The start date for BB3 has now officially been confirmed as
Friday 24th May.
See story from Ananova:
Big Brother 3 gets first transmission date
The first instalment of Big Brother 3 will be transmitted on Friday May 24.
The one-hour show will be broadcast on Channel 4 at 9pm.
A follow-up programme will be shown at 11.35pm.
The live 9pm programme will show the contestants going into the house for the first time in the show's history.
This year's series - which will run for nine weeks - will feature a dozen contestants as opposed to the usual ten. The housemates' weekly tasks will be shown live on Saturday nights on Channel 4.
Big Brother is also promising to be much stricter this time around - contestants will have to give valid reasons for nominating their housemates for eviction. Failure to do so will result in an official warning from Big Brother - and anyone receiving three warnings will face immediate eviction.
Other new features on the show include an outdoor heated swimming pool in the gardens of the specially-built Big Brother house, which is based at the Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.
The countdown begins ...... 14 days to go!