Big Brother Australia 2001

Big Brother Australia 2001 was the first series of Big Brother Australia. The season ran from 23 April 2001 until 16 July 2001, a duration of 86 days. The series was hosted by Gretel Killeen, who remained as the host until 2008, not returning for the eighth season. Potential contestants in the show were required to send video applications to the show's producers, in which they sold themselves as entertaining housemates. When compared to the more complex arrangements and many twists that emerged in later series, this season presented a rather basic set-up and formula which stuck closely to the traditional Big Brother concept. The main twist was the entrance of two Intruders about half-way through the series. The winner of the series was Ben Williams, and the runner-up was Blair McDonough, who later got a role in Network Ten's daily soap opera, Neighbours. It was the only series where housemates were allowed to nominate fellow housemates without a reason (something that is enforced strongly in later seasons). Big Brother 2001 was the subject of a book by University of Queensland academic Dr. Toni Johnson-woods entitled Big Bother: Why Did That Reality TV Show Become Such a Phenomenon?. While specifically focusing on Big Brother 2001, it was the first book to examine Big Brother as a world wide pop culture phenomenon.

Most of these contestants featured in a special Big Brother edition of The Weakest Link shortly after the Big Brother season ended.

Highlights

• Christina and Peter, who formed a relationship early in the series, and their implied sexual behaviour (or "dancing doona" as it was dubbed).
• Housemate Andy Silva, who regularly showered outside in the backyard, and her tales of her various sexual encounters. Her goal of sleeping with five other housemates (male or female) was never fulfilled as she was the first to be evicted.
• Popular housemates Jemma and Johnnie were discovered by Christina discussing nominations (and their agreed opinion that Christina would be nominated that week). Their conversation was deemed to be collusion - something that is against the rules of the series - and Jemma and Johnnie were subsequently reprimanded by Big Brother, with Jemma punished by not being allowed to nominate that week. In the next two evictions, Johnnie and then Jemma were evicted.

Housemates

Ben

Ben Williams, from Epping, Victoria, who went to La Trobe University, North West Melbourne, Victoria, entered the House on Day 1 and was the winner.

Blair

Blair McDonough, from Melbourne, Victoria. The runner-up of Big Brother 2001, he became a regular cast member of Neighbours from 2001 to 2006. Then worked in the United Kingdom. Returned to Australia in 2009 working as a host of Postcards.2011 starred in Winners and Losers on the 7 network.

Sara-Marie

Sara-Marie Fedele, a strip-club manager of the Dollhouse Gentleman's Club from Western Australia, entered the House on Day 1. Since the show ended, she has appeared in Celebrity Big Brother Australia, a few episodes of the afternoon children's program Totally Wild on Network Ten and participated in Dancing with the Stars, series two in 2005.

Christina

Christina Davis, a former ballerina from Sydney, New South Wales, entered the House on Day 1. She was evicted on Day 77. She is now a stand-up comedian and appeared in FHM's Search for Australia's Funniest Man (or Woman). She was once married to Triple M "The Cage (radio show)" breakfast host, Mike Fitzpatrick.

Jemma

Jemma Gawned, from Melbourne, Victoria, entered the House on Day 1 and was evicted on Day 70. She has her own line of make-up products and appeared on the now defunct Good Morning Australia on Network Ten.

Johnnie

John Cass, known in the House as Johnnie, is from Sydney, New South Wales. He entered the House on Day 1, and was evicted on Day 63. He was labelled "Johnny Rotten" in the media for giving consoling hugs to housemates upset that they had been nominated for eviction, where he had himself nominated them. He is now a motivational speaker with the Christopher Howard Training Company. He has been seen in Clapham South, London, UK a number of times so it is assumed he resides there.

Anita

Anita Bloomfield, from Sydney, New South Wales, entered the House as an Intruder on Day 36, and was subsequently evicted two weeks later on Day 56.

Peter

Peter Timbs, from Sydney, New South Wales, entered the House on Day 1. He was evicted on Day 49, and now works for TV Week magazine and is a reviewer on the Foxtel TV program, The Know.

Lisa

Lisa Standing entered the House on Day 1, and was evicted on Day 42. She was often referred to as the "fence sitter" as she never got involved in conflict or sided with anyone.

Rachel

Rachel Corbett entered the House as an Intruder on Day 36. She was evicted 4 days later. Rachel has been a part of a number of radio shows across the country including filling in on the hot30/summer 30 countdown. She co-hosted on the All New Paul Murray Show with Rachel Corbett night show (then named Paul & Rach) on the Triple M network across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Rachel Corbett and Paul Murray filled in for Sydney breakfast on 104.9 Triple M from May 2009 to September 2009 and then their shift was put into the Drive timeslot to make way for a new Triple M breakfast show called 'The Grill Team'. Paul & Rach had their show only on Sydney's 104.9 Triple M on Tuesday to Thursday drive from October 2009 up until December 2010.

Paul Murray left Triple M in December 2010 to take up a role with 2UE, though Rachel Corbett remains with 104.9 Sydney's Triple M. She is now the breakfast newsreader effective from January 2011 for the Triple M Grill Team.

Gordon

Gordon Sloan, an architect, entered the House on Day 1 and was evicted on Day 35. He later became a "human shield" in the Iraq War, with his exploits featured on Nine Network's A Current Affair. On 1 September 2007, Sloan mysteriously collapsed in Beijing. He was found to have collapsed in the corner of a nightclub, and when found, his lips had turned blue.^[1] He died on 13 September without waking from his coma. His family opted to not speak directly to the press.^[2] The media speculated that his collapse may have been due to a heroin overdose.^[2] Former fellow Big Brother housemate Todd James said that Sloan would never have willingly taken heroin.^[1]

Todd

Todd James entered the House on Day 1 and was evicted on Day 28. He went in with dreadlocks and came out with a shaved head. He returned as a roving reporter on Big Brother Australia 2002. Since then, he was host of the breakfast show on PBS 106.7FM radio Melbourne, and is running a new successful business in bathroom renovations

Sharna

Sharna West, a flight attendant for Ansett Airlines, entered the House on Day 1 and was evicted from the house on Day 21.

Andy

Andy Silva was a sometimes dominatrix from Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales. She was the very first Australian contestant to be evicted from the Big Brother house. She had an open relationship with her partner outside of the house and wanted to have sex with several housemates.

Nominations table

The first housemate in each box was nominated for two points, and the second housemate was nominated for one point.

Notes

^1 Anita and Rachel entered the House as Intruders, and the housemates had to vote for which of the two Intruders they wanted to evict.

Bibliography

• Johnson-woods, Toni (2002). Big Bother: Why Did That Reality TV Show Become Such a Phenomenon?. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 256. ISBN 0-7022-3315-3. 

References