[James]

I would say that the divide meant that the Big Brother game was played on an uneven playing field. If a housemate spends weeks on end on the poor side, then he or she is likely to benefit from a sympathy vote. It’s difficult for the public to vote against someone who appears to be downtrodden. In my opinion, Kate benefited from this: the public opinion of her improved when she was stuck on the poor side. However, it would have been fairer if each of the housemates spent an equal amount of time on the poor side.

Also, the rich/poor divide was one of several methods the producers used, this year, to manipulate the events in the house. For many people, one of the attractions of a reality TV show is seeing situations and relationships evolve naturally. The bars were an inhibition to this. The housemates of Big Brother 3 were like puppets on a string.

I thought the worst thing about BB3 was the choice of housemates, and the series was hamstrung from the start because of this, but the bars did not improve matters.