Big Brother (UK series 3)

Big Brother 2002, also known as Big Brother 3, was the third series of the British reality television series Big Brother. It is based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The series premiered on Channel 4 on 24 May 2002 and lasted nine weeks (64 days) until the live finale on 26 July 2002. The third edition saw a ratings increase for the series. The finale had a total of 10 million viewers which is not only the most watched episode of Big Brother to date but, based on Live +7 data supplied by BARB, is Channel 4's most watched broadcast since the channel's inception in 1982. In total, over 8.6 million votes were cast to determine the winner of the series. In terms of average viewers, Big Brother 3 is the highest rated series of the show to date, averaging 5.9 million viewers throughout the whole season. It is one of only two seasons of the main series to have over five million average viewers. More than 150,000 viewers applied to be on this season, more than double the number of applicants from the previous edition.Davina McCall returned as host.

Four housemates remained until the final day, Kate Lawler was crowned the winner and received the £70,000 prize fund, becoming the first female to win the competition. Numerous Housemates from this series have appeared in future installments of the show. Housemates Jade, Spencer, and Tim later became participants on the spin-off series Big Brother Panto in 2004, along with other former Big Brother Housemates. Jade who went on to become the most successful contestant from any series later became a contestant on the highly controversial Celebrity Big Brother 5, where she was embroiled in an international furore with Indian actress Shilpa Shetty, she was the third housemate to be evicted. She later appeared in the television series Bigg Boss, which is the Indian version of Big Brother; she left the game after only two days after discovering she had cervical cancer, and died in 2009. Alex and Adele returned to the series in Big Brother 8 to participate in a task. Kate made an appearance on Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, entering the house for a day on Day 24. Housemates Alex, Lee, and Sophie later appeared in Big Brother 10 to participate in a task celebrating ten years of the show. None of the Housemates from Big Brother 3 returned to participate in Ultimate Big Brother as Housemates nor did any make any appearances for tasks, however Alison Hammond made a brief appearance in a montage of celebrities saying goodbye to Big Brother on the final night and a 15-minute tribute to Jade was also broadcast during the final.

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