Big Brother 1 had the advantage of being new to television audiences in Britain, creating a huge hype around the show. The interest would not have been sustained, however, were it not for the great 'cast' of contestants and exciting events to happen in the show.

The Contestants

• Craig - Winner of the first series. Craig was characterised during the series as the 'cheeky Scouser', and did not become the most popular housemate until the very end. The other contestants frequently nominated Craig for eviction, forcing Craig to face a public vote on several consecutive weeks.

  After winning, Craig announced he would use the money to help fund an operation for a girl he knew, Jo. She needed a heart transplant operation, but could not be treated under the NHS as she had Down's Syndrome and so was not a priority. His 'Heart for Jo' appeal was very successful and he raised all of the money needed. Notably, Craig didn't reveal these plans while in the house, so it wasn't used to gain votes, coming instead as a complete surprise to the audience. Craig signed a contract with a record company, but after an unsuccessful single did not attempt to pursue a musical career.

• Anna - Came a close second in the final vote. Anna was the most popular housemate with the public during the series, attracting celebrity fans such as Zoe Ball and Norman Cook. The lesbian ex-nun did little with her fame, and went back home to live in Ireland. Anna took a guitar into the house and played a few songs, but did not release any records after the show.

• Sada - Sada was the first contestant to be voted out of the house. Keen on alternative lifestyles, she tried to teach the others yoga, but was told off for trying to put tofu on the shopping menu. She claimed to be happy to leave the house, and went on to release a book.

• Darren - The only other contestant to stay the full time in the house, Darren came third in the series. Darren became famous for his love of the house chickens, after overcoming his initial phobia of them, developing a special relationship with the one called Marjorie...

• Caroline - Third contestant to be evicted. Caroline was characterised by her nasal laugh and layers of makeup. She was noticeable for her saxophone and for being the oldest housemate. She showed more open stress than anyone else, reacting badly to her nomination by the other contestants.

• Andrew - Second to be evicted, Andrew was often called 'sleazy' by the British press. He had an early affair with Melanie, providing an early kiss to the show, but was evicted shortly after. Andrew was present in the studio when Mel was evicted, waiting hopefully with a bunch of flowers. It seems their relationship did not continue however...

• Melanie - Flirty Melanie had a brief affair with Andrew before his eviction, but seemed to pretty much forget him after he had gone. After the show, Melanie spoke out in the press and on television documentaries that she was upset with the way the programme makers portrayed her as a 'sexy minx' by selectively editing to manipulate situations for the benefit of ratings.

• Tom - Another Irish contestant, Tom spent much of his time in the house flirting with Melanie once Andrew had left. He was well liked, as a calm, reasonable lad who did little to upset anyone in the house. It came as a great surprise to the British public to learn some months after the show had finished, that Tom and Claire were together and having a baby, despite their not being in the house together at the same time.

• 'Nasty Nick' - Easily the most famous contestant from the first Big Brother series, Nick caused a huge stir by being completely dishonest to the other contestants and as the only housemate worldwide ever to fool Big Brother.

  At the beginning of the series, Nick was scolded along with the rest of the boys for plotting to all nominate Caroline and Sada at the beginning (Big Brother rules state that nominations must remain confidential and cannot be discussed). Despite this official warning, Nick continued to cheat by showing other contestants names of who to nominate, written on pieces of paper with a pencil somehow smuggled into the house. The illicit exchanges took place in a camera blind-spot which he had discovered.

  After weeks of scheming, dastardly Nick was finally caught out in a midnight confrontation with the rest of the house when one of the other housemates exposed him. The angry housemates called a meeting and demanded to know the truth. The production team went mad and the show's producer had to be woken from her sleep to come to the studio and monitor the situation. Nick, the only housemate never to be nominated, was subsequently removed from the house by Big Brother. Such was the public rage against him, that three identical vehicles were employed as decoys when chauffeuring him away.

  The other housemates were stunned at having been cheated, but also wondered why the contestants who had been shown notes by Nick (Tom and Mel) had not spoken out earlier. The event was the climax of the show, causing a huge hit on the webcams and giving the show a massive ratings boost. There was even a conspiracy theory that Channel 4 had planted him in the house. Free from the show, Nick was paid a sum equal to the prize (£70,000) to write a column in a tabloid newspaper during the remainder of the series. A year on, Nick appeared in the television game show The Weakest Link¹ with other Reality TV celebrities and walked away the winner, another sign of his cunning and skill.

• Claire - Brought in to replace Nick, and evicted soon after, Claire was famous for her surgically enhanced breasts and attracting the sexual attention of Craig. Entering the house when she did, Claire might have seemed a bit of a threat to Mel, as at the time, Anna and Mel were the only girls in the house, and, as Anna was gay, Mel previously had had the boys to herself.

• Nicola - Friends of Sada and Caroline, Nicola was evicted early on. A vegetarian skinhead with a nose stud, she spent much time on art in the house, creating murals on the wall from magazine paper. Early on in the series, Nicola initiated an art project where some of the contestants stripped and covered themselves in mud, plastering themselves to the wall. She had an unsuccessful single release after leaving the house.

For more on what the contestants from the first series have done since the programme, see this BBC News article Life after Big Brother.