I Watched The First Ever Episode of Big Brother UK – & It Was Wild

25 years ago, the first episode of Big Brother aired on UK and Irish TV.

64 days, 10 housemates, and a Marcus Bentley narration that left a lot to be desired, Big Brother promised to be a live soap opera that could be access 24 hours a day. There was a live web feed, there was a public vote, there were 33 cameras capturing every single thing that happened… and the country was absolutely hooked.

This wasn’t the first time that a series depicting the day to day lives of real people living together in a confined space aired on TV. But it was the first time that a show dominated the public consciousness in such a way, capturing the minds of millions of viewers who were eager to watch their every move, judge their every action, and unceremoniously vote them out.

The first season of Big Brother UK aired in the year 2000. I remember watching it sporadically with my mam and her friends, sitting on the floor snacking on crisps while they sipped on glasses of sauvignon blanc, gasping when Davina announced the very first winner.

I can still see the front page of the newspaper the next day, a shot of him in the shower with the headline CRAIG BB WINNER in aggressive red lettering. It was big news back then, to win a reality TV show, and to have your entire life broadcast for the world to see.

25 years is a long time, and the first episode of Big Brother shows just how far we’ve come. It was a time before social media, before heavily produced content, before on hand beauty squads, on set counsellors, and castings based entirely on how many followers a person had.

The first ever BB cast entered the house together, pulling up to the set in a line of black cars armed with nothing but a suitcase and the knowledge that they were taking part in an ‘experiment’ for Channel 4 – one that was largely focused on the dynamics between men and women, and how much of their shopping budget they would spend on alcohol each week.

There was a builder, an ex nun, a broker, a dad, a yoga teacher, and a load of chickens in the garden. The men and women slept in different bedrooms, they got drunk most nights, they talked about things that normal people talked about, like their jobs, politics, who they liked and disliked.

Episode one detailed the first five days in the house, a time that could’ve been dull and flat and uninteresting. But it wasn’t. It proved that if you put 10 people in a house and let them do whatever they want they will forget the cameras are there, they will act like themselves, and they will provide excellent television.

There were pranks, there was drunken chats, there was a naked body paint mural that remained on the wall throughout the entire series. Nasty Nick was already laying the foundation for his manipulative tactics that would later get him ejected from the house (‘it’s only a game show’ he would like cry). Craig was establishing himself as a fan favourite who loved to get his kit off.

The show’s format was overwhelmingly simple. There were no constructed conversations or crazy tasks, the housemates were shown going about their daily business – cleaning, knitting, and practicing the saxophone (because yes, you were allowed to bring personal items like instruments and books on a reality TV show in 2000).

Channel 4 even opted to air conversations that would immediately be cut from such series’ these days: ones about racial tokenism, casting choices, and anything else that actively breaks the ‘spell’ of such large productions.

Big Brother’s first episode is a time capsule, a moment in history that had the potential to be lost along with the hours of media already missing. It’s evidence of a time before smartphones, before cancelling, before the hyper-self awareness that so many young people are privy to in 2025.

Its simplicity made it fascinating, its cast made it so watchable, and their blissful ignorance as to how popular they really were made it all that more satisfying when they finally returned to the real world.

It’s proof of a time when reality TV that was, well… real.