Big Brother 12 (UK)

Big Brother 2011, also known as Big Brother 12, was the twelfth series of the British reality television series Big Brother and the first not to be broadcast on Channel 4. It was broadcast on Channel 5 for the first time since the show's transfer from Channel 4. It launched on 9 September 2011 with an hour and a half-long special launch show, the day after the final of Celebrity Big Brother 8. It was hosted by Brian Dowling, the winner of Big Brother 2 and Ultimate Big Brother. The series ran for 64 days, ending on 11 November 2011 when the winner, Aaron Allard-Morgan, won half of the £100,000 prize fund, with the remainder split between the five finalists. The runner up was Jay McKray.

The series differed from the Channel 4 version in having the celebrity edition before the main series, with the latter running in the autumn rather than the traditional summer-long run. The series reverted to its traditional pattern a year later when Big Brother 13 aired in the summer of 2012.

There were 14 original housemates, seven men and seven women all aged between 18 and 30. The series featured a high content of bedtime romances and included much male nudity during pranks and shower scenes during its nine weeks on air. Instances of lewd talk, intimate body shaving, and other salacious behaviour were also prominent in the post-watershed evening highlights programmes. Much of the series concentrated on the romantic relationships that developed between the housemates during their time in the house.

The series was sponsored by skincare brand Freederm and was the first to use online voting via Facebook credits.

After Richard Desmond bought Channel 5, he said he was keen to acquire Big Brother. Meanwhile, Endemol UK had been granted permission to keep the Big Brother House at the Elstree Studios, Hertfordshire, where it currently is until 30 September 2013. On 2 April 2011, The Daily Star, a newspaper owned by Desmond, reported that Big Brother was returning on Channel 5 in August 2011 with a celebrity edition. On 6 April 2011, Channel 5 formally confirmed that they had signed a £200 million two-year contract with Endemol to screen Big Brother from 18 August 2011.

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