I have been a fan of the show since it started in 2000 when my best mate and I had to watch it for General Studies and I caught some of the episodes and saw Craig's win and when he so unselfishly gave his winnings away which brought tears of happiness to my eyes, as he was such a nice, giving guy and a deserved winner all those years back.
I was devastated when the show was axed in 2009 on 4 as I thought Big Brother could be a format that could run and run. The viewing figures weren't what they were, but the launch figure was around 6 million.
When I learned it was going to move to 5, I was happy and thought they would inject a fresh impetus into the franchise. Brian Dowling I thought was a great choice and the idea of Bit on The Side took a while to accept but worked well.
However, 5 years on I am beginning to worry whether Big Brother will have a future. I think it has been damaged irreparably by bear's win and viewers have no real draw or reason to watch unless there are major changes.
The new set is superb and it is very reminiscent of the first ever house where the crowd was in close proximity and there was an amazing atmosphere. It is a shame the production team are insistent on TOWIE, Made in Chelsea, Geordie Shore characters filling the celebrity house.
We have had some pretty decent housemates enter the celebrity house on 5. Gary Busey was a hilarious addition and the series with Jim Davidson was one of the best.
I think they really need to have a good mix of household names and stop pandering to these rubbish reality TV stars. Big Brother is Big Brother. I want my Big Brother back.