
Paul		 Brian
Dean
Elizabeth
Helen
Evicted Penny
58%
to evict		 Stuart
86%
to evict		 Narinder
62%
to evict		 Bubble
53%
to evict		 Amma
64%
to evict		 Josh
84%
to evict		 Paul
84%
to evict		 Elizabeth
2%
(out of 4)		 Dean
5%
(out of 3)
Helen
39%
(out of 2)		 Brian
61%
to win

[edit] Notes

  • There were no nominations in the first or final week.

The series averaged 4.7 million.

[edit] Nomination totals

Amma Brian Bubble Dean Elizabeth Helen Josh Narinder Paul Penny Stuart
12 8 10 4 4 16 8 12 25 5 4


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "UK Big Brother Housemate Library", Smeggy's Forums, 2008-05-30. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. 
  2. ^ Salon's rooting for Helen! South Wales Argus
  3. ^ "4.2m vote Brian winner of `Big Brother'", The Independent. URL last accessed on 2007-02-20.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 51°31′39″N 0°0′11″W / 51.5275, -0.00306

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