Contestants limber up to enter Big Brother house

Reality TV show Big Brother was returning to the nation’s screens tonight for a fourth epic series of fly-on-the-wall antics.

Twelve unknown contestants, whose identities have been kept secret by Channel 4, will spend the next nine weeks in the camera-filled house, aiming to avoid eviction and claim the £70,000 (€97,590) prize.

Some will also hope to cash in on their 15 minutes of fame to kick-start TV careers like previous contestant and Kildare native Brian Dowling, winner of BB2 and presenter of ITV1’s SM:tv, and Craig Phillips, winner of BB1 and a DIY show regular.

The specially-built house, at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, has been redesigned this year to give the contestants a more “warm and cosy” atmosphere in which to get to know each other.

Unlike last year there will be no rich-poor divide, which saw the BB3 inmates split between a life of luxury on one side and a back-to-basics existence on the other.

The garden has also been overhauled to include a bigger lawn and a cedarwood arbour where the housemates can sit and relax.

The contestants will face weekly tasks in which they will have to work as a team in order to increase their food budget.

During a live Saturday night challenge they will have to bet a minimum of 50% of their budget on the outcome, rather than the 10% of past series.

Every Friday one of the would-be stars will be kicked out in a vote by viewers of the show, which has versions all over the world.

More than 10,000 hopefuls applied to go on the show, and have been gradually whittled down to the final 12 who will enter the house in a live show, once again presented by Davina McCall.

The Big Brother’s Little Brother fanzine show on E4 will also run alongside Channel 4’s daily highlights.