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Q. What is Big Brother?
A. Big Brother is a close up examination of 12 people's lives. Living in communal isolation the 12 housemates are filmed and recorded 24 hours a day for 64 days. At the end of each week the public is given the chance to evict one person from the Big Brother House. The viewing public will then vote for their favourite of the remaining housemates. That person will be the winner and will walk away with £70,000.

Q. Have the contestants ever met before?
A. No, and Big Brother has taken the utmost care to ensure that the identities of the chosen 12 have been concealed from the public, as well as from each other.

Q. When did the contestants enter the House?
A. The contestants entered the House on 23th May 2003.

Q. How many cameras are there?
A. There are a total of 33 cameras situated around the House and garden. Each participant has a personal microphone, which is switched on at all times, and a further 40+ microphones in the House to record every word. None of Big Brother is staged or scripted.

Q. Are the cameras ever switched off?
A. The cameras will record every minute in every room and garden, so it's no place for shyness. The occupants must assume that they are being watched at every moment.

Q. What were the stages in the selection process?
A. Applicants first had to complete a questionnaire and submit it along with a two-minute VHS. The next stage consisted of rounds of interviews and psychological testing.

Q. Why were these 12 chosen?
A. All participants must be over 18. Big Brother looks for a broad range of people, with different personalities, ages and interests.

Q. How many people applied?
A. There were a staggering 150,000 requests for application forms to take part in Big Brother, with a massive 10,000 sending in VHS's.

Q. How is the winner chosen?
A. Every week, the housemates each nominate two other housemates for eviction. The public then vote on which of the nominees will get the boot. After nine weeks, the public vote for their favourite housemate remaining.

Q. Can I visit the Big Brother House?
A. Unfortunately, no visitors are allowed. But you can click Tour the House for your virtual tour of the Big Brother House.

Q. How can I get to be on the live TV show?
A. Those wishing to take part in the live TV shows on Fridays can contact PowerHouse TV for tickets at www.powerHousetv.co.uk. The House is situated in the famous Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. Alternatively there are many opportunities to win tickets by entering competitions on the website, Channel 4 and E4.

Q. Why was my application unsuccessful?
A. Tens of thousands of applications were received. Unfortunately, Big Brother cannot write to everyone individually if they have been unsuccessful. Months are spent going through every application individually giving the fullest possible consideration to every applicant.

Q. How can I be on Big Brother?
A. There will be another series next year. Details on how to apply will be available on the website closer to the time.

If you are still lost, please send an email detailing your problem to help@bigbrother.channel4.com.

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