Did they get the UBB line up right?

[keithafc]

I know people will say its all about opinions and everyone will question who was picked etc and who was left out but is it me or did they get the line up completely wrong?

Instead of going out with a real bang, as in having the REAL best housemates ever in the history of Big Brother, we ended up with too many people just interested in the money. A number of celebrities in my opinion contributed nothing to the UBB show and obviously only did it for the money.

Now, if those housemates did something to DESERVE that money and actually played a role in the house instead of just sitting around and doing fk all, then there would be less talk about it.

But too many of them did too little and for me, i don't know how the they picked some of the ones they did and paid them what they did and how little some of them actually produced on the show. Some will say well it is all about people being themselves but surely the aim for UBB was to entertain and get us talking and ending BB on a real high? All we got was too many wasters and celebrities walking away, who can't believe their luck to get paid the amount they did for producing the little they did on the show.

[Angus]

Ulrika, Preston, Michelle. Chantelle - all wastes of space. There was no-one from BB3, BB4, BB8, BB9. BB10 or BB11. Why 3 from BB5?? We should have had one housemate from each of the series, preferably the winner if possible, but at least one memorable character from each series, and when Josie the wimp walked they should have immediately replaced her. The only saving grace for UBB was that Nick and Victor were there, otherwise I wouldn't even have bothered watching. As for Vanessa, what the hell right did she have to be in there having lasted only 3 days in CBB?

Imagine what a great show it would have been with Rex, Marcus, Ben and Sam instead of some of the massive bores we got stuck with?

[Raph]

At the time, I was highly disappointed by it. However, as Coolio and John McCririck left, the show became the great show that it is, again, and was a pleasure to watch. Only fault was putting in those vulgar two in the first place!

[Shardlake]

no they got it monumentally wrong, on all counts.

[Patricia4]

Wrong

[Wingnut73]

They were never going to get it completely right. For a show that went on for so many years unfortunately many of the characters probably didn't want to go back, so there was probably only a limited pool of housemates generally to pick from. I imagine many were put off primarily due to the whole JADe debacle in the infamous CBB series.
They got it right with Nick, Brian, Victor, Makosi and Nadia definately (it is unfortunate that with the latter, it all went a bit pear shaped) but in a perfect BB I would have liked to see also,:

Alex/Adele
Charley (purely for comic value)
Rex
Pete Burns
Jack dee (although I know there was noway he would ever have done it)

Those I can think off the top off my head. Can you imagine Pete Burns, Rex and Charley being together, classic.

[seanraff07]

You could say it was alright, then again you had HM's in there like Preston, Ulrika and Vanessa who made no impact.

[Shardlake]

They were never going to get it completely right. For a show that went on for so many years unfortunately many of the characters probably didn't want to go back, so there was probably only a limited pool of housemates generally to pick from. I imagine many were put off primarily due to the whole JADe debacle in the infamous CBB series.
They got it right with Nick, Brian, Victor, Makosi and Nadia definately (it is unfortunate that with the latter, it all went a bit pear shaped) but in a perfect BB I would have liked to see also,:

Alex/Adele
Charley (purely for comic value)
Rex
Pete Burns
Jack dee (although I know there was noway he would ever have done it)

Those I can think off the top off my head. Can you imagine Pete Burns, Rex and Charley being together, classic.

Pete Burns or any other 'celebs' had no business being in there, that's what spoilt it.

Celebrity Big brother is a different entity and is fine by itself

Ultimate Big Brother should have been about ex housemates from the full length series that made stars of ordinary people. There is no end of people they could have put in, Marcus, Jonty, John Tickle, Eugene, Kate Lawler, Johnny, Saskia, Bubble etc. etc.

Putting paid people in there who just treated being there as another job went completely against everything it should have been.

In the end the show was a victim of its own success. The first few shows worked because people going in there were genuinely interested in the concept of a social experiment, then it turned into a platform for wannabes.

[Joelle.]

At the time, I was highly disappointed by it. However, as Coolio and John McCririck left, the show became the great show that it is, again, and was a pleasure to watch. Only fault was putting in those vulgar two in the first place!

So what if they are vulgar! Big Brother is an entertainment show and that's something those two would have given if they were kept in longer. That's why it became so boring. It's not the nicest person contest but coming from a Rachel Rice fan this doesn't surprise me :conf:

[Visage]

It's easier to comment now the show is over, however I do think the use of celebrities wasn't right.


I would have much preferred the final battle to be all about the none celebrity housemates.

[brian3]

I think they did the best they could. We dont know who said no to it

[Shardlake]

I think they did the best they could. We dont know who said no to it

They sold out imo. They took the easy option of spending cash to get people in there that would appeal to the 'wide market' when people like Katreya (even though I cant stand the woman) who turns up to the opening of an envelope, would have done it for nothing.

[InOne]

They got it very wrong. Ulrika, Vanessa, Preston and Chantelle, all big big mistakes.

[Patricia4]

I agree they did get it wrong.

[Niamh.]

I would have picked very different HMs, no CBB HMs for a start but I was just happy that Brian Dowling was in it tbh

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

swap preston nasty nick and ulrika for charley pete burns and bea then its right

[Zippy]

They chose Ulrika FFS.

And too many other pointless celebs just there for the cash and a boost to their careers. It turned out ok mostly but could have been SO MUCH better.

Ch4 just can't do great BB anymore. Theyve lost their bottle.

[Zippy]

I think they did the best they could. We dont know who said no to it

Well they didnt even ask Pete Burns so I have no faith that they even approached the right people in the first place!

Ulrika or Pete Burns? Hmmm

[keithafc]

I can't believe they put in Ulrika and Preston. This was supposed to be ULTIMATE Big Brother and it ended up being pure rubbish. At least John Mccririck contributed to the show, Ulrika, Chantelle and Preston contributed NOTHING and we got nothing.

The producers of BB or the people who picked those housemates have some serious questions to answer with the picks they made. I can't believe they picked Ulrkia for starters. Completely pointless. I am annoyed that not more people aren't standing up about the terrible line up when we had the likes of Rex, Marcus, Charley etc who would of no doubt imo gone on the show for a far less fee than what Ulrika got.

[Legend killer]

Of course NOT just look at the raitings Epic fail. Where were the likes of Marcus and Rex , instead we had ppl like Ulreka in it complete joke

[keithafc]

It was almost as if they wanted to play safe. What is the point of that? Playing safe is going to do no good to get a great series. I really enjoyed the last Celebrity BB but i enjoyed it because they put in some great characters.

That was the problem with UBB, not even the normal housemates were as good as they should of been, never mind the celebrity housemates.

[Rob]

could have been better but what you gonna do? other than complain?

[Jordan.]

It was alright i suppose but could have been far better.

We needed the likes of Charley, Rex + Bea in there, it was too happy housey.

[Zippy]

If they had just all regular HMs it would have been much bitchier and competitive. They all started off equal but some now think theyre bigger stars than the others!

Half being celebs just set an instant pecking order it never recovered from.

[Mac Hiavellian]

It's a tough one because it's all about a difference of opinion, some HMs are fresher in memory than others, it was a short series, and the number Celeb HMs were met with criticism.

IMO Preston was not a classic HM, and served no purpose other than creating cheap, awkward will they/won't they exposure for him and Chantelle. There was no need for 2 representatives for CBB4.

Ulrika or Coolio - both love or hate figures. Ulrika, a moany cow, and Coolio an argumentative chauvanist. Again, it didn't require 2 representatives for one series and CBB6 isn't regarded as one of the best BBs, in fact it was the frst series with no LF and wasn't as big a comeback for CBB as hoped.

Nadia, Victor or Michelle - I liked them both. Victor contributed a lot, and Michelle was also more likable for me this time around although she really didn't do much. Nadia was already in there so neither of these 2 should really have gone in. Or perhaps have 1 of them instead of Nadia in the first place. I love Nadia but it's clear she wasn't in the right state of mind to go back in (even Come Dine With Me was evidence for that)

So, removing Preston, either one of the CBB6 HMs, and 2 of the BB5ers leaves 4 places that could have gone to more deserving former HMs, each of which could have represented a different series. Anyone from BB3, 4, 8, 9, 10 primarily, and CBB2, 5 or 7 as a last resort.

[keithafc]

4 places is a hell of a lot. Then you look at the Josie situation. They messed it up.

[Beastie]

They got it very wrong. Ulrika, Vanessa, Preston and Chantelle, all big big mistakes.

This.

Well Vanessa was okay actually :)

Michelle was a mistake too. She was a bore. Coolio was another mistake too.

Therefore half of them mistakes.. half of them fine! lol :)

[Mac Hiavellian]

4 places is a hell of a lot. Then you look at the Josie situation. They messed it up.

It is lol. Which 4 would you have picked?

The Josie thing was a bit on an unmitigated disaster. If she'd not seen her friends/family and John James, if she'd been given that phone call to John James, or more so if he'd never had the phone call to Nathan, to name a few things that might have kept her in there.

[keithafc]

I would of picked Rex, Marcus, Charley as at least 3 to go in without a doubt. Not sure on the 4th.

[Mac Hiavellian]

I would of picked Rex, Marcus, Charley as at least 3 to go in without a doubt. Not sure on the 4th.

Nicely played. A fair few people wanted those 3.

Come on, 1 more person! BB3 Alison, Tim, Alex? BB4 Ray, Lisa, Tickle? CBB2 Goldie? CBB5 Dirk, Jermaine? CBB7 Vinnie, Alex, Sov?

[keithafc]

Science?.. lol

[Mac Hiavellian]

Science?.. lol

No lol. He was BB6. We already have Makosi. Try again lol

[keithafc]

I wasn't talking about 1 person from each series. Just the best BB characters ever. We had far too many people who were not only boring but you can hardly remember them. Preston, Ulrika, Chantelle etc.

[Kerry]

To be fair to them I guess you have to take into account who actually agreed that they would do it again. I suspect they approached plenty of the most 'entertaining' but they said no

But why they settled for Prestelle and Dullrika is anyones guess

[keithafc]

You see, i don't agree with that. I don't see how Rex or Marcus or Charley and others would of rejected going in for the final BB on Channel 4. I'd say many of them would of actually took being paid less than Ulrika for example.

But what do they do? They pay Ulrika a large sum and she produced little, if anything, she turned into one of the most boring people iv seen on TV. Its as if they wanted to get it over with quickly, picked up a quick list of HMs and just threw them in without even thinking about it.

People say its all about opinions and not everyone will be happy.. well im sorry but you can't be throwing in HMs into the UBB house who add nothing to do it and actually if anything, are a burden on the show.

The whole idea for UBB was to send BB out on a real high with the ultimate HMs in BB history. People we all remember and they did not deliver what we in general expected.

[Kerry]

You see, i don't agree with that. I don't see how Rex or Marcus or Charley and others would of rejected going in for the final BB on Channel 4. I'd say many of them would of actually took being paid less than Ulrika for example.

But what do they do? They pay Ulrika a large sum and she produced little, if anything, she turned into one of the most boring people iv seen on TV. Its as if they wanted to get it over with quickly, picked up a quick list of HMs and just threw them in without even thinking about it.

People say its all about opinions and not everyone will be happy.. well im sorry but you can't be throwing in HMs into the UBB house who add nothing to do it and actually if anything, are a burden on the show.

The whole idea for UBB was to send BB out on a real high with the ultimate HMs in BB history. People we all remember and they did not deliver what we in general expected.


I actually think it was geared up for Brian to win. Who in there was ever going to compete with him? No one.

[keithafc]

I actually think it was geared up for Brian to win. Who in there was ever going to compete with him? No one.
Yeah but the point of the series was to go out in a high, i kind of lost attention in the last 5 days of the show. It was that boring. The lack of big BB characters is what made it rubbish.

That is the key point here. A lack of big characters will kill any reality tv show.

[Kerry]

It was a failiure full stop IMO. BB11 too really. Very disappointing :(

[HBB1508]

They shouldn't have put celebs in there at all and they shouldn't have paid people to go in - have one big prize pot at the end - give them something to work for rather than just sitting it out and waiting for the pay check. That's what I think anyway :)

[Mac Hiavellian]

You see, i don't agree with that. I don't see how Rex or Marcus or Charley and others would of rejected going in for the final BB on Channel 4. I'd say many of them would of actually took being paid less than Ulrika for example.

But what do they do? They pay Ulrika a large sum and she produced little, if anything, she turned into one of the most boring people iv seen on TV. Its as if they wanted to get it over with quickly, picked up a quick list of HMs and just threw them in without even thinking about it.

People say its all about opinions and not everyone will be happy.. well im sorry but you can't be throwing in HMs into the UBB house who add nothing to do it and actually if anything, are a burden on the show.

The whole idea for UBB was to send BB out on a real high with the ultimate HMs in BB history. People we all remember and they did not deliver what we in general expected.

I think it was Patrick who said Marcus and Rex weren't even asked and that rex wanted to do it. And I suspect one of the reasons Ulrika was there was because Coolio probably wanted a familiar face as he seemed to already know La Toya and Verne before CBB6 started. Surely he'd have known some celebrities from other series such as Dirk, Jermaine, Sisqo or maybe even Sov. Maybe they turned it down but they'd hav been cheaper than Ulrika who was reportedly the highest paid CBB6 HM

[keithafc]

How could the producers not ask Rex and Marcus?

To be honest, i think that perfectly sums it up. They tried to play it safe. Simple as that.

[Mac Hiavellian]

How could the producers not ask Rex and Marcus?

To be honest, i think that perfectly sums it up. They tried to play it safe. Simple as that.


On BBLB Pete Burns admitted he was shocked he was also never asked. And DS reported that Galloway was in fact asked but turned it down.

Who knows what went on with the casting? You could argue it was rushed because it was only announced the day of BB11's launch, wasn't it? But you'd think Rex, Marcus and Pete Burns would be at the top of the lists of regular and celeb HMs, rather than Preston and Ulrika.

[slow&steady]

Didnt think it was too bad,but it did fall spectacularly FLAT very soon,if it wasnt for nick and victor if it would'e been a total wash out...And the less said about the BB 11 line up the better.

[Wingnut73]

Rex, Charley, Alex, would have been classic. Although I think Brian is great my favourite I would have gone for Alex

[fruit_cake]

Jen and Dale would've stirred the pot a bit too

[Strictly Jake]

If there was a ultimate 2. What lineup would you pick. Mine would be bb1 craig. Bb2 helen. Bb3 alex. Bb6 anthony. Bb7 grace and glyn. Bb8 samanda and charley. Bb9 rex. Bb10 sophie bea and marcus. Bb11 sam. Celeb bb's pete burns, sov, and alex reid

[Kaaarenn!]

They didn't get the line-up right overall but some of the housemates they picked were right.

[podge2007]

I think in UBB they picked certain hms that needed closure or redemption;

Nasty Nick became Nice Nick
Michelle is no longer the psychotic bunny boiler
Vanessa wanted to prove she's a different/stronger person than she was in 2001
Makosi wanted closure after the Anthony thing
Nikki wanted a positive end to BB after her distrastrous comeback in BB7
Chantelle and Preston needed to sort out their feelings
Victor wanted to show he's not aggressive

So in a way the casting was spot on if you add in legendary winners like Brian and Nadia and CBB legends John McCririck and Coolio. The only one that was not needed was probably Ulrika.

[Mac Hiavellian]

If there was a ultimate 2. What lineup would you pick. Mine would be bb1 craig. Bb2 helen. Bb3 alex. Bb6 anthony. Bb7 grace and glyn. Bb8 samanda and charley. Bb9 rex. Bb10 sophie bea and marcus. Bb11 sam. Celeb bb's pete burns, sov, and alex reid

It'd be 30 days to allow more HMs and the evictions would be spaced out like CBB3 and 4 rather than rush everyone out at the last minute. Think I've got a mixture of nice, nasty, popular and not...

BB1's Nichola -because she'd still fit in with BB nowadays
BB2's Helen - bubbly, bubbly bubble of love
BB3's Tim - whinge but wasn't THAT bad. He was quite game for BB Panto
BB4's Anouska - she was robbed I tells ya
BB5's Kitten - most likely to walk/be ejected - she threatened to walk during BB Panto
BB6's Science - makes the Slick Man look like mince meat
BB7's Lea - I reckon she'd get on with or clash with Nichola
BB8's Charley - aggression personified
BB9's Rex - because he seems to be popular on here
BB10's Marcus - because he seems to be popular on here
BB11's Sam Pepper - because opinions are so mixed on him

CBB HMs would enter later as a cherry on top. The regular HMs make the main bulk of the cake ;)

CBB1's Chris Eubank - thesp
CBB2's Goldie - voiced his thoughts which is why he was voted out first
CBB3's Jackie Stallone - "Yeah, Brackie!"
CBB4's Pete Burns - because he wanted to be in UBB anyway
CBB5's Jermaine Jackson - keeper of the peace
CBB6's Tina Mallone - drama queen
CBB7's Alex Reid - up for fun

I think in UBB they picked certain hms that needed closure or redemption;

Nasty Nick became Nice Nick
Michelle is no longer the psychotic bunny boiler
Vanessa wanted to prove she's a different/stronger person than she was in 2001
Makosi wanted closure after the Anthony thing
Nikki wanted a positive end to BB after her distrastrous comeback in BB7
Chantelle and Preston needed to sort out their feelings
Victor wanted to show he's not aggressive

So in a way the casting was spot on if you add in legendary winners like Brian and Nadia and CBB legends John McCririck and Coolio. The only one that was not needed was probably Ulrika.

That's a great way of looking at it. I still think Preston wasn't necessarily needed because Chantelle could still have reacted the same way she had just by reliving the BB experience without him. However, like the rest you mentioned, Preston also went in to change the public's opinion of him following the divorce.

[mizzy25]

it shud have been the winners of each series normal bb with another interesting character from each series that way u wud have still got nick, nikki, nadia and makosi it but then maybe victor wudnt have been there? but deffo shud have been all the winners.

[Mac Hiavellian]

it shud have been the winners of each series normal bb with another interesting character from each series that way u wud have still got nick, nikki, nadia and makosi it but then maybe victor wudnt have been there? but deffo shud have been all the winners.

All the winners would have been amazing. Even though everyone has their favourites and beliefs that some winners were not worty there is a great range of winners and the Come Dine With Me proved there'd be entertainment.

[linuxt0m]

They should never have put any celebrities in. CBB had it's farewell. I really like John and Coolio, but this should have been a series to celebrate the people who MADE big brother - the ordinary people. There were 6 'celebrities' put in in total which could have been proper housemates! They really messed up doing that i think. They missed out on some great characters.

For the most part, the housemates that they did put in were all great. I'd have given Michelle a miss, but that's personal preference.

I am astounded they didn't put anyone from BB3 in. Their biggest, most popular series and not one person went in!