''Big Brother'' is a reality show based on the ''Big Brother'' series by

Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...

. The show originates from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where in 1999 the first season was aired. At present, the format is spread in a number of countries around the world. A group of people (called the Housemates) live together in an isolated house. 24 hours a day their life is recorded by hidden cameras in all the rooms in the House. They do not have TV, Internet, newspapers, even watches on their wrists. The Housemates are completely isolated from the outside world. Every week, each one of them must enter the Diary room and nominate two of the other people for public eviction. The two or more housemates with most negative votes become nominated. For almost a week the TV viewers have to decide which of them to be evicted, voting via SMS or phone calls. Every week the Housemates have a week task. Depending on whether they perform their task successfully or unsuccessfully, their week budget is increased or decreased. During the final week, the viewers vote which one of the remaining people in the House to be the winner, who receives a large cash prize. The show's name comes from

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's 1948 novel ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...

'', a

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

in which Big Brother is the all-seeing, omnipotent leader of

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. In

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, the first season of ''Big Brother'' was aired in 2004 on Nova Television, and quickly became one of the most successful TV formats in the country.

Niki Kanchev Nikolay "Niki" Kanchev () (born 26 December 1960) is a Bulgarian television presenter, famous for hosting the Bulgarian language, Bulgarian version of ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (re-titled to ''Стани богат'' (''Become Rich''), si ...

was the main presenter in all editions, except for ''Big Brother 4'', where he was replaced by Milen Tsvetkov. Evelina Pavlova was a co-host in the period 2004–2006. Six main seasons, ten ''Celebrity'' seasons, four ''All-Stars'' seasons, two ''Most Wanted'' seasons, and a ''Family'' season have been produced so far. The sixth main season premiered on 8 October 2024 and was the first non-''Celebrity'' season to be produced in nine years.

Seasons

''Big Brother''

''VIP Brother''

''Big Brother Family''

''Big Brother All Stars'' & ''Most Wanted''

''Big Brother: The Housemates Strike Back''

On 7 June 2007, ''Big Brother'' brought former housemates from ''Big Brother'' and ''

VIP Brother ''VIP Brother'' is a Bulgarian reality television game show in which a number of celebrity contestants live in an isolated house trying to avoid being evicted by the public with the aim of winning a large cash prize or collecting money for cha ...

'' seasons together and gave them their last task — to destroy the House. Here are the housemates, who participated in the special edition of the show:

Trivia

* General ** Winners: 14 males, 7 females and 1 family ** Youngest ''Big Brother'' winner: Lyubov Stancheva ('' Big Brother 3'') – 21 ** ''Big Brother'' winner with the highest percentage: 78%, Konstantin, '' VIP Brother 1'' ** Highest eviction percentage: Elena Georgieva, 86%, '' Big Brother 2'' ** Least eviction difference: Lilana, 4%, '' VIP Brother 1'' ** Oldest ''Big Brother'' housemate: Radka and Chavdar Kamenarovi – 62 years old, '' Big Brother Family'' ** Season with most contestants: '' Big Brother 4'', 26 housemates ** Season with fewest contestants: '' Big Brother All Stars 4'', 8 housemates ** Shortest gap between 2 ''Big Brother'' seasons: 2 days, '' BB5'' – '' VIP Brother 7'' ** Shortest ''Big Brother'': '' Big Brother 5'' – 26 days ** Longest ''Big Brother'': '' Big Brother 1'' and '' Big Brother 2'' – 92 days ** Shortest stay in the House: Danail Panchev and Daniel Delchev, '' Big Brother 4'', 4 days ** ''Big Brother'' with highest money-prize: '' Big Brother 4'', 300 000 leva ** Most housemates to leave the house voluntarily: 4, '' VIP Brother 1'' ** Most housemates left on the final night: 7, '' VIP Brother 3'' ** Youngest ''Big Brother'' housemate: Vanesa Tsvetanova ('' Big Brother Family'') – 17 years old ** ''VIP Brother'' with highest money-prize: ''

VIP Brother 2 ''VIP Brother 2'' was the second season of the celebrity version of the Bulgarian language, Bulgarian reality television show ''Big Brother (Bulgarian TV series), Big Brother''. It was aired on Nova (Bulgarian TV channel), Nova Television. The sho ...

'', 100 000 leva (in the first season it was 50 000) ** Longest time spent in the House: 118 days, Zdravko Vasilev – '' Big Brother 1'' and ''

'' ** Contestant won twice: Georgi Tashev "Gino Biancalana" – '' VIP Brother 7'' and '' Big Brother Most Wanted 1'' * 2004–2005 /'' Big Brother 1''/ ** First set of nominees: Anelia and Dimitar ** First contestant to be evicted: Anelia Ivanova ** First contestant to voluntarily leave: Dimitar Kazalov ** First replacement housemate: Tihomir Georgiev ** First ''Big Brother'' Winner: Zdravko Vassilev /200 000 leva/ ** First contestants to be expelled by Big Brother: Nayden Naydenov and Svetlan Shevrov “Groshi” ** First sex in the House: Tihomir Georgiev and Mariela Kiselkova ** First lesbian sex: Mariela Kiselkova and Svetlozara Trendafilova ** Longest time spent in the house without being nominated: 70 days, Svetlozara Trendafilova ** First housemate not to be nominated during the whole season: Viktor * 2005 /'' Big Brother 2''/ ** First "evil" ''Big Brother'' ** First ''Big Brother'' with a couple competing: Elena and Miroslav ** First contestant to be voted into the house by the public: Elena Romele ** First foreigner housemate: Leonardo Bianchi (from Italy) ** Longest time spent in the house by a replacement housemate: Elena Romele * 2006 /'' VIP Brother 1''/ ** First set of nominees: Rayna, Mityo Pishtova and Vesela Neynska ** First VIP housemate to be evicted: Raina ** First VIP housemate to voluntarily leave: Vesela Neynska ** First ''VIP Brother'' Winner: Konstantin /50 000 levas/ ** First child to enter and live in the House: Danaya (3 years old) ** First blood related housemates: Violeta and Danaya, mother and daughter ** Fewest housemates to be evicted: 2 ** First ''Big Brother'' with secret inquisition: '' VIP Brother 1'' * 2006 /'' Big Brother 3''/ ** First season with a talk show: ''

Big Brother's Big Mouth This is a complete list of shows about and relating to ''Big Brother UK'' and ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The civilian edition originally ran from 2000 to 2018, and again since 2023. The celebrity edition ran from 2001 to 2018, and again since 20 ...

'' ** First triplets competing: Vyara, Nadezhda and Lyubov ** First pregnant housemate: Svetlana ** First ''Big Brother'' baby: Amber ** First faked eviction: Panayot and Mariola ** Longest time before the first eviction takes place: 29 days ** First nominations with 5 nominated housemates (Vyara, Nadezhda, Lilyana, Svetlana, Penyo): the sixth nominations ** First double eviction: Penyo and Nadezhda ** First non-secret nominations: the eighth nominations ** First nominations with positive votes: the ninth nominations ** First final with two people in fourth place: Lilyana and Paloma (they had equal votes) ** First woman to win: Lyubov * 2007 /''

''/ ** First housemates to compete in two ''Big Brother'' seasons: Zdravko and Tihomir, previously from '' Big Brother 1'' ** First TV show shot in the House during ''Big Brother'': ''Hot'' with host Veneta Raykova (one of the Housemates) ** First family in the House: Zdravko, Hristina and Yanitsa ** First wedding in the House: Zdravko and Hristina ** First non-VIP on ''VIP Brother'': Hristina ** First nominations when the Housemates can nominate themselves positively: the first nominations ** First nominations when the Housemates had to nominate three people: the second nominations ** First non-VIP to win ''VIP Brother'': Hristina ** First intruder to win: Hristina * 2008 /'' Big Brother 4''/ ** First season to be shot in the new House ** First season without Niki Kanchev as a host * 2009 /'' VIP Brother 3''/ ** The longest VIP season of the show in Bulgaria – 56 Days.