[Amy]

Celebrity Big Brother kicks off tonight and promises to have the nation gripped once again.

Eight C-list stars will enter the house and spend two weeks under the public gaze.

Channel 4 bosses have been desperate to find enough celebrities to take part in the third series.

Carole Caplin and Nancy Dell'Olio both turned down the chance to appear.

Others, like ex-footballer Frank McAvennie, have been dumped from the line-up.

Possible housemates include model Caprice, actress and former Mrs Sylvester Stallone Brigitte Nielsen, racing pundit John McCririck, former Hear'Say singer Myleen Klass, shamed soccer star Mark Bosnich and Bez from the Happy Mondays.

The final line-up will be revealed when the show begins at 10pm tonight.

None of the celebrities has been told who they will share the house with, but Channel 4 has dropped a few hints about their identities.

The show will feature the oldest and youngest housemates ever to take part in the show, including the five regular Big Brother series.

Three of the celebrities were born outside the UK, one of them speaks four languages and another went to school with a former Prime Minister.

Davina McCall will present the nightly show, which will feature the usual live evictions.

Channel 4 has promised it will be the toughest Celebrity Big Brother ever.

"The unsuspecting group have no idea what Big Brother has in store for them. No Big Brother would be complete without a few twists and surprises - so the celebrities should definitely expect the unexpected," a Channel 4 spokeswoman said.

A percentage of money made from each public vote will be donated to the victims of the tsunami disaster.

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