Is BIG BROTHER 2011 Going To Be Scripted?

By Simon Gallagher / August 17, 2011

When Channel Five successfully pitched to take the rights for Big Brother, we may have all been forgiven for feeling that the show was about to meet its perfect broadcasting partner, thanks to the newest terrestrial TV channel's commitment to sensationalism and "freak-show" properties that were invariably presented as documentaries. Because let's face it, despite starting off as a more intellectual endeavour - an experiment really - Big Brother at its end was little more than a zoo, poking fun at both the walking oddities who volunteered to enter the house and the audiences who sat and watched the live feed relentlessly. It seems that Channel Five have been so far keen to trade off the former glories of the show, bringing in Marcus Bentley (the voice of Big Brother) for continuity, appointing Brian Dowling as the new host to recognise the new show's heritage and debt to the Channel 4 version and launching an aggressive advertising campaign using former "stars" of the show. But we have been told to expect a brand new show entirely, and now we have some idea what might be about to happen in the Big Brother house. And strangely, considering how Big Brother itself inspired them, it is shows like The Only Way Is Essex, Made In Chelsea and Geordie Shore that will form the inspiration for the whole new approach to the show when it begins tomorrow night. That's according to Endemol boss Tim Hinks and the show's executive producer Gavin Henderson, who were talking at Monday's press launch about what we can all expect when the show returns to UK screens with a Celebrity version in just over 24 hours.

It is Henderson's quotes which are the most intriguing, who said the new format necessarily had to adopt current TV trends set out by €˜scripted reality€™ shows such as TOWIE and it's fake-tanned, shaved-chested counterparts:

Big Brother does what it does extremely well but it isn€™t a TOWIE or a Made In Chelsea... But the humour, the awareness of the manipulation that the viewers have of those shows, as well as their use of music are things we need to note.

Hang on, "manipulation"? That sounds slightly ominous - hardly in the original spirit of the show's commitment to reality. And then we hear Tim Hinks saying that Big Brother 2011 will tell some of the €œbest stories€ the reality format has ever seen - but how does he know for certain? Reality TV is a dangerous thing to predict (hence the innumerate controversies), so no-one can really say for certain what stories are going to be told unless they've already been set, or perhaps "manipulated" might be the more appropriate phrase here. So, are those two powerful behind-the-scenes men hinting that Big Brother is going to be scripted? Are we going to see a non-Reality TV show in the same vein of those quoted influence shows? Well, read Tim Hinks' full quote below, and tell me there isn't the briefest suggestion to there is going to be a little more manipulation going on than usual:

People have speculated is it classic Big Brother or a new show? The fact is, we€™re going to tell what we hope will be some of the best stories, we€™re going to introduce you to some brilliant characters, we€™re going to make it funny, glamourous€ and occasionally sexy.

That's a statement of intent if ever I've read one, and one that definitely suggests some outside influence on the events within the house. And given the other new format changes - the introduction of flashbacks, and 'Previously' and €˜Next Time on Big Brother€™ clips - it seems Endemol and Channel Five are attempting to remake the show as a Reality TV/Soap Opera hybrid in the TOWIE and Made in Chelsea mould. And what's the only guaranteed way to ensure that the housemates provide the right content to fit that format? Script it. Celebrity Big Brother 2011 launches on Channel 5 on August 18 at 9PM.