As Big Brother 2012 prepares for its £50k prize fund twist, bbspy takes a look at where producers went wrong with the White Room…

Two weeks ago, when we first heard that Big Brother was planning a mysterious White Room, fans immediately became excited for what could have been the biggest twist since the Heaven and Hell divide in 2008.

But unfortunately, the end product – a four day task which will end with either Conor or Luke S winning a pass to the final – has largely gone down like a lead balloon.

Here we sum up why it’s so unpopular and give some of our own thoughts.

Friends and Family Nominations

If only the ‘no contact with the outside world’ rule was still held with the same regard today as it was five years ago. Monday saw the return of one of the least popular twists in Big Brother history: friends and family nominations.

Okay, they’re good for a little drama – one of the highlights of this week was Becky’s reaction to Luke A’s BMI comment. However, that’s where the pros of this scheme end.

At the end of the day, the friends and family are just viewers, like everyone else. Why should a select group of nine viewers get to influence the only aspect of the ‘game’ that the housemates have any control of? Nobody should have the right to make their nominations for them.

If Big Brother wants to shake up the format and do nominations on the outside, they should be opened up to the entire audience via a public vote.

Friends and family nominations were bad enough last year, but unfortunately this time they had a lasting influence on the week, thanks to the…

White Room selection process

Big Brother revealed on Sunday that three housemates would enter the White Room. Unfortunately, we weren’t informed how they’d be picked.

Eventually, the group was told that, of the four housemates that received the least nominations this week – Conor, Luke S, Sara and Scott – three would take part, and it was up to them who sat out. Scott graciously volunteered.

This method was flawed to say the least – and not just because this week’s nominations results were skewed by a limited outside influence. Common sense would dictate that, when a pass to the final is up for grabs, surely the housemates who have received the least nominations across the entire series – Scott, Sara and Ashleigh – are more worthy competitors for the prize?

Again, a fairer option would have been a public vote. Cast your minds back to week one (it seems like years ago now) and you’ll remember that the Wildcard vote was done for free via Twitter.

If Big Brother had held a free poll for all housemates over the weekend, the three with the most votes could have moved in to the White Room on Monday morning with immunity from nominations – and the remaining six could have nominated as normal for this week’s eviction.

This would also have resulted in a social media frenzy, promoting the show by spreading the word about the White Room and possibly even getting #BBUK trending.

However, in what seems to be the norm nowadays, Big Brother ended up cooking up a solution that was either half assed or specially engineered – you can decide which…

The White Room concept

Not long after Conor, Luke S, Sara and Scott settled in to the White Room, it became clear that the whole thing was going to be a bit of a damp squib.

If you don’t know, the idea originated in Big Brother Australia in 2007. Conceptually, it was the same – a handful of contestants move in to a completely white room, wear only white clothes, eat only white food, and press the only coloured object – a red button – if they want to leave.

However, Australia used their White Room as a means of introducing new housemates. Four hopefuls took part, and the last one left joined the main house.

See how Big Brother Australia did it here:

Our Big Brother would have been better off completely copying Australia by saving our White Room as a hook for next year’s series – it’s most certainly been wasted this week.

The Prize Fund twist

Last night it was confirmed that the remaining White Room inmates, Conor and Luke S, can steal £50,000 from the winner’s prize fund – if they leave the house immediately.

Bosses seem convinced that prize fund twists are gripping viewing, when they haven’t really been that interesting since Big Brother 6 in 2005, or worthwhile since Big Brother 10 in 2009.

Why should someone who’s willing to walk straight out the door at a moment’s notice recieve the same amount of money as the housemate who lasts the duration and is voted the winner, especially at their expense?

Fair enough if they want to give away extra cash, but it’s got to the point where robbing the eventual victor of half their money for no good reason adds nothing to the show.

If anything, it’s about time the grand prize was increased – a fifty-grand reward for the winner is pitiful when you consider that the American version of the show gives that to their runner-up. What does first place get? Oh, only a cool half a million.

Conor

A significant percentage of fans are up in arms that Conor is almost certainly going to end up getting rewarded as a result of the White Room. Let’s remind ourselves of his violent outburst about Deana on Day 20:

Get your epilator, stick it up your a**e, we don’t give a f**k, because we’re gunna ****ing smash your face… I’ll give her a fun game, I’ll stick this up her ****ing m**ge the stupid b*****d. I’ll give her a ****ing epilator. I’m going to play loads of pranks on her because she’s a f***ing piece of s**t and I don’t give a f**k if I get pulled up to the Diary Room… if she threw water over me, I’d punch her in the face, just knock her out.

Although executive producer Denis O’Connor thinks what he said was “out of character“, it wasn’t – just two days before, Conor implied he’d go after Benedict for spiking Luke S’s protein shake with curry powder: “See at the wrap party? God love him at the wrap party.”

Instead of being removed for his behaviour – which prompted over 1100 complaints to Ofcom, who are now investigating the show – Conor is now either about to recieve a pass to the final, or £50,000. (Of course, there’s a possibility he could walk out without either – but lets face it, no-one in their right mind would turn down the money.)

If Channel 4 was in charge he’d have been turfed out quicker than you can say “race row”.

Bit On The Side

Perhaps the worst thing about this whole twist is that spin-off show Big Brother’s Bit On The Side makes it appear as if the show’s entire fanbase is completely loving it.

In our experience, this is far from the case. If you look at our recent articles, you’ll see that they have been flooded with scores of angry comments – and here are just a handful of the messages we have recieved on Twitter, last night alone:

• @qwertyell1: “So one of the people the PRODUCERS HAND PICKED to take part in this task are about to be given HALF the prize money? For what? why would anyone waste their money voting for somebody to win BB & receive the same prize someone was just GIVEN by the producers?”
• @bellyrockin: “I’m sure I heard some time ago the white room would involve a free pass to the final, and £25k. Now it’s £50k – not fair on winner”
• @andrewallan6: “totally disgusted by the twist , how can they justify conning the real winner out half the prize money ?”
• @scottrobbo2009: “I think it’s quite clear that the producers have their favourites”
• @catohyeah: “if they deserve the money as much as the rest then they should receive it as the winner (as voted by the public)”
• @GuernseyViking: “Big Brother needs to sac the producer, these ‘twists’ are predictable, pointless and PISS-POOR”
• @9_Hendo: “Ch5 have ****ed #BBUK up completely. Flop of a task, which ends in someone undeserved getting 50k. Blatant favouritism”
• @Asher_Basher1: “refusing to comment as it will all be swear words”
• @Richardftw: “the thought of Connor or Luke S receiving £50,000 makes me want to cry”
• @Stu_Myc: “It genuinely feels like #BBUK are going out of their way to make sure Conor is sorted #CallMeAConspiracyTheorist”

If we’re getting so much negative feedback, you can only imagine the amount the show itself has recieved – but if previous editions are anything to go by, Bit On The Side will no doubt gloss over it and focus on positive responses.

What are your thoughts on the White Room twist? Let us know in the comments section below