[LEE]

Just in case anyone is interested, here is a transcript of the chat that C4 sent me as a press release a few days ago.

I bet they wouldn't be sending it out to people if they had actually picked some of the other questions being asked!!!!

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Chat Ed : Hello and welcome to tonight's live BIG BROTHER chat with PHIL-EDGAR JONES (executive producer) and HELEN HAWKEN (series editor).

Phil Edgar-Jones : Hello everyone. Welcome to this evening's chat. I hope you've got lots of interesting questions for us.

Helen Hawken : Hi there, I'm Helen Hawken, one of the two Series Editors on the programme and that means that I'm responsible for the daily programmes that get made.
Phil Edgar-Jones : And I'm the Executive Producer which means I'm ultimately overseeing the whole thing.

Al James : Are the producers not a little soft on the housemates. Why did they make such a hoo ha about 'Three strikes and your out' when they rarely give out strikes to the housemates who have on uncountable occasions, broken BB rules? Makes a mockery of the rules so start getting tough and 'strike em' for breaking any rule! None of this warning rubbish. Hold true to your word because the show is starting to bore.

Helen Hawken : The first thing we do with people breaking rules is to warn them and draw their attention to the rules because we want to be sure that they are aware that they are doing something against the rules. The three strikes and they're out rule was really only ever intended to be used if people failed to give a good reason for nominations or if they broke rules very, very seriously. We don't want to be like school teachers. We want them to obey the rules because they understand them, not because they feel they are going to be wrapped over the knuckles.

REMOVE JADE PLEASE : i think you should be like school teachers, much more fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

Phil Edgar-Jones : We have been very tough when there has been clear rule breaking. It's important to add that we said Big Brother would get tougher this year and that wasn't just about rules, it was about how life is lived in the Big Brother house. Thanks Al.

Avid : Is BB at all concerned about picking Jade,,,,she is obviously a person with a very limited education and life skills..we have already seen her 'take to the bottle' what do you think will be the longer lasting effects on her

Phil Edgar-Jones : We have no regrets about picking Jade. She went through all the various rigorous parts of the selection procedure. This included chats with a psychotherapist who had no concerns over whether she was robust enough to take part in the programme. In common with the rest of the housemates, we all really like Jade. We monitor the drinking in the house and we don't think there is any cause for concern. We think she'll be fine when she comes out. Hope that answers your question, Avid.

bubbleandsqueak : Big brother rules say there should be no intimidation or bullying. So why do you allow jade, adele, tim, alex and pj to be so cruel to sophie upsetting her, and let them break other rules by discussing in a code who they planned to nominate?

Helen Hawken : Housemates are free to discuss how they feel about one another. Sometimes their feelings can be uncomfortable to view. What we look out for very carefully is them saying that they are going to nominate people or particular individuals. The people you mention haven't specifically done that. They have simply said that they find Sophie difficult to get on with. The only exception to this was Jade, and she did receive a strike for clearly breaching the 'No discussions of nominations' rule.
Phil Edgar-Jones : Sophie does have other allies in the house that she can turn to when she feels upset, namely Kate and Jonny who are keeping an eye on her and she is also big enough to look after herself presently.

Michael : Will you make sure Jade isn't subjected to major abuse when she leaves? Feelings are running high and I'm not sure you appreciate just what she's in for! It's past funny now

Phil Edgar-Jones : We don't want Jade to be the most hated person in Britain and we think that things have gone too far in some cases too, for example her being compared to a pig. When Jade comes out we provide a level of support for her too, so she will get to talk to people that can help her. We also employ a PR company to deal with after-care issues. So, of course a programme like Big Brother, which is in effect an unpopularity contest, causes feelings to run high, but we do look after people when they come out of the house.
Helen Hawken : The after-care isn't just for a couple of weeks afterwards. There will be a member of the production team that Jade will be able to talk to for a couple of months afterwards and our psychotherapist is available to talk to the housemates for around 6 months after the series ends, whenever they need him.
Phil Edgar-Jones : Perhaps Michael, you could come down especially and cheer for Jade when she comes out.

kate : Why did you say that the divide would be permanent when it was first put up, and now are saying that it was never meant to be permanent?

Helen Hawken : The rules that the housemates read just after the divide went in said that they should treat the divide as a permanent feature of their life in the house. We said this because we didn't want them to imagine that it was just there for 24 hours. But, Phil, Gigi (the other Series Editor) and I, in consultation with Channel 4, had always intended that the divide would be just part of the Big Brother experience for the housemates and not all of it. If they want to get rid of the divide they will really have to earn it. We think it has added some very interesting elements, both to the programme and the development of the characters.
Phil Edgar-Jones : The biggest Big Brother rule is that Big Brother can change the rules whenever they want. Next year we might do it on ice!
Helen Hawken: laughs

aoreilly : The Big Brother Contestants this year spend far too much time talking about the whole 'Big Brother experience' and are too aware of all the cameras etc, it gets a bit boring at the best of times, how can you prevent this in future?

Phil Edgar-Jones : Obviously because this is series 3 people know much more about how Big Brother works. This is why we have introduced the surprises that we have created this year. Even from the very first week with the surprise eviction with Lynne and then at the end of the second week when we introduced the rich house/poor house the housemates have been wrong footed at every step. So I don't believe it's entirely true to say that they know too much about what's going on. They actually have no idea what's going to hit them next.

panda : I think it is obvious that people aren't too happy with the way the voting has been going. This years BB seems a little boring one way or another compared to the last two years. You make up the rule, and can do what ever you want. After being in the chat room for the last 10 days i have mentioned something that has been echoed and agreed with 100%. PLEASE let us have a public vote (even if it is mid-week) to out somebody and put somebody back in. This would be FANTASTIC viewing. Never been done before.

Phil Edgar-Jones : Watch this space...

dwegerger : Hmmm... That's a cop out Phil!

Helen Hawken : The public has the opportunity to vote every week and has a great deal of control over the programme. One of the great things about Big Brother is that nobody is in total control. As programme makers we choose who we want to put into the house but the housemates themselves make the nominations and the viewers get the final say. So everyone has an influence on who is the eventual winner and who leaves the house.
Phil Edgar-Jones : Plus, I think we can all agree that this year who has been nominated and who has been evicted is a lot less predictable.
Helen Hawken : In week 2 there were only 1000 votes between them, so every vote does count.

MS TRESS : What would happen if all remaining house mates refused to acknowledge the bars or nominate and presented you with demands, what would you do?

Phil Edgar-Jones : We'd throw them out.
Phil Edgar-Jones: laughs
Helen Hawken : The people enter the house knowing all the rules and agree to abide by them. At the end of the day if they repeatedly refuse to abide by the rules then we would throw them out. As we are getting closer to the final week now, there are certainly some people in the house who wouldn't want to risk the chance of losing the 70,000 pounds. So I don't think it will come to that but it would be great tele if it did happen!

ddddddddddddd : Don't you think it would be more exciting if the prize money was considerably increased? If the price money were hundreds of thousands people would be more desperate to win.

Phil Edgar-Jones : Do you know what, people don't do this for the money.

mike_belfast : Why havent the housemates this year been given weekly tasks, as in the first 2 series of BB??, all the housemates look bored, and all they seem to do is bicker!!

Helen Hawken : Although the tasks in the last 2 years did last for 5 days they very, very rarely spent more than about 10 minutes per day practising them. Often some members of the group didn't join in at all. What we wanted to do this year was to create tasks where they really cared whether they won or lost. If you look at the agonising decisions that Alex has had to make on the past two Saturday nights I think you'll agree that the tasks really do mean something to the housemates this year.
Phil Edgar-Jones : Also, it's easy to look back with rose-tinted glasses. They were equally bored in the previous 2 years. We have given the housemates a number of tasks. I hope you all saw the ballroom dancing for example on tonight's show.

zig_zag_zog : Would you show shagging if it happened?

Phil Edgar-Jones : Well there are ITC guidelines about what you can and cannot show. But in that unlikely event, you will certainly know that it has taken place.

Sam : I can understand cutting sound on E4... I do know the laws and rules of broadcasting and the personal questions asked, but what restricts Channel 4 publishing uninterrupted on the Internet? Obviously Channel 4 would have to cut one or two things, it does have its image to think about, but as far as I'm aware the Internet is a free medium that is not governed censorship wise.

Helen Hawken : The rules of libel do cover the internet. There have been a number of test cases where people have been sued for libel over internet postings. Also because Big Brother is made by Channel 4, Channel 4 wants it to be suitable viewing across all media, so they choose, voluntarily, to ensure that the internet streaming is fit for family viewing.

Jenny : Do you feel this BB is working as well as previous UK shows?

Phil Edgar-Jones : It has got 14% more viewers than any previous series. We're hooked and loving it. What do you think, Jenny?

Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for coming Phil and Helen and thanks for all your questions folks.

Phil Edgar-Jones : Thanks for all your questions. Continue to enjoy it.
Helen Hawken : It's very interesting to hear your views and comments and we hope you have enjoyed the last weeks of the series.

Twister2 : THANK YOU
dave : bye helen bye phil

Helen Hawken leaves the room
Phil Edgar-Jones leaves the room