Big Brother (Australian season 6)


Big Brother Australia 2006, also known as Big Brother 6, was the sixth season of the Australian reality television series Big Brother, and was aired on Network Ten in Australia. The series began on 22 April 2006 and finished on 31 July 2006; a duration of 101 days. In the auditions, which had been held in November and December 2005, producers asked for contestants who were "smart, strong, and looking for a fight". The Launch was aired on the evening of 23 April 2006. Fifteen housemates initially entered the house on Day 0, with the addition of three Intruder housemates entering the Big Brother House in Week 4, another three Intruders in Week 9, and two replacement housemates entering in Week 12. On Day 100, [|Jamie] was declared the winner of Big Brother 2006, with [|Camilla] the runner-up. At the time it was the closest winning margin in any Australian series of the show, later beaten by Series 7 in 2007.

Ratings

Ratings for Big Brother 2006 were up slightly on the previous year. The Daily Show increased its average audience to 1.13 million viewers, up from 1.11 million in 2005. The live Sunday evening Eviction shows averaged an audience of around 1.3 million for the 2006 series. The 2006 Finale attracted 1.9 million viewers with the viewing audience peaking at 2.2 million at 9:39 pm

Changes and additions

Big Brother 2006 featured several innovations to the formula.

Voting format

In previous series of Big Brother Australia, viewers could only vote to evict the nominated housemates they wanted to leave the house. Big Brother 2006 added the save vote. Any viewer may cast as many evict or save votes as they choose. Prior to eviction each housemates' save votes were merged with their evict votes; the housemate with the highest number of evict votes – or lowest number of save votes – remaining after the merge is evicted.

The House

As with some previous seasons of Big Brother Australia, a new house with an original layout was constructed for this series. A new feature was the addition of a Punishment Room to which rule-breaking housemates would be consigned by Big Brother. Housemates in the Punishment Room were required to perform tedious, difficult, embarrassing, or mildly painful tasks and jobs, such as sorting white rice from brown rice, sanding a wooden cube into a sphere, or dancing around a sombrero for hours.

Related housemates secret

One of the twists of Big Brother 2006, promoted in advertising hyperbole as "Australia's World First", was that housemates [|Karen] and [|Krystal] are mother and daughter. This was not revealed to the other housemates, who were challenged to uncover the secret relationship in the house. The other housemates failed to uncover their secret, and as a reward for success in keeping their secret Karen and Krystal were exempt from being nominated by other housemates in the first round. Karen was later evicted from the House on Day 22.
In Big Brother 2005 a different related-housemates secret task was conducted. Twin brothers Greg and [|David] Mathew were, one at a time, put in the House, and were told to swap places at given times without being noticed by other housemates. They were given the mission to keep this a secret for the opportunity to be entered into the game as individual housemates each with the chance of winning Big Brother 2005.

Big Brother Uncut

2006 saw the renaming of Big Brother Uncut to Big Brother: Adults Only. Network Ten discontinued Adults Only early due to pressure from politicians, with the final episode broadcast on 19 June 2006. The content that was to be used on unscreened episodes was made available on a new Big Brother Premium section of the Big Brother website called Adults Only.

Housemates

Fifteen Big Brother 2006 housemates entered at the beginning of the season. A total of eight additional housemates entering during the series. The first batch of intruders were [|Danielle] Foote, [|Jade] Stack, and [|Rob] Rigley. The second batch of intruders were [|Perry] Apostolu, [|Darren] Bowley, and [|Lauren] Clayton. After two housemates were removed after the controversial "turkey slapping incident" replacement housemates [|Max] and [|Chris] were added.
The winner was announced in July to be Jamie Brooksby, with Camilla Severi runner-up. It was the closest public voting in the Australian Big Brother series up to this point. While all former 2006 Big Brother housemates and intruders were all reunited for the 2006 Finale, disqualified housemates, [|Ashley] and [|John] were not invited to attend and participate.
NameDay enteredDay exitedResult
Jamie0100
Camilla0100
David099
Max8099
Chris8095
Krystal092
[|Claire]092
Darren6085
Perry6078
[|Gaelan]071
Ashley070
John070
Rob2464
Lauren6064
Katie057
Danielle2450
Dino043
Jade2443
[|Michael]036
[|Anna]029
Karen022
Elise015
Tilli015

Nominations Table

The first Housemate in each box was Nominated for Two Points, and the second Housemate was Nominated for One Point. The three or more Housemates with the most Nomination Points face the public vote to save/evict, and when the save votes are subtracted from the evict votes the Housemate with the most evict votes is Evicted. Each Week the Housemates compete in Friday Night Live – the winner of which wins a special privilege during Nominations. After the Nominations have been announced the winner has the chance to remove three Nomination points from the Housemate of their choice and potentially change the Nomination line-up.

Weekly summary and highlights

Week 1

The Big Brother 2006 House had the following areas and facilities:
The Prize Fund at the beginning of Big Brother 2006 was A$1,000,000, however following on from Big Brother 2005, the housemates were fined $5000 a time for committing various offences. In Big Brother 2006, the housemates were not allowed any grace period that Big Brother 2005 housemates experienced, and fines were awarded within minutes of all the housemates entering the House on launch night. Following the first week, the Punishment Room was revealed, where housemates were often sent after receiving their $5,000 fine from Big Brother.
Housemates were also repeatedly warned that once a fine has been incurred, that money could never be regained. After final four housemates added $311,000 back to the remaining $200,000 prize money taking it to $511,000 during the last Friday Night Games they were told that whoever wins Big Brother 2006 will have their fines deducted from the prize money.
The fine tallies of the lowest and highest were from Lauren Clayton who received no fines and Camilla Severi who clocked up $105,000.

Special shows

The Insider AKA Michael McCoy

The Insider was a live show, broadcast on Day 2, where the result of the Insider public vote was revealed. Viewers had to vote for whether David, Camilla, or Michael should be appointed the Insider. The Daily Show was broadcast as part of The Insider. Hosted by Gretel Killeen. Michael McCoy was selected as the insider Michael McCoy is a political science student from Sydney, New South Wales. He is of Anglo-Celtic and Filipino descent. Michael was the first housemate to enter the Big Brother House this year.
On Day 2, he was given the task of the Insider by Big Brother, having been chosen by the viewing public. If he succeeded in his tasks, he would be immune from being nominated, but if he failed he would automatically be put up for eviction.
He failed his first mission within minutes of being assigned the task, which was to secretly spill water on a bed that was occupied by two housemates. Michael opted to spill water on Gaelan's bed, which at the time was only used by Gaelan himself. Because of that, and because he also didn't empty the whole bottle, he was awarded his first strike. Soon after, he was given other missions, one of which was to be nominated by at least eight of his fellow housemates in the next round of nominations. To complete this mission he fabricated a story about a custody issue concerning his young son Reuben, claiming he wanted to leave the house to concentrate on this issue.
After Big Brother revealed to the other housemates that Michael was the Insider, and that the Reuben story was pure fiction, Michael faced a strong backlash from several housemates angry at being duped in this way, especially from Anna who had little contact with her father. It was revealed on Michael's eviction night that Reuben is the name of one of Michael's real life friends. Despite no longer being the Insider, Michael continued to cause conflict in Week 5, hiding cutlery as well as hiding the housemates' toothbrushes from them, never revealing their locations even after he had been evicted, attempting to create doubts as to whether or not there is another insider inside the house besides Michael. He was the 5th housemate to be evicted from the house on Day 36, with 20% of the merged vote.
The day after he was evicted, Michael appeared on the Nominations show and had a heated discussion with Gretel Killeen about the producers' editing regarding a scene where Michael and housemate David appeared to be kissing. The outfall resulted in media attention and the interview with Gretel was later labelled "The Gretel Incident" by fans due to Gretel's hostile interviewing tactics during the scene. The day after this incident Michael appeared on Rove Live and when host Rove McManus insulted Michael, the former housemate returned fire by bluntly telling Rove he wasn't as funny as the show's co-host Peter Helliar.
When asked about "The Gretel Incident", Michael suggested that Friday Night Live and Big Brother UpLate host Mike Goldman, or Friday Night Live co-host and former housemate Ryan Fitzgerald, would be better hosts of Big Brother than Gretel Killeen. As has become custom over the history of the show, Michael appeared along with all the other 2006 housemates on the Rove Live episode of the week of the final. In his usual style he said what everyone wanted to say but were too afraid to. As soon as he was asked to speak, he immediately questioned why John and Ashley were not present, and attempted to get the host to bring them on.

Surprise Eviction

Surprise Eviction was a live show that was broadcast on the first Sunday following Launch, where the housemates each had to vote for two of the housemates that they wanted to see evicted. Kept hidden from them was the fact that the two housemates with the most votes, Anna and Camilla, were not evicted; but were sent to the Revenge Room to secretly cause havoc on the house. Hosted by Gretel Killeen.

Unforgettable

Unforgettable was a special live show aired on Day 9. Hosted by Gretel Killeen.

Revenge Room Return

Revenge Room Return was a special live show aired on Day 10, two days after Anna and Camilla were evicted to the Revenge Room in Special Eviction. The one-hour episode incorporated the Daily Show. It ended with Anna and Camilla re-entering the house as John's special birthday gift. Hosted by Gretel Killeen.

Intruders Go In

Intruders Go In was a live special held on Day 24, when housemates Rob, Danielle and Jade were revealed and entered the House as Intruders throughout the night. Footage of Michael being revealed as the Insider to the housemates was also shown, including the reaction of the housemates. Rob entered first towards the end of the special. Jade entered the house shortly before Rove Live, and Danielle entered during UpLate.

Truth, Lies, Eviction

Truth, Lies, Eviction was a live show used on Day 36. Big Brother felt that some housemates were lying or holding back on things about themselves, therefore flying Under the Radar. On Day 35, each housemate went into the diary room and was asked some questions. A lie-risk detector, said to be 90% accurate, was used to determine from the frequency of their voice whether or not they were lying. They weren't informed that a lie detector was used, or what the information would be used for until during Truth, Lies, Eviction was broadcast. The show also featured Michael's eviction, and the Daily Show was broadcast as part of Truth, Lies, Eviction.

Under the Radar

Under the Radar was a show that aired during Day 38. Based on the results of Day 36's Truth, Lies, Eviction show, Big Brother selected five housemates that he felt weren't contributing to the house, who were intentionally acting in a reserved manner to avoid conflict and thereby avoid being nominated, or flying Under the Radar. These housemates were up for a 24-hour public vote to decide which of them would be added to the list of housemates up for eviction that week. The public vote started on Day 37's Nominations show. The housemates Big Brother felt were "flying under the radar" were Ashley, Claire, Gaelan, John, and Krystal. Based on viewer votes John and Krystal were added to the list of housemates up for eviction. On Eviction night, neither of them were evicted.

Intruders – Incoming

Intruders – Incoming was a live show that was broadcast on Day 60. In the show, new Intruders Darren, and Perry entered the house. Lauren entered the House later, in UpLate. The Daily Show was broadcast as part of Intruders – Incoming. The show was hosted by Gretel Killeen.

Housemates on Trial

Housemates on Trial was a live show that aired on Day 67. This special replaced a previously advertised special where housemates were to be hypnotised by hypnotist, Peter Powers, because not enough housemates consented to being hypnotised for enough footage to be produced for a special. In this special, Housemates were asked a series of questions previously submitted by viewers and were run through a Layered Voice Analysis device to determine how honest the housemates were with their answers. This device did not require housemates to give yes or no answers. This special ran in a similar format to the previous special Truth, Lies, Eviction, except without an Eviction. The show was hosted by Gretel Killeen.

The New Housemates

The New Housemates was a live show aired on Day 80, where new housemates Max and Chris, both from New South Wales, entered the house to replace Ashley and John. Unlike Intruders, Chris and Max could nominate and be nominated immediately. Max entered during the special one-hour show, where he posed as Darren in a pirate costume, quickly being identified. Chris entered live during Rove. The Daily Show was broadcast as part of The New Housemates.

Surprise Eviction

Surprise Eviction was a live show on Day 95. The show was hosted by Gretel Killeen.

The Prize Fight

The Prize Fight was a special Friday Night Live that was broadcast on Day 97. This was the last Friday Night Live of Big Brother 2006. The housemates were told by Big Brother that there would be no Rewards Room, Three Boxes, or Three Point Twist to compete for; and no chores to allocate; but would instead be given the opportunity to win any amount up to $416,000 to add to the prize fund of $200,000, depending on what percentage of the games they successfully completed. Ryan Fitzgerald, co-host of Friday Night Live, was involved in one of the games, as an "Ex-Professional Football Player". At the end of the games, the housemates were told that they added $311,000 to the prize fund, giving the winner the opportunity to win $511,000, less all the fines the winning housemate had incurred during their stay in the Big Brother House as they were all repeatedly warned that their fine money could never be regained.
Surprise Visit was the last Daily Show of Big Brother 2006, and was broadcast on Day 99. Camilla won a date with Big Brother as she had been the 1500th Housemate to use the Diary Room, and was able to take three of her closest friends, this being all of the other housemates in the House with her at the time. While they were in the Diary Room on their date, David's, Jamie's, and Max's mothers; and Camilla's best friend, had entered the House to cook food and leave items that the housemates would recognise. After their departure, the housemates were allowed back into the House to watch a video message of their loved ones while they were in the House. Hosted by Gretel Killeen.

Final Sunday Double Eviction

Final Sunday Double Eviction was the last Eviction of Big Brother 2006, and was broadcast live in front of an audience on Day 99 from Dreamworld, and was hosted by Gretel Killeen. It was during this show that Max and David were evicted. On Day 98, the Final Four each had a separate discussion with Gretel in the Revenge Room, discussing their time in the house and what they may have regretted. During his eviction, David was nearly apparently attacked by a member of the crowd when he was making his walk through the auditorium to the Eviction stage. A security guard tackled the man, who was later revealed to be a friend of David's, to the ground, and David walked around them.

Finale

The season finale aired on Day 100 in which Jamie was announced the winner and Camilla the runner-up.

Controversy

This season of Big Brother Australia proved to be highly controversial. Big Brother – Adults Only ended its run early after politicians warned Network Ten that its screening of the show could harm its push for media reforms. An alleged sexual assault during which John held down Camilla Severi on her bed while Ashley pushed his crotch into her face in the house on 1 July 2006 resulted in the ejection of the pair from the show. The incident sparked calls for the series to be investigated for possible breaches of broadcasting laws, and calls for the cancellation of the series by several commentators and politicians, including then Australian Prime Minister John Howard and opposition leader Kim Beazley. The incident and in particular the Prime Minister's comments, were reported internationally, running on CNN and the BBC and in various other international publications.
The incident sparked a high level of discussion on Internet forums where commentators were split over whether the incident was playful fun or actual assault. In many forums there was overwhelming censure of the Big Brother series itself, with many calling for the show to be cancelled. Subsequent to the controversy the program's ratings showed an increase, however this proved to be only a temporary boost; the show's regular ratings did not show a significant overall increase and the Daily Show continued to rate significantly lower than its competitors on other commercial networks. Network Ten indicated that they planned to continue producing the series despite the barrage of criticism. In the wake of the controversy, several former housemates came forward with descriptions of audition processes that require potential housemates to parade nude, and the frequent occurrence of sexual acts in the house similar to the one that the two housemates were ejected for.
Following the removal of the two offenders the show continued as normal, with housemate Gaelan evicted via the usual procedure the following day. In an interview, Gaelan claimed that the Big Brother producers had not advised housemates on how to deal with sexual tension. On the night of 3 July, Network Ten broadcast an interview with the ejected housemates John and Ashley speaking to Big Brother host Gretel Killeen. The two stated that the incident was only "out of fun", and that they "did not mean to hurt Camilla", as they have "a great deal of respect for her".
As a result of the incident, a report by the Australian Communications and Media Authority was compiled a few days after the incident. The report concluded that loopholes in broadcasting rules should be closed, and Internet content regulations tightened. It was found that Big Brother itself could not be penalised as the footage was never broadcast by Network Ten but was seen only via web streaming, and the Internet falls outside ACMA's authority. Websites running the footage would not be penalised under other regulations governing web broadcasts as they had removed the footage when requested. Rival network current affairs programs A Current Affair on the Nine Network, and the Seven Network's Today Tonight, both broadcast the footage in full. Neither show faced a reprimand from ACMA as they can argue the footage was used as part of a news story. Presenting the ACMA report, Communications Minister Helen Coonan said that legislation to broaden the authority's regulatory powers to cover the Internet and mobile phone broadcasts, would be introduced into Parliament as soon as possible.

Aftermath

Several 2006 housemates were contestants in an Australia's Brainiest special named Australia's Brainiest BB06 Housemate produced for Network Ten in the weeks following the end of the season. It was broadcast on 13 August 2006.