Celebrity Big Brother (British TV series) series 5 explained

Series Number:5
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Presenter:Davina McCall
Num Days:26
Num Housemates:14
Winner:Shilpa Shetty
Runner Up:Jermaine Jackson
Num Episodes:30
Network:Channel 4

Celebrity Big Brother 2007, also known as Celebrity Big Brother 5, was the fifth series of the British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother. The show followed a total of fourteen celebrity contestants, known as housemates, who were isolated from the outside world for an extended period of time in a custom built House. Each week, one or more of the housemates were eliminated from the competition by public vote and left the House. The last remaining housemate, Shilpa Shetty, was declared the winner.

The series launched on Channel 4 on 3 January 2007 and ended on 28 January 2007. Davina McCall returned as presenter, having presented both the regular edition and the celebrity edition of Big Brother since they first began. Eleven housemates entered on launch night, with an additional three being introduced two days later. The series was watched by an average of 4.6 million viewers, the third highest viewed series of the show to date. As with the previous regular series, it was broadcast in aspect ratio, as opposed to – the first series of Celebrity Big Brother to do so.

The series saw the return of Jade Goody, who had become a media celebrity after appearing on the third regular series of Big Brother in 2002, arriving with her boyfriend and her mother – marking the first time in any series of Big Brother UK where family members entered together. During its original broadcast, Celebrity Big Brother 5 became the subject of an internationally publicised racism controversy. It attracted the largest number of complaints to the UK media regulator Ofcom about a Big Brother series and, as of 2021, the third highest number of complaints about any British television broadcast of all time (after and the BBC's coverage of the death of Prince Philip). Viewer complaints and press attention concerned housemate Shilpa Shetty, and alleged that she was the subject of racist bullying from some of her fellow housemates, in particular Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara. As a result, a protest took place in India; tensions increased between the UK and Indian governments; and a diplomatic incident occurred. Following the broadcast of the series, Ofcom concluded that Celebrity Big Brother 5 had breached the Broadcasting Code, and statutory sanctions were placed on Channel 4.

Production

Eye logo

The eye logo for this series was the same yellow and black spiraled eye used for Big Brother 7. Two modifications were a black background, therefore camouflaging the black spiral in the eye, and making only the yellow spiral visible. A star also replaced the pupil to correspond with the celebrity series. The star also shone with a yellow glow.

Sponsorship

The Carphone Warehouse remained as sponsor of the series, however due to highly publicised controversy which surrounded the series, Carphone Warehouse subsequently ended their long running association with Big Brother.

Broadcasts

Davina McCall presented the main Channel 4 show, including the live launch, evictions, finale and any other live show where a twist would take place. Marcus Bentley narrated the nightly highlight shows.

Dermot O'Leary presented Celebrity Big Brother's Little Brother in a teatime slot weekdays and on Sunday lunchtime. He also presented Celebrity Big Brother's Big Brain, which was introduced during the previous non-celebrity series, it would not return for any subsequent series.

On E4, live coverage from the house once again dominated its daily and nightly schedule, E4 Music was once again rested during the series. Diary Room Uncut returned on Monday evenings and on Saturday night, straight after the Channel 4 show.

Russell Brand presented Celebrity Big Brother's Big Mouth, which was broadcast Sunday to Friday straight after the Channel 4 show. Although no announcement was made during the series, Brand announced his departure on 4 April 2007.[1]

Live streaming also returned on the Official Channel 4 website and also on E4 at selected times.[2]

House

The general layout of the House was largely untouched from the previous non-celebrity series. The living room and bedroom had no noticeable changes. There were several single beds in the same room, with one double bed, meaning that two housemates (Leo and Donny) had to share. The bathroom is much smaller than previous versions and the toilet and shower were no longer fitted with cameras. The dining room table was moved inside, and the kitchen fully equipped with modern conveniences. Outside the garden was a three-jet hot tub with a farmyard seating area. The bridge to Nowhere was still present, leading to a sitting area with heated seats and the topiary man. A workout area was situated just off the kitchen area. Inside the House there was also a fax machine built into the wall. On day 24 this was used to post viewers' questions to the housemates.[3] Meanwhile, the Diary Room was identical to the previous summer's Big Brother, with an oversized gold chair and padded walls, the only change being the addition of yellow lights facing the walls.

House Next Door

The House Next Door was used again, and its interior was re-designed to resemble a Victorian-style kitchen, with uncomfortable beds in the bedroom, for use in the master-and-servant task.

Housemates

Eleven housemates entered the House on Day 1, followed by three more housemates on Day 3. This was more than any other celebrity series at the time.

CelebrityAge on entryNotabilityDay enteredDay exitedResult
Shilpa Shetty31Actress126
Jermaine Jackson52Jackson family member and singer126
Dirk Benedict61Actor126
Ian "H" Watkins30Singer126
Danielle Lloyd23Glamour model and Miss Great Britain126
Jack Tweed19Boyfriend of Jade Goody326
Cleo Rocos44Actress124
Jo O'Meara27Singer124
Jade Goody25Reality TV star317
Carole Malone52Journalist and broadcaster110
Leo Sayer58Singer110
Jackiey Budden49Mother of Jade Goody38
Ken Russell†79Director15
Donny Tourette25Singer13

Carole Malone

Carole Malone is an English journalist and television presenter, who writes a column for the Sunday Mirror newspaper. She also presented the Sky One programme Guilty! from 1997 to 1999 and appeared as a regular panellist on The Wright Stuff. She entered the house on Day 1 and became the second housemate to be evicted on Day 10.

Cleo Rocos

Cleo Rocos is a Brazil-born actress, who co-starred alongside comedian Kenny Everett in The Kenny Everett Television Show. She entered the house on Day 1. She became the fifth housemate to be evicted on Day 24.

Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd is an English glamour model, who had her Miss Great Britain title revoked after appearing in the December 2006 edition of Playboy magazine. She entered the house on Day 1. During her time in the house, Lloyd was accused of alleged racist behaviour towards her fellow housemate Shilpa. She finished in fifth place on Day 26.

Dirk Benedict

Dirk Benedict is an American actor, most notable for his television roles as Lieutenant Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica and Lieutenant Templeton "Face" Peck in The A-Team. He entered the house on Day 1. He finished in third place on Day 26.

Donny Tourette

Donny Tourette is an English singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the punk rock band Towers of London. He entered the house on Day 1. He walked from the series on Day 3.

Ian "H" Watkins

Ian "H" Watkins is a Welsh singer and actor, best known as a member of the pop group Steps. He entered the house on Day 1. He finished in fourth place on Day 26.

Jack Tweed

Jack Tweed was the then-boyfriend of Jade Goody, who entered the house on Day 3. He finished in sixth place on Day 26. He married Goody in February 2009, just before her death in March 2009.

Jackiey Budden

Jackiey Budden was the mother of Jade Goody. Prior to her appearance on the series, she appeared on an episode of the Living TV show Extreme Makeover UK.[4] She entered the house on Day 3 and became the first housemate to be evicted on Day 8.

Jade Goody

Jade Goody was an English reality television personality. She first appeared as a housemate on the third series of Big Brother in 2002, before starring in its one-off series Big Brother Panto and her own Sky Living reality shows including Just Jade. She entered the house on Day 3. During her time in the house, Goody was accused of racist behaviour towards her fellow housemate Shilpa. She became the third housemate to be evicted on Day 17. Goody died on 22 March 2009.

Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine Jackson is an American singer, songwriter and bass guitarist, who achieved international stardom as a member of the family band The Jackson 5. His solo releases "Let's Get Serious" and "Do What You Do" both reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. He entered the house on Day 1. He finished as the runner-up on Day 26.

Jo O'Meara

Jo O'Meara is an English singer and songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group S Club 7. She entered the house on Day 1. During her time in the house, O'Meara was accused of alleged racist behaviour towards her fellow housemate Shilpa. She became the fourth housemate to be evicted on Day 24.

Ken Russell

Ken Russell was an English film director, whose credits included films such as Women in Love and Tommy. He entered the house on Day 1. He walked from the series on Day 5. Russell died on 27 November 2011.

Leo Sayer

Leo Sayer is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and musician, who rose to prominence in the 1970s with releases such as "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You". He entered the house on Day 1. He walked from the series on Day 10 after not wanting to wash his undergarments

Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty is an Indian actress, primarily known for her roles in Main Khiladi Tu Anari Dhadkan. She made her Bollywood debut with the film Baazigar. She was also the judge of dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. She entered the house on Day 1. During her time in the house, Shetty was the subject of alleged racist behaviour from her fellow housemates Danielle, Jade and Jo. She won the series on Day 26.

Weekly summary

Day 1Entrances
  • Jermaine, Danielle, Ken, Jo, Leo, Shilpa, Carole, Donny, H, Cleo and Dirk entered the house.
Day 3Entrances
  • Jack, Jackiey, and Jade entered the house.
Tasks
  • The housemates were told to pack a small suitcase each that must last them three days and three nights. Big Brother announced that eight of the current housemates were to move to the House Next Door while the remaining three housemates were to stay in the main house. Danielle, Jo, Leo, Carole, Donny, H, Cleo and Dirk moved into the house next door and will become servants to the masters in the main house: Jermaine, Shilpa and Ken who were joined by Jade, her boyfriend Jack and her mother Jackiey.
Exits
  • Donny walked from the house as he did not want to wait on Jade hand and foot.
Day 5Exits
  • Ken walked from the house.
Day 6Tasks
  • The housemates were informed that they had passed the Masters and Servants task. Jo failed because she allowed Ken to make his own food at one point and Leo failed because he fell asleep during his shift.
Day 8Exits
  • Jackiey was evicted from the house, receiving 4.6% of the public vote to save. Jackiey was called to the Diary Room and informed she would leave the house via the diary room and would not say goodbye to her fellow housemates; the housemates observed Jackiey's eviction on the plasma screen in the kitchen.
Day 9Punishments
  • Carole faced the vote automatically after it was revealed that Cleo and she had discussed nominations, the housemates were instructed to choose one of the pair to face the public vote.
Nominations
  • The housemates nominated for the first time. Dirk and Leo received the most nominations and faced the public vote. They were joined by Carole as punishment for discussing nominations.
Day 10Exits
  • Leo walked from the house.
  • Carole was evicted from the house, receiving 77% of the public vote to evict.
Day 11Tasks
  • Jermaine and Ian were tasked to take each other on in a Battle of the Tribute Bands: Steps vs The Jackson 5. They were chosen to be band leaders. Ian chose Jo, Jade and Jack while Jermaine chose Shilpa, Cleo, Dirk and Danielle to be their band members. They must sing and dance to the songs selected by Big Brother, Steps performed Deeper Shade of Blue and The Jackson 5 performed I Want You Back. The winner was decided by an online poll on the Big Brother website. The Jackson 5 won by 75% of the votes and were awarded platinum discs. All housemates were rewarded a Jackson 5 themed party.
Day 13Tasks
  • Housemates were required to complete an assault course in under nine minutes. The housemates failed this task and received a basic shopping budget.
Day 14General
  • Shilpa and Jade were involved in an argument with each other which began with a disagreement over an Oxo cube. The argument increased the growing controversy surrounding the racist bullying of Shilpa.
Day 15Tasks
  • Housemates were set a task to divide into groups and create abstract art to express their emotions. They passed the task and received champagne as a reward.
Nominations
  • Housemates nominated for the second time. Jade and Shilpa received the most nominations and faced the public vote.
Day 17Tasks
Exits
  • Jade was the third person to be evicted from the house after receiving 82% of the public vote to evict. Due to the controversy at the time, her eviction was not attended by a live audience.
Day 19Tasks
  • Housemates were given a task where they were required to make Big Brother laugh. They passed the task and received party food as a reward.
Day 20Tasks
  • The task was to perform a showgirl dance routine. Housemates passed the task and received a luxury shopping budget.
Day 21Tasks
  • The housemates had to choose something they wanted under £10. They had to answer questions about their fellow housemates. Each housemate had to choose another housemate and answer questions about the housemate. If a housemate got 3 out of 5 questions right, the housemate that the other housemate chose would have won their prize they selected before the task.
Nominations
  • The housemates nominated for the third and final time. Cleo, Dirk, Ian, Jo and Shilpa received the most nominations and faced the public vote.
Day 22Tasks
  • The housemates were each given a large ice cube with a token inside. Using only their mouth and tongue, they had to melt the ice cube enough for them to be able to retrieve the token with their hands. If all 8 housemates retrieved their token within 90 minutes, they would win an après-ski party. Housemates passed the task.
Day 24Exits
  • Jo and Cleo were evicted from the house receiving 48.4% and 27.9% of the public vote, respectively, to evict.
Day 25Tasks
  • The housemates were instructed to devise four performances each based around a different genre: romantic comedy, film noir, action blockbuster and Bollywood musical. All past and present housemates must be portrayed by the final six housemates. The housemates passed the task and therefore earned a three course sit down meal.
Day 26Exits
  • Jack left the house in sixth place, Danielle left the house in fifth place, Ian left the house in fourth place and Dirk left the house in third place. It was revealed that Shilpa was the winner, leaving Jermaine as the runner-up.

Nominations table

Day 3Day 9Day 15Day 21Day 26
Final
Nominations
received
ShilpaMaster
in Task
Jack,
Leo
Jade,
Jack
Dirk,
Jack
Winner
(Day 26)
9
JermaineMaster
in Task
Jo,
Danielle
Jade,
Jo
Danielle,
Jo
Runner-up
(Day 26)
2
DirkServant
in Task
Ian,
Jermaine
Jade,
Jermaine
Jo,
Cleo
Third place
(Day 26)
13
IanServant
in Task
Leo,
Dirk
Danielle,
Jade
Cleo,
Jo
Fourth place
(Day 26)
3
DanielleServant
in Task
Leo,
Dirk
Shilpa,
Dirk
Dirk,
Ian
Fifth place
(Day 26)
3
JackMaster
in Task
Shilpa,
Dirk
Shilpa,
Dirk
Dirk,
Shilpa
Sixth place
(Day 26)
5
CleoServant
in Task
Banned Shilpa,
Jade
Dirk,
Ian
Evicted
(Day 24)
2
JoServant
in Task
Leo,
Jack
Shilpa,
Dirk
Dirk,
Shilpa
Evicted
(Day 24)
6
Jade Master
in Task
Shilpa,
Dirk
Shilpa,
Dirk
Evicted
(Day 17)
5
CaroleServant
in Task
Banned Evicted
(Day 10)
0
LeoServant
in Task
Jack,
Jo
Walked
(Day 10)
4
JackieyMaster
in Task
Evicted
(Day 8)
N/A
KenMaster
in Task
Walked
(Day 5)
N/A
DonnyServant
in Task
Walked
(Day 3)
N/A
Nomination
note
1 2 3 4 5
Against
public vote
Jack,
Jackiey,
Jade,
Jermaine,
Ken,
Shilpa
Carole,
Dirk,
Leo
Jade,
Shilpa
Cleo,
Dirk,
Ian,
Jo,
Shilpa
Danielle,
Dirk,
Ian,
Jack,
Jermaine,
Shilpa
WalkedDonny,
Ken
Leo none
EvictedJackiey
4.6%
to save
Carole
77.4%
to evict
Jade
82%
to evict
Jo
48.4%
to evict
Jack
3.15%
(out of 6)
Dirk
16%
(out of 3)
Danielle
3.30%
(out of 6)
Jermaine
37%
(out of 2)
Cleo
27.9%
to evict
Ian
5.3%
(out of 4)
Shilpa
63%
to win

Notes

When Jade, Jack, and Jackiey entered the house they became "masters" along with Jermaine, Ken, and Shilpa. The other eight housemates were chosen to be their "servants" and moved to the House Next Door. It was revealed that the masters are automatically nominated for eviction in which the viewers are to vote which housemates to save, rather than evicted. Therefore, the housemate with the fewest votes is evicted. Donny, who was originally a servant, left the house on Day 3. On Day 5, Ken voluntarily left after being involved in arguments with housemates. The eviction was not cancelled, and Ken's number was removed from the voting system.

Carole and Cleo were banned from nominating as a punishment for discussing nominations earlier. Additionally, housemates had to choose one of them to face the public vote.[5] They chose Carole.[6] On Day 10, Leo escaped the house. The eviction was not cancelled, and Leo's number was removed from the voting system. At the time of his exit, Leo had the most votes to evict.

The nominations were cast on Day 15 and announced on Day 16. The voting package was delayed and only shown at the end of Big Brother's Big Mouth where it was also revealed that all Channel 4's profits for this vote will go to charity.

There was a double eviction on Day 24 and therefore the three or more housemates were placed up for the public vote rather than the two or more housemates. If there was not a double eviction, Dirk and Jo would have faced the public vote. The voting lines originally opened on Day 22 but were reset on Day 23 due to an error which stated that viewers were to vote to save Shilpa when they were in fact voting to evict. Viewers who had voted before the lines were reset were offered a full refund with all unclaimed money and profits from the vote being donated to charity[7]

There were no nominations in the final two days and instead the public were voting for the housemate they wanted to win rather than evict. There was a double eviction on Day 24, two days before the final.

Voting fault

One event in this series was a technical fault that affected voting lines in the eviction between Cleo Rocos, Dirk Benedict, Ian Watkins, Jo O'Meara and Shilpa Shetty. Everyone who voted was offered a refund. Any unclaimed money would be donated to charity.[8] [9]

Viewership

All viewing figures below are provided by the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (or "BARB").[10]

scope=col colspan=5Official viewers (millions)
Week 1Week 2Week 3Week 4
Saturday3.16 2.93 3.3 2.56
Sunday3.39 3.03 3.65 6.01
Monday3.81 3.75 4.16
Tuesday4.1 4.72 4.32
Wednesday7.32 4.51 5.4 4.71
Thursday5.48 3.72 5.89 4.47
Friday4.25 3.5 7.61 5.14
5.27 3.8 8.78 5.26
Weekly average4.36 5.26 4.36 4.29
Running average4.36 4.72 4.62 4.29
Series average4.6
blue-coloured boxes denote live shows.

Racism controversy

See main article: Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy. Celebrity Big Brother criticism focused around the treatment of housemate Shilpa Shetty by contestants Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd.UK media regulator Ofcom received more than 44,500 complaints[11] – a record number for a British television programme after transmission. Channel 4 received an additional 3,000 complaints,[12] [13] about racism and bullying by housemates against Shetty. The Eastern Eye newspaper launched an online petition that registered over 30,000 signatures.[14] Channel 4, who had initially described the situation as "girly rivalry", later admitted there had "undoubtedly been a cultural clash between her and three of the British females in the house".[15]

After an investigation by Ofcom, they concluded that Channel 4 had breached the Broadcasting Code on three separate occasions.[11]

External links

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Notes and References

  1. News: Entertainment – Brand quits Big Brother spin-off. 4 April 2007. BBC.
  2. "Celebrity Big Brother's Big Brain", Channel 4's official Big Brother site. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
  3. Web site: Questions, Questions. https://web.archive.org/web/20071023015716/http://channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/B/bb7_celebrity/news/newsstory.jsp?id=1428&articleMask=1&housemateId=. 2007-01-27. Channel 4. 23 October 2007. 2018-04-08. live. dmy-all.
  4. Web site: Extreme Makeover UK - DazPix. 8 January 2010. 29 April 2020.
  5. "Housemates to nominate today ", Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 January 2007.
  6. "The Punishment Fits the Crime", Channel Four's Official Big Brother Website. Retrieved 11 January 2007.
  7. http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/B/bb7_celebrity/news/newsstory.jsp?id=1404&articleMask=1 Voting Reset & Refund Information
  8. News: Are housemates aware of race row?. 19 January 2007. BBC. 19 January 2007. Mark. Savage.
  9. Web site: NO CROWD NO SHOCK.. NO REALITY. 20 January 2007. Daily Mirror. 20 January 2007.
  10. Web site: Weekly top 30 programmes. Broadcasters Audience Research Board. 2018-04-08.
  11. Web site: Adjudication of Ofcom Content Sanctions Committee - Channel Four Television Corporation in respect of its service Channel 4. 2007-05-24. Ofcom. 2018-04-08.
  12. Web site: Racism, ratings and reality TV: now Big Brother creates a diplomatic incident. Owen. Gibson. Vikram. Dodd. Randeep. Ramesh. 2007-01-18. The Guardian. 2018-04-08.
  13. "Channel 4 denies Brother 'racism'", BBC News. Retrieved 17 January 2007.
  14. "Racism, ratings and reality TV", The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2007
  15. News: BBC News. Shetty fears Big Brother 'racism'. 18 January 2007. 28 January 2007.