How To Watch Big Brother UK Season 21 Online And Live Stream Every Episode For Free From Anywhere

How To Watch Big Brother 2024 Online

Watch Big Brother UK Season 21: Preview

"This is Big Brother. Please head to the living room area." Yes, it's time to get comfy on the couch as the reality TV phenomenon gets underway, with a brand-new contingent of housemates vying for the life-changing prize of £100,000. Brace yourself for 24/7 drama, explosive outbursts, live evictions – and about a dozen disputes over the dishes – as we explain below how to watch Big Brother UK Season 21 online for free on ITVX from anywhere.

After five years off our screens, ITV successfully rebooted the UK series in 2023 with a “refreshed, contemporary” update of the show. The duo of AJ Odudu and Will Best took up the mantle of co-hosts, and ushered their first 16 contestants – representing a broad spectrum of the UK population – into the Big Brother house. The reboot was a hit. Each episode – airing daily from Sunday through Friday – raked in an average of two million viewers, and in March 2024 Celebrity Big Brother was reborn, too.

Viewers can expect more or less the same format this time round. Weekly tasks that secure housemates a luxury budget or groan-worthy basic rations. Tears in the Diary Room and angst-ridden nominations, followed by a thrilling live eviction every Friday, in which one contestant – sometimes more – is given the boot following a public vote. The last housemate standing after six weeks of back-biting and blow-ups then departs with the dizzying sum of £100,000. In 2023, it was droll Scunthorpe lawyer Jordan Sangha who pocketed the top prize.

The show's ITV return was full of compelling, “can’t look away” dramas: Hallie’s "imprisonment" for discussing nominations; Jordan’s “will-they, won’t they?” romance with food writer Henry; and “Evil Big Brother” sending Noky on a secret Halloween mission that led to Kerry’s shock eviction and a fiery confrontation between Trish and Dylan. Big Brother UK 2024 will reportedly “take it up a notch," at least in regards the weekly shopping challenges. And that means the stakes should be higher, and Big Brother more devious than ever.

Fancy another (season of Big Brother)? Then simply read on below, where we break down how to watch Big Brother UK Season 21 online and stream daily episodes of the series free from anywhere.

Watch Big Brother 2024 online in the UK

In the UK, Big Brother Season 21 premiered on Sunday, October 6 at 9pm BST. It will be available to watch through either ITV2 or streaming service ITVX.

Following the live launch, episodes air daily (except on Saturdays), from Sunday through Friday, and followed immediately after by companion series: Big Brother: Late and Live at 10pm BST.

ITV2 is a free-to-air channel in the UK, though it requires a TV licence to watch live. However, you don't need one to watch catch-up TV, which you can do so via ITVX, ITV's on-demand streaming platform.

Sign up is free for an ITVX account. All you need is an email address and a UK postcode (e.g. B1A 1AA).

Abroad? Use a VPN using the instructions below to access ITVX back home

How to watch Big Brother UK from anywhere

If you're a UK citizen on vacation or working overseas, you can still watch Big Brother UK online just as you would at home.

While services like ITVX block access from IP addresses outside of the UK, there's a handy piece of software called a VPN that can change your IP address, allowing you to watch UK TV online by making it look like you're accessing streaming services from any country in the world.

For example, UK citizens overseas can subscribe to a VPN, join a UK-based server and access their subscription from anywhere in the world, just like they would back home.

Watch Big Brother UK as if you were at home with a VPN
Try out NordVPN, our choice of the best VPN for unblocking many of the major streaming services – and doing so speedily – including ITVX. You'll be able to stream from any device, including your mobile or desktop, TV, or gaming console. Incredibly secure, too, get assistance with its 24/7 customer support and enjoy a 30-day money back guarantee.

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Step-by-step of using a VPN to unblock:

1. Choose your ideal VPN and install – our go-to recommendation for unblocking is NordVPN, costing from $3.99 a month with its 2-year plan.

2. Connect to a server – for ITVX, for example, you'll want to connect to a server based in the UK.

3. Go to the stream you wish to access - for Big Brother UK Season 21, head to ITVX.

Can I watch Big Brother UK Season 21 in the US, Canada, or Australia?

Sadly Big Brother UK isn’t licensed to watch abroad. As such, it’s only available to stream in the UK through ITVX.

Each of these countries has (or recently had) its own version of the hit TV show. In America, Big Brother Season 26 is nearing end of its run on CBS. Canada’s final season premiered in March 2024 on Global, while there are plans to revive Big Brother in Australia next year on Network 10.

A UK resident currently out of the country? You can always port yourself back home and watch concurrent with the UK using a VPN.

Everything you need to know about Big Brother 2024

Who Are The Big Brother UK Season 21 Contestants?

The initial 16 contestants to enter the Big Brother house are:

• Dean, a 35-year-old barber from East London
• Rosie, a 29-year-old dental assistant from Essex
• Emma, a 53-year-old business owner from Altrincham
• Segun, a 25-year-old charity videographer from Watford
• Nathan, a 24-year-old pork salesman from Dumfries
• Daze, a 24-year-old climate activist from London *
• Khaled, a 23-year-old sales manager from Manchester
• Martha, a 27-year-old NHS administrator from Scarborough
• Lily, a 20-year-old Chinese takeaway server from Warrington
• Ali, a 38-year-old forensic psychologist from London
• Thomas, a 20-year-old amputee footballer from Carlisle
• Ryan, 28 years old, works in marketing and events, from Stockport *
• Hanah, a 24-year-old HR consultant from West London
• Izaaz, a 29-year-old sales consultant from London (originally Swansea)
• Sarah, a 27-year-old spa account manager from Shrewsbury
• Marcello, a 34-year-old youth mentor from East London

* The following contestants have been evicted from the Big Brother house.

What's Happened So Far in Big Brother UK Season 21?

Episode 1:

AJ and Will were in high spirits for the live launch of ITV’s Big Brother, welcoming 16 beaming, rather irrepressible and fashion-forward contestants into the house. Some of the first ushered in were dental assistant Rosie, mummy’s boy Segun, climate activist Daze, and Prince Charles’s former butler, Nathan, who were all soon chatting like besties and swigging champagne in the eye-poppingly colourful living room.

But only 30 minutes in and Big Brother was playing his devious games. One side of the room was carpeted red, and the other blue, and as housemates were drip-fed inside, they were sternly asked to pick a side. But none of them knew what the repercussions of their split-second decision might be.

Once the last contestant, East London barber Dean, had filed in and made some hasty introductions, Big Brother revealed the enormity of their decision. Those on the red side – a whopping 11 of them – were declared “non-housemates”. For the time being, they would not live in the house and would instead be sent to “storage,” which looked like an airport hanger and a more shambolic version of the “Have Not” room in Big Brother US.

Twisting the knife further, “non-housemates” were told they were all up for eviction this week. A shocking start, but it did mean that Segun, Khaled, Ali, Ryan, and Izaaz (Team Blue!) were left to enjoy all the comforts and amenities of the Big Brother house…at least, temporarily.

Episode 2:

Tensions brewed as eleven uncomfortable Housemates were left out in the cold in Storage. Lily was easily the front runner for the title of “Most Annoying Housemate.” The hyperactive 20-year-old mocked spa manager Sarah’s accent, who was later seen crying, and kept her fellow comrades up half the night with her disruptive antics. But it wasn’t like they’d get much sleep anyway. As Dean, or “mother,” pointed out, there was only one bed (a mattress on the floor) to share between them.

Hope arrived while Sarah sadly sipped on a can labeled “Flat Beer”. Big Brother announced that one of them had the chance to regain official Housemate status – and access to decent food and amenities – in a challenge against an “official” Housemate: a “brutal head-to-head” game of deception and persuasion.

Big Brother super fan Martha put herself forward, choosing Ryan as her opponent. If she won, then he’d have to suffer Lily’s annoying antics while Martha took his place and gained immunity from eviction. She’d also be able to bring along two fellow Team Red members.

The challenge saw them facing off across a table with a three-tiered cake on it. But unfortunately the task didn’t involve them chowing down on baked goods. It exploded in front of them instead, and left them with the actual task of convincing forensic psychologist Ali that the other person was responsible, when in fact it was naughty Big Brother who triggered the sugar bomb. Whose gift of the gab kept them safe? Tune in to ITV2 tonight to find out.

Episode 3:

The race was on for the "non-Housemates" in storage to gain their freedom. Martha won in Monday's task against Ryan, and took Rosie and Hanah with her as they became becoming fully-fledged Housemates. And Big Brother had even more challenges lined up to allow those in Storage to avoid eviction (and gain a brief reprieve from Lily's "Tasmanian Devil" energy.) Posing the question “Who among you is the most loveable?” climate activist Daze put herself forward, and faced off against Segun in the garden in a bid to win the affection of a furry little dog. The cute critter eventually sidled over to Segun (who just may have had a bacon-scented advantage) who retained his place in the house.

As Lily entered a rare silence while frantically hula-hooping, Thomas took to Big Brother’s Battle Room against Rosie, where he demonstrated his competitive spirit in an escalating series of dares. First off, Dental Assistant Rosie signed a document changing her name to “Baked Potato” (let's hope that's not legally binding), while Thomas had to wear a bucket over his head, wear a revolting “stench scarf,” and later shaved off an eyebrow (which Big Brother cheekily told him would take “seven to ten years” to grow back). Rosie didn’t have the stomach for her final dare, and she acceded the win to a smelly yet happy Thomas, who saved Sarah and Marcello from any further discomfort in Storage.

The remaining “non-housemates” were given one last opportunity to save themselves: whoever could keep their hand raised in the air the longest would become an "official" Housemate and avoid nomination. There were just two people left standing as the clock passed the two hour mark: Daze (desperate for a wash) and Lily (dying for a Coke). Showing incredible fortitude – and employing some psychological warfare – Daze stole the win, and chose to take a tearful Lily and Emma back with her into the house.

That left us with our four nominees facing eviction, one of whom will leave the house on Friday following the public vote. They are “working class northern lad” Ryan, 29-year-old Essex native Rosie, East End barber Dean, and Nathan, the 24-year-old former butler of Prince Charles. Right then! That gives our endangered Housemates a few more days to make an impression!

Episode 4:

Dog days are over. The hell of Storage is a distant memory and the contestants got candid as they shared some intimate personal details heading into day four of their Big Brother journey.

The Diary Room saw Lily tearfully admit that she didn’t have many friends because, well, she can be a bit much, but she was grateful to have been embraced by Ali and Martha, who told the 20-year-old that, “you are one in a million.” And ladies’ man Marcello shared his love of the fairer sex with Big Brother. He gushed that former Page Three model Emma, “gorgeous” Rosie (aka “Baked Potato”), and Ali were all a bit of him. And he wasn’t in the least deterred by the fact Ali is gay and in a long-term relationship. Meanwhile, the Housemates exchanged a few eye-opening facts (Emma’s had four boob jobs!) and Nathan continued to butt heads with Daze over their political views. Of course, her anti-monarchy views won't have endeared her to Prince Charles’s former butler!

Now to stir the pot as the house goes all The White Lotus for the contestants’ first shopping challenge. Dean has been chosen as hotel resort manager, burdened with the unenviable task of keeping his staff – Lily, Khaled, Sarah, Marcello and Hanah – from going off the rails, and hopefully winning everyone a lip-smacking luxury food budget for the week.

Episode 5:

Contestants awoke on Thursday to Madonna’s “Holiday” blasting through the bedroom – but a stress-free vacation wasn’t on the cards for everyone. In Big Brother’s first shopping task, the house was turned into Coconut Eye-Land Resort. Dean was designated Resort Manager – shouldering the burden for winning this week’s challenge – while Hanah, Marcello, Khaled, Lily, and Sarah would be his employees, who’d have to cater to the other housemates every whim with an eager-to-please smile.

However, not all holidaymakers were created equal. They were split into half-board – getting soggy cereal breakfast buffets – and all-inclusive guests, with the latter given given A-grade treatment that "commoners" were forbidden to piggyback onto. Yes, Emma was a bit irked about getting the “peasant” experience. But she didn’t stir up trouble like that scamp Ryan. He couldn’t stop himself from gobbling an off-limits sausage with a big grin on his face – and wasn't deterred from going back for seconds, even if it meant losing the challenge! Meanwhile, Dean had his work cut out keeping Lily on task, as she was variously shown draped over the furniture like someone suffering from narcolepsy.

The housemates (mostly) relished this bit of role play. And things only got funnier when Hanah was assigned a special mission to get one of the guests to make a complaint, but without drawing suspicion. HR Consultant Hannah went in guns blazing: spilling a tray of drinks on Ryan and then bringing him an unidentifiable concoction that definitely wasn’t coffee. Ding ding! Tongue firmly in cheek, Ryan harangued management meaning Hanah had won the secret task.

Later, as evening fell, it was time for a bit of raucous entertainment. The whole house was in stitches as Khaled led them in the limbo and Sarah performed a hilarious rap. But it was Marcello who had the house in a frenzy, delivering some slightly more X-rated entertainment when he engaged his front-row viewers in a shirtless “Mysterious Girl” singalong.

Tonight, we can expect to see hard truths exposed as the Housemates try to discover what connects them all – something like “Seven Degrees of Davina McCall”? – while we’ll be bidding farewell to one of our lovely Housemates already: either barber Dean, pork salesman Nathan, “Baked Potato”/Rosie, or blue-eyed joker Ryan. Who goes? There’s only one way to find out!

Episode 6:

Anticipation was high as the first live eviction of the season got underway, with AJ and Will ready to whisk either Ryan, Nathan, Dean, or Rosie away from the Big Brother house and that £100,000 prize money.

Recapping the events of the last 24 hours, viewers soon learned the outcome of the shopping challenge. Big Brother commended Dean and Khaled on their service skills, as well as Hanah for successfully completing her undercover mission and goading Ryan into filing a complaint. But, between Sarah comparing Martha to a “rotisserie chicken” while leading a workout and Ryan snaffling the “all-inclusive guest” sausages, they’d accumulated a whopping 51 infractions. No one was really surprised, then, to hear that they hadn’t snagged the luxury budget this week.

A game in the garden in which Housemates had to identify which statements linked them together was more successful – even though it was a little contentious. Segun felt the world was becoming too “woke,” Marcello had expressed wanting Donald Trump to be president, and Nathan held the opinions that it was “okay to lie” and that “protestors should be arrested for disrupting traffic.”

Marcello – the doe-eyed flirt – was (unsurprisingly) open to finding love in the Big Brother house, and he had the Housemates in stiches when elaborated that he’s basically the sort of guy “open to romance on the way to the corner shop.” He’s a caution, but not an unlikeable one. He seems to have developed a playful, teasing dynamic with Sarah, and, to a lesser extent, Ali, although he irked the latter by falsely announcing that they’d shared a “vape kiss” in the garden.

They may have lost the shopping task, but Housemates aced the game of “connections”. And their prize left Lily making all kinds of nonsense noises. However, their win had a limiting condition: as they’d only secured an economy budget, the takeaway treat was capped at five people. Luckily, they all agreed that the put upon employees of Coconut Eye-Land Resort should be the ones to tuck in, which meant Lily (who could reel the contents of a Chinese menu off with her eyes closed), Hanah, Marcello, Sarah, and Khaled got to enjoy the well-earned reward.

The Housemates then slayed in an impromptu drag runway – Nathan in particular making for a killer queen – before nervously gathering in the living room for the results of Fridays live eviction. And the first person to be sent packing was…Ryan! The cheeky Northern lad’s time was cut tragically short, but at the very least, we can applaud him for giving us #sausagegate.

Episode 7:

It’s been just over a week since our contingent of cheery Housemates entered the iconic BB house. There’s been a live eviction, stolen sausages, and yesterday Housemates were reprimanded for repeatedly breaking the sacrosanct Big Brother rule: do not discuss nominations! First to be named and shamed were Daze and Lily, who were chained together to the stair rail for the night. Luckily for them, they're best buds.

In the morning, more trouble. Ali and “Baked Potato” (Rosie), and Nathan and Emma, were also publicly told off. And while normally we’d hear Big Brother recount verbatim some scandalous words said about a fellow Housemate, there was nothing of the sort. The accused simply shared a (very) vague sense of where their allegiances might lie. However, enough was enough. This house of rule-breakers was punished en masse and all hot water was turned off. To be honest, Marcello could probably do with a few cold showers. He’s been professing his admiration to any woman within ten feet, and last night he was wooing Rosie.

Later on, Big Brother announced a musical chairs-style challenge in which the winner would become Head of House and be granted an enviable advantage: immunity from this week’s eviction. Khaled and Izaaz were the last two standing, but it was Khaled who finally won the challenge. As a reward, him and his groupies were treated to an exclusive party. Well, this didn’t help the frosty atmosphere growing between 23-year-old Khaled and forensic psychologist Ali, who, along with Lily, are convinced he’s “fake” (and unable to accept that maybe he’s just a genuinely nice person). Even a one-to-one chat ended with Ali rather snobbishly walking off, with the bad feeling unresolved.

Well, it’s something Ali might regret, because Big Brother had another twist up his sleeve. Sitting in the Diary Room, Khaled was informed that he would be able to pick a special power and influence the outcome of this week’s nominations! It was to remain entirely top-secret though. We should find out exactly what that means, and how it affects the other Housemates, in Monday night’s episode. Whatever happens, it’s bound to cause more “can’t look away” BB drama.

Episode 8:

Excitingly, it was the Housemates first time entering the Diary Room to nominate their fellow contestants. After a week of being cordial, this must have been a weird kind of release. It turns out Nathan was finding Izaaz quite superficial and dull, that Martha was annoyed at Nathan for not helping with the chores, and that lots of people found Lily’s personal habits quite revolting. When they’d all vented, those up for nomination were revealed to be: Daze, Ali, and Lily. Interestingly, the people who didn’t receive a single vote were house charmer Marcello, 24-year-old Hanah, bubbly Martha, and Big Brother’s “Baked Potato,” Rosie.

But all that was about to change. Head of House Khaled still had his “special power” to claim, which would dramatically alter the house dynamic. Instructed to proceed unnoticed to Big Brother’s upstairs “basement," Khaled cleverly diverted Dean and Izaaz and slipped with ninja-like stealth through a hidden door.

There, in a room that looked an abandoned IT Department, he was given the option of two special powers: “Save and Replace,” or “Killer Nomination.” The former was pretty self-explanatory. The latter meant picking someone to automatically join the lineup of Housemates already nominated, leaving them vulnerable to eviction. Whatever one he chose, though, Housemates were gonna be hating.

With the Housemates gathered on the living room sofas, Khaled stood up at Big Brother's bequest. He announced he’d been granted a game-changing power and had picked “Killer Nomination” (dun-dun-dun!). And the person in his crosshairs was…Martha?! Loveable, cuddly, Martha?!

Khaled explained he felt this was the most "fair” choice in impossible situation. Tearing up, Martha left the room, and discord quickly bubbled up. Ali proceeded to harangue Khaled for the “real” reason he picked her, committed to uncovering a malign motive whether there was one or not. She's convinced he’s a game-player (remember how the Housemates turned on big-hearted Zak from Season 1?), while Khaled countered that she was “vilifying” him. Then there was lots of nit-picking and PR damage control over semantics (Nathan defended Khaled’s use of the word “fair” to justify choosing Martha, which Daze said was “invalidating." Ali, meanwhile, was okay with calling Khaled “fake,” but didn't like his use of the word “vilify” and felt it would weaponize the public against her. *Sigh*. In any case, tiny fissures soon became full blown cracks in the BB house.

So that means that like last week, there are four people facing nomination. And, if you want to see less nose-picking and booger-eating on your TV screens, then we think you know who to vote for…

Episode 9:

The Housemates were feeling the strain of being trapped with a bunch of strangers and scrutinized by millions on live TV. Ali was all but ready to exit via the back door as the beef between her and Khaled appeared unreconcilable. On her part, couldn’t drop the opinion that he had been “fake,” and when she did extend an olive branch and asked to get to know him better, he disregarded the gesture as disingenuous.

That was it. After a sleepless night debating whether to leave the reality TV experiment, she told Housemates she was outta there! The thought of her going was galling to 20-year-old Lily, who felt Ali was the coolest person she’d ever met, especially being an activist – even if she didn’t have a clue what she was talking about half the time. Luckily, after a long chat with Big Brother – who it seems also moonlights as Agony Aunt – Ali decided to stay. Having come so close to a dramatic departure, she and Khaled were finally able to shut up, reconcile, and move on. Hurray! Now, let the good times roll.

Or perhaps not! For a time, all was upbeat vibes. Head of House Khaled, assisted by 25-year-old videographer Segun, won the day’s task by successfully guessing who the majority of Housemates would select when given two randomly-drawn names and a bunch of (somewhat contentious) statements. Their reward? The hot water was finally turned back on, and the smelly sods could wash . But that “perk” was quickly withdrawn when Lily and Martha were each revealed to have broken the nominations rule! Time to give in and break out the nose pegs!

Not only was hot water revoked again, but Lily and Martha had to go to report to jail in the garden dressed in their orange prison apparel, where they sat somewhat miserably until 1am. All this misfortune seemed to be souring Martha’s usually cheerful puss, and she was soon griping about Khaled and siding with Lily that he was “fake," too, just hours after that discussion had been shelved. It probably didn’t help that only yesterday he’d dealt her the “Killer Nomination” blow, which could see her leaving the house on Friday.

Episode 10:

Morning Prime Minister! Yes, Head of House Khaled woke up to find he was now running the country (sorry Keir!) as part of this week’s Downing Street shopping challenge. Along with Big Brother-appointed ministers Emma, Nathan, and Daze, they’d have to work together to keep within their one hundred million pound budget to win the task.

Former Page 3 model Emma took to politics like a duck to water: scolding the workers, withholding funds, and generally enjoying being a bit “evil.” Then later that evening the MPs lived their best Conservative Government fantasy with an evening soiree that gave serious #partygate vibes.

Meanwhile, #bagelgate blew up. After Dean chucked Downing Street’s one leftover sarnie (halloumi, yummm) in the bin – he didn’t want to forfeit the task – Izaaz lamented the waste. Which it was, but not as wasteful as the next 30 minutes of viewers’ lives, as a mischievous Izaaz kept the bagel beef going. As punishment for stirring up trouble, Emma picked Izaaz to complete the next task. That involved Thomas and him guarding Downing Street all night, and refusing to allocate any budget to hire a third guard to give them a break. Bad, bad Emma! A few hours in and they looked seconds away from doing a Tweety Bird and propping up their eyelids with cocktail sticks.

Did Izaaz and Thomas sleep on the job? Will the common worker revolt against the salmon-scoffing, champagne-chugging political elite? Check in tonight and get all the unfolding Downing Street dramas!

Episode 11:

It was day two of the Downing Street challenge. Draped in blankets and utterly exhausted, Izaaz and Thomas tapped out after staying awake an incredible 11 hours to help secure a luxury shopping budget for the week. As they caught some z’s, some scandalous headlines were relayed to the rest of the house, courtesy of Big Brother’s mischief-making producers. “Late night booze-fuelled bash” Sarah declared, as she read aloud of PM Khaled’s lavish secret party with ministers Nathan, Emma and Daze, while the rest of the house sadly ate economy budget rations of muesli and pasta. There was a blow-by-blow account of #bagelgate, and Izaaz was fuming to find out ministers could have chosen a third Downing Street security guard – but declined to – that would have provided him and Thomas with a few hours of shut eye.

And the political elite continued to poke the bear, deliberately picking a sleep-deprived Izaaz to participate in the final task. That involved milking a fake cow that intermittently gushed brown goo from its orifices, as a handful of contestants churned and packed eight containers of butter. But all that effort seemed to pay off. Big Brother soon announced they’d successfully passed that week’s challenge and secured the luxury budget! There was general elation in the house. They’d eat like kings, order a few hundred packs of Tangfastics, and get their hot water supply back! Yet Izaaz continued to scowl, feeling disrespected and wary of former firm friends like Khaled.

The wee hours saw boozy celebrations, and the revelation of a house romance! It turns out that pork salesman Nathan and Rosie “Baked Potato” had the hots for each other! As they tried to share a clandestine kiss in the garden, Lily quickly caught on and joined them. And, fairly sloshed and feeling a certain way, she made things weird by repeatedly asking to snog them too. It wasn’t long before the cat was out of the bag. And later that night, the housemates had a laugh at Nathan’s expense by leaving a condom in his bed.

This week has seen bust ups, lots of laughter, and now, love. But it’s about to get real once more as another person leaves the Big Brother house. Lily, Daze, and Ali were all nominated by the house to face the public vote, while poor Martha was thrown into the mix thanks to Khaled's killer nomination power. Tune in tonight for the nail-biting episode, and catch all the fallout of the live eviction.

Episode 12:

Another contestant said goodbye to their TV family in last night’s live eviction, and AJ and Will gave us a look back at the last 24-hours of rule breaking and awkward new romance.

As contestants dreamily discussed their incoming luxury shop after winning the week’s Downing Street task, Big Brother boomed that there’d been another rule break – the fourth in just two weeks. Martha, along with a few others, had absent-mindedly flaunted Big Brother’s commandment that “thou shalt not communicate in code or write messages,” by scrawling innocuous graffiti on the smoking area wall. Martha advertising that she “smells the nicest” resulted in coffee, tea, chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks, and biscuits all being stricken from their shopping list. It was getting a bit ridiculous, and coming just hours after their jubilant win yesterday. A tearful Martha fled the room, most housemates simply groaned, while Daze tried to get Lily to show some composure as she lamented losing her haul of Tangfastics.

Still, they got out of their funk for that day’s Alphabet challenge! Each contestant donned a letter and, when the claxon sounded, had to arrange themselves into a word responding to a question posted by Big Brother. Ironically, Dean couldn’t spell the word “Coffee” – it was the one thing he craved the most. But, despite that, they secured another win and reward, and got all dolled up to enjoy a house D-I-S-C-O later that evening. Gathered in the hot tub, Lily insisted on sucking Martha’s toe, and called Thomas, Marcello et al boring when they wouldn’t surrender their little piggies too. Then the 20-year-old and general Tasmanian Devil riled Rosie up again by cheekily mentioning her and Nathan’s romance. Taking a minute to herself, Rosie admitted to Nathan that she was an awkward person. Yet she just generally seemed embarrassed about the whole thing. Every time her and Nathan talked about their relationship, they spoke like members of COBRA during a national crisis. Is she already regretting their kiss? She didn’t hold back from telling Big Brother that, apart from having polar opposite views politically, he just isn’t the kind of guy she’d date in the outside world.

And talking of the outside world, one of the contestants was about to re-enter it. Despite her drama with Khaled, the crowd cheered for Ali. Lily seemed popular too, while Daze and Martha both got more muted receptions as their names of the nominees were called out. Finally, breaking the interminable tension in the room, it was announced that…Daze would be the second person to leave the Big Brother house. Lily was crestfallen. For her, it truly was the end of days as she said goodbye to her best friend in the whole house.

Episode 13:

It's going to be a deliciously tense and twisty week ahead as the incoming Heads of House – yes, there’s two of them! – were given all the VIP perks of the job (comfy robes and slippers), in addition to the game-changing ability to play puppet master and influence the outcome of Friday's eviction.

Housemates were sullen following Daze’s departure from the show. Lily, most definitely. But perhaps even more so Emma, who was close to throttling Lily as she loudly shrieked and squealed her way through eviction night. As the 53-year-old told Big Brother, Lily was the one person she wouldn’t personally miss and she looked forward to the day she contracted laryngitis.

Marcello ruffled some feathers when, with the housemates gathered round the sofas, he sadly divulged that the last two weeks were the longest he’d gone without having sex. Dean concurred. And that conversation snowballed into a bawdy enquiry over who might have enjoyed a few hand shandies in the shower.

A disgruntled Ali tried to shut that conversation down, but heaped her criticism on Marcello for even bringing the topic up, worried that she could lose work just by being associated with that taboo topic. Marcello felt personally attacked, and although they both tried to bury the hatchet later, bad blood remained. Interestingly, Ali remains a staunch apologist for all of Lily’s unsavory behaviors, like belching in people’s faces.

Later, Khaled was stripped of his Head of House title, and by a process of elimination, his replacement was chosen. One by one housemates filed into a room filled with glass portraits of each contestant. They would have to pick one person they didn’t want to have all the power of HOH and, oh so satisfyingly, shatter their portrait. In the end, two remained: forensic psychologist Ali and East End barber Dean, and it was announced that both of them would be joint Heads of House for the week.

Now for an intriguing, game-changing twist. Big Brother hurried Ali and Dean off to the basement, where “decisions are made that will change the game.” They were asked to pair up the remaining twelve housemates, who would then nominate TOGETHER (Big Brother contravening its own cardinal rule there) against another pair of contestants. They began by dividing them up into groups in a relatively fair way, balancing out more contentious figures with a generally more well-liked housemate. But Dean wasn't going to play too nice. He put Marcello and Khaled together, who he thought were the “most problematic” duo, in the hope they’d get the most votes and one of them would be sent home.

The remaining pairings were: Hanah and Lily; Nathan and Izaaz; Sarah and Baked Potato; Emma and Thomas; and Martha and Segun.

We can see Hanah getting thrown under the bus in this arrangement, as Lily grates on quite a few people's nerves. Meanwhile, Izaaz and his trouble-making #bagelgate antics haven’t helped endear him to the group. Either way, it should be fun to see how this “dual” approach to the game pans out over the next few days.

Episode 14:

“Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive.” Last night’s incident-packed episode was overflowing with emotional outbursts and near-the-knuckle drama. And we’re sure things are going to get more heated as rule-breaks lead housemates to discover what their so-called friends really think of them.

Martha, the bubby lass from Scarborough, turned 27 yesterday and Big Brother treated her to some cake and a Wispa Gold. But the celebrations were quickly squashed by the all-encompassing drama of nominations day. Grouped in twos by Heads of House Ali and Dean, the individual pairs took to the Diary Room to pick one other pair they’d like to nominate for eviction. And despite Big Brother explaining that they could only discuss their reasons together in the Diary Room, we’re sure housemates flaunted that rule time and again throughout the episode.

Although co-heads, Ali was easily swayed by Dean’s decision making. He seemed to have it in for “the boys,” meaning Marcello and Khaled. Ali agreed to nominating them – though keenly aware of the bad feeling that would inevitably follow – but she said she personally would have voted for Sarah and Baked Potato. Apparently, Ali’s pet peeve is nice people. “Marchy” and Khaled stuck it to Nathan and Izaaz, and Segun and Martha followed suit, as did Hanah and Lily. The intriguing twist of group nominations made the process a whole lot more complicated. Nathan, for example, is generally well-liked, but by being associated with Izaaz, who contestants felt had shown his true colors of late, he found himself in danger of eviction. The same was true of the Hanah/Lily duo. Though everyone thought Hanah pretty brilliant, Lily could come across as an inconsiderate brat, and that meant they received a total of three votes. Those came courtesy of Nathan and Izaaz, Emma and Thomas, and Sarah and Baked Potato.

Outside of all the Diary Room action, Marcello was still sore about Ali’s outburst yesterday. We were treated to Nathan and Baked Potato’s lip-smacking kisses in Surround Sound, and Hanah – god bless her! – was giving Lily some Pretty Woman-esque etiquette lessons. Well, if Richard Gere had to ask Julia Roberts to refrain from wiping her boogers on near-total strangers.

Ali was close to passing out as contestants gathered to hear the outcome of this week’s nominations. Because, Big Brother (the bitch) had royally stitched Ali and Dean up by once again prompting them to influence who would face Friday’s public vote. Like Khaled previously, the Heads of House were given a preview of which pairings faced the chop –Hanah and Lily, and Nathan and Izaaz – and then asked to decide between “Saving and Replacing” one pair for another, or “Killer Nomination,” which would add on an additional pair to endure Friday’s live eviction.

Big Brother announced the nominations. “Dodged that bullet,” Marcello prematurely muttered. Because Ali – unable to hold back tears – and Dean then revealed that they’d chosen to pick the special power of “Save and Replace” and, after much careful deliberation (hmm) had chosen to save Lily and Hanah and instead replace them with Marcello and Khaled. It was an intense situation for Ali, who’d had beef with them both and knew she’d bear the brunt of the decision. Marcello and Khaled seemed to take the news graciously – well, until Khaled could no longer stop himself from pulling Ali aside to reveal her double standards. Seeing his actions as under-handed point scoring, she flipped, and their prior animosity was revived tenfold. In no uncertain terms, she told him that any bridges they had built had been burnt.

With emotions high, we’re certain there were half-a-dozen rule-breaks yesterday. Ali told Nathan “I would never nominate you” and took the opportunity to share that Dean’s opinions had been the formative ones in their pairings. The guys love Dean. They might not feel the same way after tonight’s episode when Big Brother is bound to air word-for-word some of these private conversations to the whole group.