List of Big Brother (Australian TV series) shows
| Company type | Television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Throughout each season, particular aspects of the competition are highlighted in dedicated episodes, which are generally broadcast on specific evenings. Episodes airing on weeknights and Sunday evenings provide summaries of the House's activities from the day before. To adhere to Australian broadcasting regulations, all live transmissions incorporate a 30-second delay. Collectively, these broadcasts amount to around 16 hours each week. Apart from the inaugural season, Big Brother was shown daily except on Saturdays.
Opening Night
The Opening Night episode serves as the season's introduction, presenting the new contestants and unveiling the House setup for that year. Sonia Kruger currently hosts this episode, with former hosts including Gretel Killeen (2001–07) and the duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O (2008). This premiere has been titled variously over time, including names like Launch, In They Go, and The Secret.
Daily Show
The Daily Show was broadcast Monday through Friday from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm during all seasons, recapping the previous day's happenings inside the House, with commentary provided by Mike Goldman. In later seasons, a Sunday edition was introduced to cover events from Friday and Saturday, airing between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Occasionally, special episodes extended to a full hour to accommodate significant events.
Between 2001 and 2007, this program was simply called Big Brother. In 2008, it was renamed Big Brother: Daily Show, with Monday episodes expanded to one hour to include housemate nomination coverage. During 2012, broadcasts occurred Tuesday through Thursday from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on Fridays from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm; recaps for Sundays and Mondays were merged into live episodes.
Eviction
Eviction ceremonies take place during Big Brother Live Eviction, which airs Sundays at 7:30 pm AEST live from Dreamworld in front of an audience. Generally, one contestant departs between approximately 7:45 pm and 8:00 pm; however, occasionally two housemates leave during a Double Eviction. The first occurrence of a Double Eviction in Australia was during Big Brother 2002.
In 2006, a "save" voting mechanism was introduced whereby viewers could reduce eviction votes by casting save votes. The format shifted in 2008 when audiences voted to save contestants; those with the lowest three save tallies then faced eviction decided by fellow housemates. From the fifth week onward, the show reverted to its original system—housemates nominated peers for eviction while viewers voted to evict.
For Big Brother 2012, the show returned to viewer save voting among nominees; the contestant with the fewest save votes was eliminated. This approach persisted into Big Brother 2013.
A notable incident occurred in Big Brother 2004 when a vote-counting mistake was uncovered following Bree Amer's eviction—she had not actually received the highest number of eviction votes. Consequently, Amer re-entered the House the following Monday, and a special eviction took place on Thursday resulting in Wesley Denning’s exit. Legion Interactive, responsible for tallying votes, acknowledged this error during the second eviction broadcast.
Finale
The Big Brother Finale is a significant live event held at Dreamworld before an audience and broadcast in real time, usually hosted by the series presenter. The finale often extends up to three hours or more; for instance, in 2007 delays in vote counting prolonged the broadcast.
This concluding episode showcases footage from the final day featuring the last two remaining contestants and culminates with the announcement of the winner. Typically, the runner-up leaves similarly to an evicted housemate and is interviewed on stage before the winner departs the House to join the host. In some seasons (notably 2004, 2005, and 2007), both finalists exited together and appeared on stage for the winner reveal. Variations of this format have been employed across different seasons.
Former contestants sometimes perform during finale celebrations, often incorporating themes related to season challenges. For example, in 2006 Danielle Foote performed her single accompanied by dance routines from other housemates.
The 2007 finale marked Gretel Killeen’s final hosting after seven years; Kyle and Jackie O assumed hosting duties in 2008. That year’s finale featured a retrospective tribute to past seasons as it was announced that no further series would be produced in the near future.
Friday Night Live
Big Brother Friday Night Live is a weekly live broadcast that began in 2005, hosted by Mike Goldman alongside former contestants Ryan Fitzgerald and Bree Amer. Each Friday at 7:30 p.m., the show presents live competitions involving housemates in an arena adjacent to the Big Brother residence, often featuring the latest evictee as a guest co-host.
Originally intended to be presented by two hosts, Bree Amer became a permanent co-host following the initial episodes. Winners of Friday Night Live gain key strategic benefits, including:
- The title of Head Of The House
- The ability to bring one housemate into the Strategy Room
- The power to evict a contestant with double points
- Authority to modify nomination outcomes
In 2006, a fourth prize called the "luckydip" was introduced, granting winners one of three themed boxes containing various rewards such as vacations or special privileges; some boxes contained humorous booby prizes like a bow tie or Camembert cheese. Occasionally, victors were awarded exclusive outings outside the house, such as private visits to Dreamworld's Tiger Island or early access to new amusement rides.
The 2007 season retained this structure but expanded nomination powers, enabling winners to remove themselves or others from the nomination list and completely substitute nominees—offering more substantial influence than in previous seasons where only point deductions were possible.
This Friday Night Live format inspired Network Ten's Friday Night Games in 2006, which featured teams of celebrities and members of the public competing in games at Dreamworld, with Goldman, Amer, and Fitzgerald serving as hosts.
In 2008, the traditional rewards room was eliminated; instead, winners gained entry to a newly established Strategy Room alongside one housemate and could save a nominee from eviction while casting double votes due to changes in the nomination process.
UpLate
Big Brother: UpLate, airing on weeknights during the Big Brother seasons from 2003 through 2007, was hosted by Mike Goldman. It premiered during Big Brother 2003 and generally broadcast between 10:10 p.m. and 11:15 p.m., with episodes ranging from one to two hours in length.
The show featured live footage from inside the House, interviews with recently evicted contestants, and interactive puzzles that gave viewers opportunities to win prizes up to $1000. For the 2006 and 2007 editions, an online stream was provided via QuizTV.com.au for audiences in regions without live broadcasts, broadening participation beyond Australian borders. In 2007, a Sunday night episode was also introduced. UpLate was discontinued following the conclusion of the 2007 season.
The Insider
The Insider, launched in 2003 and hosted by Tim Ferguson, was a panel discussion program offering additional insights and gossip about Big Brother. Frequently, evicted contestants appeared as guest participants.
Big Brother's Big Mouth
Introduced in 2008 and inspired by its UK counterpart, Big Brother's Big Mouth was hosted by Tony Squires and Rebecca Wilson, with panelists including Tom Gleeson and Tim Brunero. The show featured evicted housemates as guests and initially aired on Mondays at 9:30 p.m., later shifting to a 10:00 p.m. slot due to declining viewership. The series consisted of eleven hour-long episodes showcasing various former contestants as guest panelists.
Uncut / Adults Only
Big Brother: Uncut served as a supplementary program featuring mature content unsuitable for earlier broadcast hours, including scenes such as showers and open conversations about sexuality. Hosted by Gretel Killeen, it debuted in July 2001 on Network Ten, airing weekly around 9:30 pm with an MA15+ classification.
In the fifth season, the show encountered controversy due to its explicit material, leading to an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Authority. The inquiry determined that Network Ten had violated the code of practice, though no sanctions were applied. For the sixth season, the series was renamed Big Brother: Adults Only and implemented tighter censorship with pre-edited footage to adhere to MA15+ guidelines. The program was cut short following political pressure linked to media reform initiatives.
In November 2023, Uncut made a comeback alongside the fifteenth season exclusively on Channel 7’s streaming service 7plus.
Saturday
Big Brother Saturday was a one-hour program broadcast on Saturday nights during Big Brother 2001, hosted by Gretel Killeen. The show included press summaries, fan interviews conducted by reporter Sami Lukis, and updates about evicted contestants, featuring only limited footage from inside the Big Brother House. This show was discontinued after the inaugural season when Network Ten acquired rights to Saturday night Australian Football League matches, which occupied the timeslot.
Nominations
Big Brother Nominations was a one-hour special that aired Monday evenings following the Daily Show from 2002 through 2007.
During the first season, nomination segments were incorporated into Tuesday’s Daily Show without housemates providing justification for their choices. In subsequent seasons, a dedicated nominations special was introduced, usually pre-recorded; notably, in Big Brother 2005, nomination announcements were broadcast live. Early in 2008, nominations were temporarily suspended without a special episode; when they resumed mid-season, they were included within Monday’s Daily Show. These specials commonly featured housemates explaining their nomination decisions in the Diary Room.
Housemates allocate three nomination points: two points go to their primary nominee and one point to their secondary choice. If instructions are unclear, Big Brother may limit this to a single point. The three contestants with the highest points face eviction; if there is a tie for third place, additional nominees are included.
In Big Brother 2005, the Three Point Twist allowed the winner of Friday Night Live to deduct three nomination points from any nominated housemate, including themselves if applicable. This adjustment took place after initial nominations and affected the final eviction lineup. The twist was sponsored by KFC. By Big Brother 2007, this evolved so that the Friday Night Games victor could completely remove a nominated contestant and substitute another in their place.
For the first five weeks of Big Brother 2008, viewers voted to nominate while housemates voted to evict during Sunday eviction episodes. Midway through the season, nominations reverted to housemate voting with public eviction votes; no separate nomination special aired, with coverage incorporated into an extended Monday Daily Show.
Camilla Halliwell holds the record for most eviction nominations, having faced public voting ten times in 2006 and finishing as runner-up. Rory Ammon appeared nine times in eviction rounds during season eight.
Confidential
Big Brother Confidential served as a mature, late-evening companion series to the ninth season of Big Brother, with narration by Mike Goldman and debuting on 22 August 2012. The program showcased brief segments highlighting housemates' behavior, each narrated by Goldman and frequently introduced through comedic animations. Unlike earlier companion shows such as Uncut and Adults Only during Network Ten's tenure, it was met with unfavorable critiques. Initially rated M and scheduled for Wednesdays at 10:10 pm, Nine shifted the timeslot to Thursdays at 8 pm after just one week, concurrently lowering its rating to PG—the same classification as the family-friendly daily broadcasts. This adjustment conflicted with prior comments from Nine's Director of Programming, who had indicated the content was too mature for a PG rating.
Showdown
The program Big Brother Showdown originally aired as a one-hour Saturday evening show hosted by Shelley Craft, featuring commentary from Mike Goldman and 2012 contestant Michael Beveridge. Although the competitive games were conducted inside the house on Fridays, the episodes were broadcast on Saturdays; this arrangement lasted for three weeks.
Later, the format was altered so that Showdown was recorded on Wednesdays and incorporated into the Big Brother daily broadcast on Thursdays, eliminating the host segment.
Late Night Feast
Big Brother Late Night Feast is a weekly adult-themed episode airing late at night on Tuesdays at 9:30 pm starting from week four. While it shares similarities with Ten's long-standing Uncut, it distinguishes itself by not emphasizing nudity.