Half an hour before the first eviction show was due to be broadcast, a sniffer dog discovered a suspect package and the housemates were evacuated from the House in an unprecedented move.

The sniffer dogs were on a routine security sweep of Elstree Studios, where the show is broadcast when one of the hounds detected the item.

Shortly afterwards a member of the production team went inside the House to tell the housemates that they would be evacuated and taken to a safe place off-site.

At around 8.45pm the housemates were moved to a secure location while the production crew were evacuated from the surrounding buildings.

In accordance with security procedures, the police, and then the army were called, and a controlled explosion was carried out.

But it took four hours before the site was declared safe and the housemates did not return to the House until around 1.00am. As for where they went in the meantime, that's a closely guarded secret.