BIG BROTHER 2 AT GARDENCROFT--

2 -- AT GARDENCROFT

in association with

BIG BROTHER IS BACK...

It's a 24-hour game show, a soap without a script, a live drama in which the
audience decides the ending. It's wildly unpredictable, totally compelling -
and it's back.
With ten new housemates, a brand new house and a set of entirely new,
challenging tasks, the second series of Big Brother will start a nine-week
run on Channel 4 and E4 at the end of May. And when the door closes on the
latest participants, they will discover that still more surprises are in
store for them, all designed to sharpen the competition.

For viewers there will be even more ways to get involved in Big Brother as
the show continues to push forward the boundaries of TV entertainment to
become the biggest ever interactive TV show. For up to 21-hours-a-day E4,
Channel 4's digital entertainment channel, will carry live footage from the
Big Brother house. Viewers will be able to select from four viewing options
and make their weekly eviction vote through their remote control. News and
commentary about Big Brother, as well as facts, figures and interactive
games will also be available at their fingertips. In addition E4 will carry
a half-hour-long magazine show, five-days-a-week, presented by DERMOT
O'LEARY.

The award-winning Big Brother production team will be working around the
clock again to provide daily programmes on Channel 4, including the live
weekly eviction show on Fridays. And the prize-winning Big Brother website,
the largest entertainment site in the world last year, returns to provide
live feeds from the house, 24-hours-a-day, as well as round the clock,
comprehensive coverage of all the action, news and gossip.

Those who can't reach a TV or PC screen can opt to be updated with the
latest and hottest Big Brother news and gossip wherever they are, whenever
they want it, via their mobile phone by choosing one of a range of packages
developed by Channel 4 with BT Cellnet. For the first time, Big Brother fans
will be able to keep up with the action even while they are on holiday
abroad.

The Big Brother rules will be as strict as ever. The new housemates will
live in the purpose-built house, cut off from any contact with the outside
world. For nine weeks, 37 cameras will watch their every move and 40
microphones record their every word, both day and night.

In spite of the tough regime, competition to be one of the ten new
housemates is fierce. Over 50,000 people requested an application form and
around 5,000 videos were received (compared to just 700 received for the
first series). Applicants are being subjected to an even more rigorous
selection process than in the first series, with rounds of interviews,
psychological testing and auditions. Finally, the numbers will be whittled
down leaving just ten people.

Big Brother Executive Producer, Conrad Green says, "We are looking for a mix
of interesting, positive and enthusiastic personalities. The ten finalists
will be those who have really captured our attention, and made us want to
know more. There has been speculation about how the Big Brother experience
will be different for this new set of housemates but we have some surprises
up our sleeves for them!"

The identities of the ten contestants must remain secret - any revelations
prior to the first day of Big Brother will make them ineligible for entry to
the house. Each person entering the house will be allowed one suitcase of
clothes and another small case filled with contents of their choosing. Items
such as watches, diaries, mobiles, electronic equipment, pens and paper are
not allowed into the house.

The Big Brother house has been completely revamped with new rooms and
features to allow for new challenges. Instead of the 'penal chic' style of
the original Big Brother there are larger rooms decorated in a style the Big
Brother team has dubbed 'cabin-fever'.

Flour, potatoes, pasta, rice and limited amounts of fish and meat are
provided and a budget in the region of Ł1.00 per person per day, to
supplement basic supplies. Vegetables will be planted and eggs available
from a chicken run in the garden. The housemates can increase the
housekeeping budget by successfully completing weekly tasks set by Big
Brother.

Each week the housemates will nominate two of their group for eviction from
the house. The final decision of who stays and who goes lies again in the
hands of the viewers who will vote by phone or via E4's digital TV. The
results of the public vote will be exclusively revealed live on Channel 4's
Friday night show. Over the weeks, participants will be knocked out by the
eviction process until just three people remain. The nation will then vote
for the winner who will receive a cash prize of Ł70,000. The occupants are
free to leave the house at any time but if they do, they walk away
empty-handed.

The live Friday evening show will be hosted by the one and only DAVINA
MCCALL, who will re-introduce the evicted participant to the outside world,
friends and family.

Says Liz Warner, Channel 4's Commissioning Editor of Big Brother: "Big
Brother was the biggest and most innovative TV project Channel 4 had
embarked upon. This year, with E4's involvement, interactive TV and text
messages, we are pushing the boundaries further. There's even more
opportunity for the nation to get totally involved with the Big Brother
house."

Big Brother is a Bazal (part of Endemol Entertainment UK) production for
Channel 4.
Big Brother is sponsored by BT Cellnet.

For all press enquiries contact:
Big Brother Press Hotline - Tel 0207 306 6900
Email bigbrotherpress@channel4.co.uk
Website: http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother

For picture enquires contact:
Channel 4 Picture Publicity - Tel 0207 306 8685

THE SELECTION PROCESS

Big Brother received 50,000 requests for application forms between Dec 2000
and March 2001. Five thousand applicants proceeded to send in videos and of
those, 1,000 were called in for interviews. The Big Brother team then
whittled down the applications to 100 candidates, all of whom are being seen
individually by Big Brother's senior editorial team for further assessment.
From that group, the final ten will be selected to go into the house.

A team of mental health professionals has overseen the selection process
which includes one-on-one interviews with the show's producers, group
discussions and importantly, multiple interviews with psychotherapists and
psychiatrists. All candidates will be subjected to a police screening. All
contenders must be over 18.

All participants will have been through at least four selection filters -
they will have read and understood the Big Brother rules and had at least a
week to consider their participation before committing to the show. They can
leave the project at any time.

A subsistence payment is made to all participants as a contribution to help
pay for out-of-pocket expenses (such as rent) while they are in the house.
This is a flat fee and is not tied to an individual's loss of earnings, but
is based on jury service payments and is around Ł30 a day.

THE BIG BROTHER HOUSE

The Big Brother house has been given a completely new look by the same
designer who worked on the original - Colin Piggott.

The house has an open plan living area consisting of lounge, dining area and
kitchen with wood panelling and an open-air fireplace. Double doors lead
from the living space out to a wood decked garden containing a vegetable
patch and, of course, chickens. There are two bedrooms within the Big
Brother house, each with five beds, but this time one of the bedrooms has an
en suite bathroom attached to it. It is up to the participants to decide how
to allocate these. The house also has a toilet and a shower room. There are
cameras in all of the rooms.

THE DIARY ROOM

The participants can enter the Diary Room to share their personal
observations about life in the house, and their feelings about the other
house members. Participants will not hear one another's diaries while they
are in the house, but the material may be broadcast.

Via the house tannoy system, individual participants can be called into the
Diary Room to talk as deemed necessary. Similarly, if a participant wishes
to speak to someone, they can enter the Diary Room at any point and talk to
a member of the production team. Participants also use the Diary Room to
nominate their fellow housemates for eviction.

If a participant chooses to leave the Big Brother house, they are asked to
enter the Diary Room to explain their reasons for leaving.

PERSONAL BELONGINGS

Participants are allowed to take one suitcase of clothes into the house and
one small suitcase of personal belongings (eg. books, cigarettes and
photos). The suitcases will be the same size for all participants and no
other bags or baggage will be allowed. Big Brother will check the contents
of both suitcases before the participants enter the house and inventories
will be compiled. Big Brother will also be running x-ray and bug sweeping
checks on the contents of the cases.

There are further limitations. Participants are only allowed to take up to
two magazines and two books and up to six bottles or cans of beer, or two
bottles of wine into the house.

One of each of the following items is also permitted: toothpaste,
moisturising cream, shaving foam, shampoo, conditioner, hair gel/hairspray,
and suntan lotion. Any additional items needed during the duration of the
stay must be purchased out of the joint weekly grocery budget.

Items banned from the house include mobile phones, radios, walkmans, CDs or
CD players, computers, PDAs (Psion, Palm Pilot etc), calendars, clocks and
watches, drugs and narcotics, personal medication (except in consultation
with Big Brother), weapons, any electronic equipment or items requiring
batteries and clothes with prominent logos.

FOOD, HOUSEKEEPING AND WEEKLY TASKS

The housekeeping budget is kept to a minimum, in the region of Ł1.00 per
person per day. The exact amount of the weekly budget is dependent upon the
results of weekly tasks set by Big Brother. Assignments are set to test team
spirit and group dynamics. Big Brother will allow the group to wager a
percentage of their weekly housekeeping budget on the successful completion
of tasks.

In addition to supplies purchased from the housekeeping there will be dried
beans, peas, lentils, enough wholemeal and white flour to bake three-to-four
loaves of bread a day, potatoes, pasta, rice, limited supplies of meat, fish
and poultry provided in a storage area.

Supplies are replenished once a fortnight at the production team's
discretion. If all the provisions are used up before this time the
participants will have to purchase more with their weekly budget.

Participants order their shopping once a week (every Saturday with delivery
on Sunday) from an itemised list. Each week the participants will have to
decide their priorities: do they want beer or washing powder?

LEAVING THE HOUSE

Participants can leave the house in two ways. They either leave of their own
free will (and may do so at any time) or they are evicted as part of the
weekly eviction process. Once a participant leaves, for whatever reason,
there is NO return.

VOLUNTARY DEPARTURE

If a member of the house wants to depart they must first report to the Diary
Room and give their reasons for leaving. If a participant leaves
voluntarily, Big Brother may decide to replace them from a reserve
short-list.

THE EVICTION PROCESS

Every Monday, each participant will visit the Diary Room and nominate two
fellow housemates for eviction. Any participant refusing to make a
nomination may be liable for eviction themselves. The diary room nominations
will not be streamed on the website and E4 and the results will only be made
public to both the participants and the viewers on Tuesday's show. The two
or more housemates receiving the most votes in the participant poll are put
to the viewers for the public vote, conducted via the telephone and on
digital TV.

The results of the weekly public vote are announced on Friday during an
early evening show, followed by the eviction itself on the Friday late night
show. When a participant is evicted from the Big Brother house, no one takes
their place. The eviction process occurs every week until only three members
remain in the house. The winner of Big Brother is then decided by national
vote and announced in final show.

Viewers can vote for the housemate they want to evict either by telephone
(calls cost 25p per call) or if they have digital television, then via their
remote control (costing 25p per vote). Channel 4 and Endemol will donate 5p
from every vote to a group of charities yet to be decided.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCIES

There will be fire extinguishers in the house. In the case of fire,
participants will follow a pre-practiced fire drill.

In an emergency, Big Brother will advise participants what to do via the
tannoy system.

PARTICIPANTS REQUIRING MEDICAL ATTENTION

If a doctor or dentist is needed for minor treatments they will enter the
house and treat the patient in the Diary Room. If a hospital (or similar)
visit is necessary, the participant will be accompanied by a member of the
production team to ensure that there is minimal contact with the outside
world. If a long hospital stay is required, participants may forfeit their
place in house.

There will be a psychotherapist available on request to all the participants
for counselling. This will not be filmed. There will also be support for
occupants once they have left, if requested.

OTHER HOUSE RULES

Participants must wear their radio-microphones at all times during waking
hours. Microphones can only be taken off in bed and in the shower.
Participants are responsible for changing the batteries in their mics at
regular intervals. If participants attempt to communicate without the
cameras or microphones recording the communication (eg tampering with
microphones, writing secret messages, mouthing words off camera) or if they
try to tamper with, or cover recording equipment, the production team
reserve the right to expel them from the house.

If a participant behaves inappropriately they may be required to leave the
house immediately. The participants of the Big Brother project are not
allowed to talk to the media prior to entering the house.

THE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION OF THE HOUSE

The Big Brother house is fully equipped with the following state-of-the-art
audio and visual recording equipment to document every movement and every
word of all participants in the house and garden.

Five manned Hitachi broadcast cameras follow participants from behind
one-way glass, sound proofing runs within the house.
Producers in the control room operate an additional 13 cameras fitted to
remotely controlled pan and tilt heads.
A further 13 fixed cameras ensure that every area of the house and garden
environment is under surveillance.
Over 40 microphones provide comprehensive audio coverage.
Every participant wears a compulsory radio microphone.
A tannoy system allows the voice of Big Brother to issue instructions to the
house members.
Thirty-five monitors are housed within the control room, watched over by a
24-hour production team of directors and vision mixers.
Fifteen kilometres of cable have been used in the technical construction of
the Big Brother house.
Two thousand radio mic batteries will be used throughout the series.
Nine thousand hours of tape will be recorded.
150 producers, directors, editors and webmasters work to bring Big Brother
to terrestial tv, digital tv and the web.
60 crew members bring each nightly show to your TV screen.
It takes over 20 web experts to bring the 24 hour live streaming to your PC.
The Big Brother team work round the clock and even at midnight there are
three producers and two directors on duty, plus 22 other crew members.

CHANNEL 4 PROGRAMMES

Daily shows on Channel 4 will bring viewers the absolute 'must-see' moments
from the house. A team of Big Brother directors and producers will carefully
select the most compelling
footage from the previous day.

Friday nights will be home to the two 'eviction night' show, where viewers
can see every week's dramatic climax live and upclose. A weekend extended
show will be ideal for those viewers who have been mad enough to miss the
week's action, and will also feature lots of
unseen footage from during the week, just to keep viewers on their toes.

Plus, every week, an hour long extended programme will feature insightful
analysis of group behaviour in the house, from a team of expert
psychoanalysts. A massive hit last year, the psychological report is once
again bound to be one of the most talked
about aspects of the show.

E4 AND INTERACTIVE TELEVISION

E4 will also have a live, daily, half hour show - Big Brother's Little
Brother (working title) which will really get under the skin of Big Brother.
Relatives, friends and work colleagues will join host DERMOT O'LEARY in the
studio along with celebrities, journalists and psychologists to discuss
developments in the house. Phone-ins, mind boggling statistics and exclusive
interviews with evictees will make this a must for all dedicated Big Brother
fans.

With the advent of E4, Big Brother fans will be able to keep up with the
action from the house for up to 21 hours a day. Live feeds will start after
the Channel 4 shows end and continue until 5.30pm the following day, when
E4's usual schedule resumes. Viewers with interactive facilities will be
able to choose to watch one of two live feeds from the house or delayed
footage from earlier in the day, vote via their remote control, and get the
latest news from the house.

Full details of the interactive services provided are given below.

*times may vary

Viewers watching Big Brother via E4 on digital television can become even
more involved in the action with a level of interactivity not previously
available on analogue TV. The Interactive services will be available to
subscribers of Sky, NTL and ONdigital. Telewest and NTL subscribers will
also be able to play the interactive game 'E-Victor', which will test their
Big Brother knowledge.

Sky
The Big Brother interactive service will be available on E4 from about 11 pm
to 8 pm (21 hours per day), during the run of the series.

The central feature of the interactive application on Sky is the option to
choose which video feed they want to watch from the house. In the main
screen viewers will see four different video feeds: two live from the house
and two delayed so that they can catch up on what they have missed.

During periods of eviction voting, viewers will be able to vote the
contestant that they want to leave the house directly through their remote
control (votes cost 25p including donation to charity). There will also be
other fun polls about house activity, quiz questions designed to test fans'
knowledge, and facts and figures on all the action inside.

NTL (ex C&W digital customers only)
NTL customers can access their interactive application by pressing the red
button on their remote control when they tune to E4. As well as seeing a
live feed from the house, viewers will have access to the information
'ticker' with up-to-the-minute details of everything that's going on, as
well as all the facts and figures they want to know.

Additionally, viewers will be able to vote out the nominated evictees
directly through their remote control (Votes cost 25p including a donation
to charity).

Telewest/NTL
Developed by Two-Way TV, 'E-Victor' is an interactive TV game which tests
how much the player knows about what's going on in the Big Brother house.
Players navigate their chosen housemate around the Big Brother house
answering questions and evicting the other contestants as they go until they
are the last one left. The faster they do it, the higher their score, which
can also be improved if the game is completed in as few moves as possible.

ONdigital
When viewers tune to E4 on ONdigital, they will be able to launch the Big
Brother application by pressing the red button on their remote control. The
application will lie on top of the main E4 feed on screen and will provide
an information ticker similar to that described above as well as details on
how to vote out the week's nominated evictees. ONdigital customers will be
able to receive all the services NTL customers can receive but will not be
able to vote via their remote control.

THE BIG BROTHER WEBSITE

The Big Brother Website is set to dominate the Internet again this series.
Last year the Big Brother Website generated over 200 million page
impressions making it the most popular entertainment site on the Web.

This year the site resources have significantly grown, which employ
state-of-the-art technology. There will be four video streams direct from
the Big Brother house so that followers can watch the housemates 24 hours a
day. As well as Live Mix A and Live Mix B, there will be 'Fave Cam', a
constant video stream dedicated exclusively to the current most popular
housemate, while 'Pan Cam' is a centrally located panoramic camera which the
user can turn through 360° via their own internet connection.

A team of over 20 editorial staff will be monitoring all activity in the Big
Brother house, 24 hours a day and supplying constant bulletins.

Fans will be given the opportunity to cast their votes and give their
opinions in the regular online polls about activites in the house, and to
influence a whole range of specifics that effect the daily life of the
participants so that the user can play at being Big Brother.

The website will also offer:

A comprehensive news section featuring regular updates (and video grabs).
A complete archive of all previous news stories.
Virtual tours of the Big Brother house.
Backgrounds and biographies of all the housemates.
Downloadable 'wallpaper' to customise computer displays.
Chatrooms with other fans of the series.
A number of specially created Big Brother games.
An online shop for the latest Big Brother merchandise.
Big Brother information - answers to frequently asked questions.
Unique behind-the-scenes footage.
Users can sign up for Email news direct to their computers.
The Big Brother website has been developed for Channel 4 by Endelmol UK and
Terra-Lycos with design and build by Victoria Real.

MOBILE PHONE SERVICES

Channel 4 in conjuction with BT Cellnet are producing an exciting portfolio
of exclusive Big Brother services that people can access wherever they are,
whenever they want - all via their mobile phone. Mobile phone owners will be
kept up to date with the latest and hottest Big Brother news and gossip with
three special packages. These packages will enable Big Brother fans, for the
first time ever, to keep up with the action even while they are on holiday
abroad.

These are:

Standard Service - a free service that allows mobile phone users on all UK
networks to keep up to date with all the important news and gossip from the
Big Brother house. Text message alerts will inform fans of the latest
developments, with more in-depth information available on a special Big
Brother hotline. An exclusive Big Brother audio-line will allow people to
listen in to the latest goings-on in the house. To subscribe for these
services people will simply log onto the Big Brother website and register
their mobile phone number.
Premium Service - available to mobile phone users on all UK networks by
purchasing a special voucher from a range of leading retailers. Subscribers
will be able to personalise their own service from the large selection of
text alerts, ring tones and icons and will feature all of the above; plus
the choice of a wide range of other services including eviction news
updates, exclusive gossip - who's doing what, and with whom, Big Brother
competitions, latest news on the Big Brother 'tasks', and exclusive icons
and ring-tones to download.
Big Brother additional services exclusive to BT Cellnet customers. Fans on
BT Cellnet and Genie can also access a range of constantly updated Big
Brother exclusive services. No pre-registration is required. Features
include Infotouch - a unique service which gives users instant access to a
wide range of information, including Big Brother - all at the touch of a
button. Fans can keep up to date simply by sending key words. The requested
information will be sent back within seconds by text message.
Complimenting the services for mobile phones BT Cellnet is sponsoring key
areas of the official Big Brother website, including the 'meet the
housemates' section and the brand new camera option which allows viewers to
follow their favourite housemate around the house.

BT Cellnet is also sponsoring a unique Big Brother microsite, developed by
Genie, the mobile Internet portal, to allow fans to find even more news and
gossip from the Big Brother house 24 hours a day.

BAZAL/ENDEMOL ENTERTAINMENT UK

Bazal is the UK's leading producer of factual entertainment and reality
programming. It is part of ENDEMOL Entertainment UK plc - the UK's largest
non-broadcaster producer.

The ENDEMOL UK group incorporates two other production brands - Initial and
the recently acquired Brighter Pictures - and is dedicated to producing
content that works across a variety of media.

Its commercial arm, Gem, is responsible for ancillary rights across all
media including the development of new communication platforms for
entertainment output such as Big Brother.

The group also has a 50 per cent stake in award-winning digital media
company Victoria Real (designers of the Big Brother website) and a 25 per
cent stake in Zeppotron - producers of comedy content for TV, and online.

In addition to Big Brother's record-breaking success last year, Bazal has
pioneered a range of influential genres, including the 'leisure-based game
shows' such as Changing Rooms. These continues to be one of the most watched
(and most copied) programmes on UK television, achieving audience shares of
up to 48 %, and over 11 million viewers. The Changing Rooms format has been
sold to 16 countries around the world and is now a major prime time success
across Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the USA - delivering record
audiences in many territories, including a 67 % share in Norway.

Following in its footsteps, Ground Force continues to pull in audiences of
more than 11 million people on BBC 1, and is also a major international hit
having been sold to countries across four continents.

Other ongoing peak time successes include Celebrity Ready Steady Cook -
which repeatedly appeared in BBC 1's top ten in 2000 - and Food & Drink, now
in its 19th year on BBC 2.

Long running daytime hit Ready Steady Cook, returned for a tenth series with
a new presenter and extended format in 2000 and was instantly the highest
rating show in its slot on BBC 2.

Bazal is also renowned for its popular stripped reality shows such as Pet
Rescue - which has so far had 850 episodes commissioned by Channel 4 - and
Brighton Rocks for Living. Also for Channel 4 was Flatmates - an innovative
prime time show billed as 'Friends meets Shallow Grave meets real life'.

ENDEMOL Entertainment UK produces over 1,000 hours of programmes for all the
UK's terrestrial networks, as well as for satellite and cable. Annual
company sales exceed Ł40 million.
Following Guardian Media Group's sale of its 50 per cent stake in the
company in 2000, ENDEMOL Entertainment UK is now wholly owned by Europe's
leading television content multinational ENDEMOL Entertainment - part of the
Telefónica group.
Telefónica is the largest provider of telecom and internet services in the
Spanish and Portuguese language world, with companies in 17 countries and
more than 62 million customers.
Originated by Bazal's Netherlands-based parent company Endemol, the Big
Brother format has now been taken up by 17 territories worldwide. In 2001
alone the show has gone to air in Germany, Portugal, Switzerland, Denmark,
Australia, Argentina, Norway, Poland and Spain.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What will be different about Big Brother this time round?
The key difference will be the contestants themselves. The house and garden
have been completely redesigned (see question 2). Plus, of course, there are
so many more ways for the viewer to get involved - through digital TV,
mobile phones and the website. There are also some other changes but these
won't be revealed until the housemates are inside the house!

2. How will the house be different?
Both the house and garden have been completely revamped. Designed in a
'cabin fever' style, the house has bigger rooms, an en-suite bathroom, a
decked patio, a fireplace and many other hidden surprises in store for both
the inhabitants and viewers.

3. How did you select the participants?
All applicants sent in videotape of themselves and the finalists were
interviewed by both producers and psychologists to ascertain their
suitability

4. How many applications did you get?
Over 50,000 telephone enquiries and around 5,000 video applications
(compared to 700 last year).

5. How will I be able to get involved?
The Big Brother experience will be even bigger this year - as well as shows
on Channel 4 seven days a week, there is also a new fanzine show Big
Brother's Little Brother (working title) five nights a week on E4. In
addition, E4 digital viewers can watch unedited action for up to 21 hours a
day.

You can also log into the website http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother to
watch the action 24 hours a day (with a choice of 4 different streams) to
get all the latest news from the house. And if you have a mobile phone,
services offered for all phone users from BT Cellnet will ensure you can be
kept up to speed from wherever you are in the world.

6. How can I vote?
Via telephone lines or via your remote control if you have digital TV (not
ONdigital and Telewest) . Each time you vote, whether it's through telephone
or your remote, it will cost you 25p per vote. Of this, 5p will go to a
group of charities as yet to be decided.

7. When will the first eviction take place?
The housemates will spend a full week in the house together before any
nominations take place. At the beginning of the second week they will make
their first nominations, with the first eviction taking place at the end of
the second week.

8. What if I don't have access to any technology, can I still enjoy Big
Brother?
The nightly shows on Channel 4 will contain all the most important events
from the house - not forgetting the Friday night live eviction shows, an
extended weekend programme containing previously unseen footage and another
weekly extended show that will feature expert opinion from our team of
psychologists.

9. Was Big Brother really the biggest website in the UK?
Yes, within 7 days of launch, last year's Big Brother website was the most
popular site in the UK. It went on to receive 200,000,000 page impressions
over a nine-week period making it Europe's No. 1 website.

10. When I get to the Big Brother website can I see into the house
immediately?
Most people will be able to access a choice of 4 cameras straight away. If
you have bought a computer within the last couple of years you should have
the necessary software to watch the Big Brother streams. Some with older PCs
may need to download the software from Real Player, which will be easily
available on the site.

11. How long will that take?
For those with an average modem, downloading Real Player will take about
10-20 minutes.

12. Will it clog up my hard drive?
No, Real Player needs only around 4.7 megabytes of memory and most hard
drives have much more the required capacity.

13. Do I need a special modem
You can look at Big Brother on the web through any modem.

14. What if the image quality is bad?
The Big Brother website will be using the most advanced technology to ensure
that image quality is at a premium. It has been designed for all hardware
with average specifications so almost everyone with a modem will be able to
receive good quality web images. (If you want to watch broadcast quality
action from the Big Brother house, you can also watch up to 21 hours a day
of action on E4).

15. Will I get sound?
Yes - everyone with speakers and a sound card (which most PCs have as
standard) will be able to listen to live action from the house. There is
even a 'sound only' option so you can listen to Big Brother in the
background while you are working!

16. Can I play the games on the site?
Yes, there are a range of Big Brother themed games on the site including
Tamigotchi and Taskmaster. 'Flash' software is required to play these and,
although most PCs will have this as standard, it will be available to
download from the Big Brother website

17. How can I get the mobile phone services?
Mobile phone services (provided by BT Cellnet) means that you will be able
to stay up to date with news and gossip from the Big Brother house from
wherever you are. There is a standard service which you can subscribe to
free via the website, a premium services you can subscribe to by buying
special vouchers from leading retailers and an additional service available
to BT Cellnet customers.

18. As you are sponsored by BT Cellnet, will only BT Cellnet users be able
to access these services?
No, the Standard and Premium services are available to customers on all UK
networks.

19. How do I use the WAP service?
Genie have developed a WAP service where mobile users will be able to access
a range of information, 24 hours a day.

20. How does interactivity work on Big Brother?
Viewers with interactive facilities will be able to access Big Brother
interactive applications on E4. These features will include being able to
choose which video stream they want to watch from the house and being able
to vote in evictions via their remote controls.

21. What about the rest of E4's schedule? Will I still be able to see
Friends and ER?
Big Brother live feed on E4 will continue through the night until 5.30pm
weekdays (4pm weekends) when E4's usual schedule resumes. Friends, ER, Ally
McBeal and Sex in the City will continue in usual time slots.

22. How much will it cost to use the interactive facilities?
It won't cost anything to use interactive facilities. There will be a charge
only for voting to evict house members and participating in polls via your
remote control.

23. Will all platform providers offer interactivity?
Sky Digital, OnDigital and NTL digital (former Cable and Wireless digital
customers only) will all provide interactive Big Brother applications.
Telewest is unable to provide the interactive applications such as voting
via remote control and participation in polls, although Telewest digital
viewers will be able to watch Big Brother Live on E4.

24. What exactly is Big Brother's Little Brother (working title)?
Big Brother's Little Brother (working title) will be a must-see for all Big
Brother die-hards. Running 5 days a week (Sun - Thurs) this live studio
based show will feature relatives, friends and work mates of the
participants, who will join host DERMOT O'LEARY in the studio. Plus,
celebrities, psychologists and experts will comment on progress and
statistics, polls, gossip and bizarre Big Brother facts will feature daily.

Big Brother Press Hotline - Tel 0207 306 6900
Email bigbrotherpress@channel4.co.uk

BACK TO BIG BROTHER MAIN PAGE

BIG BROTHER IS A

PRODUCTION FOR CHANNEL