Veggie Brother

Veggie Brother
Information
Genre	Reality TV
Created by	Josiah Stuart
Presented by	Athena Purcell (2023-present) Josiah Stuart (2012-2021; 2022-2023) Dominic Verita (2022) Willow Benson (2022) Alexandra Morgan (2021)
Narrated by	Mr. X (2012-2021) Josiah Stuart (2021-2022) Willow Benson (2022-2023)
Opening theme	"Veggie Brother Theme"
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	29 (Original) 6 (Reboot) 1 (OTT) 1 (Meálo adero) 37 (overall)
No. of episodes	1,323 (Original) 333 (Reboot) 17 (OTT) 29 (Meálo adero)
Production
Running time	5-15 minutes (2012-present) 20-60 minutes (2021-2024)
Production companies	TPB (2012-present) TiBB Studios (2012-2019) REAL:x (2019-2021) TPB Studios (2021-2024) Cubed Productions (2022-present)
Broadcast
Original network	TPB1 (2012-2017, 2020-present) TPB Player (2023) TPB2 (2018-2020) TiBB Three (2020-2021)
Run	13 April 2012 - 11 February 2022 (Original) April 1, 2022 - present (Reboot)

This article is about the whole series of Veggie Brother. For the recently concluded season, see Veggie Brother (Reboot series 6). For the upcoming season, see Veggie Brother (Reboot series 7).

Veggie Brother is an online reality television game show in which a number of contestants live in an isolated house for 2 weeks-8 months, trying to avoid being evicted with the aim of winning a large cash prize at the end of the run. It is the online version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Veggie Brother was originally broadcast on TPB1 from its premiere on 13 April 2012 until the finale of the seventh series on 13 October 2017. From the premiere of the eighth series until the first eviction show of the twelfth series, it was broadcast on TPB2. Since the second nominations show off the twelfth series, it returned to TPB1.

The original host of Veggie Brother was Josiah Stuart. He stepped down as the main host after the finale of the thirteenth series; he regained the role after Alexandra Morgan resigned from TPB, and once again stepped down after the first season of the reboot; Josiah once again regained the role when Dominic resigned and Willow was relegated to show narrator. From the third celebrity series until the fifteenth series, the show was presented by Alexandra Morgan. Dominic Verita and Willow Benson, longtime co-hosts of the analysis shows became co-presenters of the main show for the second reboot season. From the twelfth series to the first reboot season, analysis shows were co-presented by Morgan, Dominic Verita, and Willow Benson (Morgan would leave them show entirely after resigning from TPB in the winter of 2021/2022). Until the twelfth series, most spin-off shows that co-existed with the main series were presented by Nicky Pepper. Josiah Stuart will be doing extended interviews with the evictees every week on Twitch; and will be hosting the reunion episode towards the end of each series (the reunion specials were discontinued after the first reboot season). Days before the finale of the 4th season of the reboot, Josiah announced that he would once again step down as host after the digital season and that Athena Purcell would take his place presenting the show.

Over the course of its run, there have been a total of 25 series of Veggie Brother, making it the longest running version of Big Brother on a UK TV forum.

On 25 June 2021, it was announced that Veggie Brother would celebrate 10 years in 2022 with the fifteenth series. Originally, it had been announced that the show would be ending, but due to reactions from fans and housemates alike; the show would remain on air. In February 2022, it was announced that Veggie Brother would be rebooted, with series numbers starting back at the beginning, and series being referred to as seasons.

Format

Veggie Brother is a game show in which a group of contestants, called housemates live in isolation from the outside world in a custom built "house", which includes everyday facilities such as a fully equipped kitchen, garden, bedroom, bathroom. The house is also a television studio with dozens of cameras and microphones in most of the rooms to record the activities of the housemates. The only place where housemates can escape the company of the other contestants is the Diary Room, where they are encouraged to voice their true feelings. Not all Diary Room footage is broadcast due to the privacy of the contestants.

Housemates must remain in the house at all times, with the aim of avoiding eviction from the house to be the last Housemate remaining to win a substantial cash prize at the end of the series. Alternatively, housemates can also be removed from the house if Big Brother feels this is necessary, and can voluntarily leave the show at any time. In order to support the housemates' well-being, all participants have access to psychologists and a doctor, at all times. Housemates are filmed 24 hours per day with edited highlights broadcast during prime time slots every evening.

The main television coverage takes the form of a daily (or semi-daily) highlights programme. For Series 13, Series 16, and the Series 1 Reboot, Josiah Stuart appeared on-screen rather than in pictures.

Veggie Brother house, this is Josiah. (nominated housemates' names), the public/house has spoken, and I can now reveal that the 1st/next person to be evicted from the Veggie Brother House is...(evicted housemate's name). (evicted housemate's name), you have 30 seconds/30 min. to say your goodbyes; I'm coming to get you! — Stuart's speech when announcing the evicted housemate for the majority of the show's history. Purcell's speech is similar to Stuart's.

Hello (nominated housemates' names), your fellow housemates have voted, and I have the results. By a vote of X to X (to X)... (evicted housemate's name), you have been evicted from the Veggie Brother house. You have 30 seconds to say your goodbyes, I'm coming to get you! — Stuart's speech when announcing the evicted housemate in Series 13.

Hello (nominated housemates' names), I am back, and I have the results. Congratulations, because you are safe tonight... (saved housemate's name)... This means that (evicted housemate's name), you have been evicted from the Veggie Brother house. You have 30 seconds to say your goodbyes. — Morgan's speech when announcing the evicted housemate from Celebrity series 3 to Series 15.

Veggie Brother house, this is Dominic/Willow. (nominated housemates' names), your housemates have voted, and I have the results. With X votes, it's time to go...(evicted housemate's name). (evicted housemate's name), you have 30 seconds to say your goodbyes; I'm coming to get you! — Verita & Benson's speech when announcing the evicted housemate in the second season.

Eviction format

Over the duration of the competition, the Housemates will face nominations and eviction to eliminate housemates from the game. However, over the course of the series, the format regarding evictions has changed.

From the 9th series to the 12th series, the 16th series, the 1st season, and from the 3rd season to 5th season; public eviction voting was done by online poll and by Twitter. From Series 13 to Series 15, and Season 2, public finale voting was done by online poll and by Twitter.

Original format

For the pre-2021 iterations of the series, the format of the show resembled the original Dutch version of Big Brother - a format adapted by most versions of the Big Brother format. In this format, the competitive aspects are minimised - housemates were not allowed to discuss nominations (at the risk of punishment until Series 12) and most series did not feature any competitions for power or safety. This format was revived for Series 16, Season 1, and Season 3 onward.

2021 format

In 2021, the producers will revamp the format of the series to resemble a hybrid of the format of the Big Brother US/Canada format editions - with housemates deciding Nominations and Evictions, and the Big Brother Brazil format (Power of Immunity). The new format added emphasis to the competitive aspect of surviving the eviction process. As such, the housemates will now be allowed to strategise, politic and collude about the nominations and evictions. However, there will still be key differences compared to the American format, most prominently, the Power of Veto (a staple of the American and Canadian show) will take a nominee off the block upon winning it, and the public deciding the eventual winner - rather than being decided by a Jury of evicted housemates (as is the case on the American and Canadian show).

2022 format

For the second season of the reboot, the series format was changed to that of the Big Brother US/Canada format, with some ideas from the current Big Brother Australia format, such as 3 nominees for most rounds instead of 2; double evictions feature the 2 remaining nominees from the previous eviction, and the viewers decide who wins. This format was discontinued due to viewer complaints and lower ratings.

The Diary Room

Over the years, the Veggie Brother Diary Room chair has evolved from simplicity in Veggie Brother 1 to a wave-themed chair. In the Diary Room, Housemates are allowed to privately tell Veggie Brother about their issues and worries about other Housemates, as well as ask Veggie Brother for items for the house. The Diary Room is also used by Veggie Brother when Veggie Brother needs to speak to individual Housemates alone for any reason. Some of the Housemates are comfortable enough in the Diary Room to discuss personal feelings, issues and even general personal business not relating to the house. The Diary Room is also the only room in the house not shown on live streaming in order to protect the Housemates' privacy. However, some conversations in the Diary Room will appear in highlights shows, especially if they pertain to an event or situation within the house.

When Housemates request items such as cleaning materials, alcohol or extra cigarettes (at the discretion of Veggie Brother), they are either delivered via the Diary Room, the storage room or a delivery hatch sometimes located in the main House. Instructions and items for tasks are also delivered via the Diary Room.

Auditions

Open auditions have been held throughout the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. Then, auditionees had to send audition tapes to the Veggie Brother producers. In the 2021, 2022, and 2023 series of the show, as the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing, open auditions were held online via Zoom.

Launch night

On the launch night, anywhere from upwards of 20 housemates enter the Veggie Brother house. In the first two series, housemates entered the house in the morning, with the launch show premiering the next day. A live launch with Josiah Stuart was implemented, a format that has continued since the show's launch. Starting with the first series, an opening night twist was introduced to make the show more interesting from the start.

Veggie Brother itself

The Housemates can be addressed by Veggie Brother through a PA system located within the house, and when the Housemates are addressed by Veggie Brother, it always refers to itself in the third person. Veggie Brother has several voices and is sexless, although its voices can be either male or female, depending on which member of the production crew is taking on the role at that time. Veggie Brother is also emotionless and will address Housemates with objectivity, although it is sensitive and empathetic in difficult times for Housemates. In recent years, Veggie Brother has gained a sense of humour, and occasionally jokes with the housemates. At all times, Veggie Brother's decisions are Final. Starting in Veggie Brother 16 and the reboot, Veggie Brother's voice was always male and slightly robotic, yet keeping the humour and objectiveness.

Suitcases

From series 1 onward, housemates have had their suitcases, which contained their own clothes and personal items, delivered to them the day after they arrived. Also, housemates are forbidden from taking reading material, religious books (though leeway is often given), branded items (unless covered), writing material (sometimes even cosmetics that can possibly be used to write), and other contraband items into the House. Suitcases are scrutinised by Veggie Brother before they are delivered. Housemates have been allowed one luxury item, including musical instruments and alcohol. Once suitcases have been unpacked, they are then taken away again. However, in some instances Veggie Brother will not deliver suitcases as punishment for breaking the rules, or may also use them as a reward for completing tasks set by Veggie Brother.

Life in the House

Over the duration of the series, the Housemates are given a series of tasks by Veggie Brother which test them in many ways. They are also put to the test by their own ideals, prejudices and opinions against other people from different walks of life; something that has survived from the original "social experiment" of Veggie Brother 1. They live in the communal House and share cooking and cleaning chores among themselves, which usually provides plenty of tension. Housemates are forbidden to sleep during daylight hours (unless unwell) - Veggie Brother plays the wake-up call persistently in the morning if housemates do not wake up and will play an alarm clock noise into the house if a housemate falls asleep during the day. Housemates must also live by the fundamental rules of Veggie Brother; if the rules are broken it can result in formal warnings, various punishments or even a housemate's removal from the House.

The shopping

Each week, Veggie Brother sets the Housemates a task in order to determine the shopping budget for the following week. They must work together to win the tasks in order to win a luxury shopping budget. If they lose, they will only receive a basic shopping budget. If all food runs out in the House, Veggie Brother provides emergency rations of chickpeas and rice. Housemates are responsible for their own shopping and decide which items the budget will allow them to have. Only a small percentage of the overall budget can be spent on alcohol, and Veggie Brother delivers the alcohol separately in increments as a reward for tasks or a treat after Evictions - this rule was introduced after a number of violent altercations between drunken Housemates in earlier series. Shopping is usually delivered on Thursday afternoon after the remainder of the previous week's food has been removed via the Store Room. Veggie Brother provides packed lunches for the interim period.

Prize money

The winner of Veggie Brother receives a cash prize, and since Series 7, additional prizes.

During the first series and the first teen series, the prize money was based off of how housemates did in the tasks. From the second teen series until the sixteenth series, and again from the third season, the prize money was a set amount. For the first two seasons, the prize money would fluctuate based off of the fines system. From season 7 onwards, the prize money increased based off varying factors. Since the seventh series, there have been additional prizes supplied by the show's sponsors.

Schedule

Each highlight show features the events that happened in the previous day in the house. On the Live Eviction Shows, the housemates are evicted the same day as the results are shown, and the highlight show from the next day will often show their eviction again (without the interview.) The highlights show was originally aired in an afternoon slot in summary form.

Live streaming

TPB from Series 1 until Series 12 had made available 24/7 live pictures and audio from the house. It was praised for its high viewership & ratings and its free subscription. From Series 13 until Celebrity 3, live semi-hourly daily updates replaced the live feeds due to the new format of episodes. From Series 14 from Series 16, the 24/7 free live feeds returned; being broadcast through Twitch. From the first season until the third season, the live feeds were once again replaced by semi-hourly updates; which were posted to Twitter for the first time ever. For the fourth and fifth seasons, the semi-hourly updates were discontinued entirely. From the sixth season onward, daily updates would be posted to the forum.

House

From series 1 to Veggie Brother Teen Edition 2, the house was located at the Channel TiBB studios in the UK. From Celebrity Veggie Brother 1 to Celebrity Veggie Brother 2013, the house was located at Veggie Beat Studios. From series 4 until series 7, the house was located at Elstree Studios; where the real Big Brother UK house was until it was demolished in 2018. From series 8 until the first reboot season, the house was located at MediaCity in Salford (which this house was rebuilt in 2020). From the second reboot season, the house located at the studios of Cubed Productions in Pittsburgh.

Logo

Veggie Brother has one of the most known logos in the world. The Veggie Brother logo is an eye that indicates that "Veggie Brother is always watching you". The first series used a "basic colored" themed eye while the eyes from Teen Edition 1 onward use random themed eyes. Since Veggie Brother 1, the logo of every series has been designed by Josiah. The eye template used since Series 10 is the same one utilised by the international Big Brother franchise.

Theme tune

Theme Songs
Song	Artist	Series/Season used
Big Brother UK TV Theme	Element Four	Veggie Brother (series 1)–Ultimate Veggie Brother; Veggie Brother (series 9)–Veggie Brother Teen Edition 7; Veggie Brother (Reboot series 6)-present
Someone's Watching Me	Qleo feat. Lazee	Veggie Brother Teen Edition 4–Veggie Brother (series 8); Veggie Brother (series 10)–Veggie Brother (series 12); Veggie Brother (series 16)–Veggie Brother OTT
Wolverine	Adam Nordén	Veggie Brother (series 5)
Vida Real	Paulo Ricardo (RPM)	Veggie Brother (series 13)–Veggie Brother (series 15)
Big Brother Theme	001 Productions	Veggie Brother (series 15); Veggie Brother (Reboot series 5)

Series 1 to Teen 2 of the show used the 2000-2003 version of the Big Brother UK theme, Celebrity 2012 to Ultimate and Series 9 and Teen 7 used the 2004-2018 version of the theme, and Season 6 onward uses the 2023 version of the theme. For Season 2, excluding the premiere and finale, the theme song would be discontinued in favour of a titlecard.

List of Series

• Rebooted series
• Original series

Season		Days	Housemates	Winner	Episodes	Originally aired		TBAR Rank
						First aired	Last aired
	1	50	17	Renee Seward	31	April 1, 2022	May 20, 2022	6.67
	2	64	24	Gregory Ambrosone	31	July 3, 2022	August 18, 2022	7.33
	3 Amplified	86	16	Markus Kohlberg	48	September 23, 2022	December 17, 2022	6.33
	Teen 1	18	10	Wiktoria Olsson	18	December 23, 2022	January 9, 2023	9.67
	4	86	16	Brooke Faust	48	April 23, 2023	July 17, 2023	9.75
	OTT	30	12	Shaye Daniels	17	July 30, 2023	August 28, 2023	N/A
	5	99	23	Saxon Parnell	140	September 10, 2023	December 17, 2023	9.82
	6	64	16	Skylar Stoddard	38	January 5, 2024	March 8, 2024	8.95
	7	141		TBD	83	May 3, 2024	September 20, 2024
	8			TBD		2025	2025
	9			TBD		2026	2026

Series		Launch date	Finale date	Days	HMs	Winner	TBAR avg.	Eps.
	1	13 April 2012	15 June 2012	64	16	Zach Pepper	6.18	10
	Teen 1	22 June 2012	24 August 2012	71	19	LaTonya Smith	6.22	10
	Teen 2	10 September 2012	28 September 2012	18	14	Jemma Andrews	6.36	3
	Celeb 1	13 December 2012	3 January 2013	18	10	Zendaya	7.15	18
	Teen 3	1 February 2013	28 February 2013	28	19	Georgie Watts	7.09	29
	2	22 March 2013	11 May 2013	50	20	Gabriel Ortiz	7.09	51
	3	9 August 2013	10 November 2013	93	16	Wesley Horgan	7.01	95
	Celeb 2	25 October 2013	14 November 2013	21	13	Sierra Anderson	7.06	22
	4	10 January 2014	22 March 2014	71	23	Camilla Severi	7.17	104
	Ultimate	22 March 2014	9 April 2014	18	16	Ezikiel Reilly-Lynex	7.65	47
	Teen 4	10 October 2014	15 November 2014	36	15	Kia Jamison	7.67	49
	5 4+1	29 May 2015	17 July 2015	50	16	Trace Davies	7.71	54
	Teen 5	8 November 2015	22 December 2015	44	19	Eli Macintosh	7.76	47
	6 All-Stars	11 March 2016	19 June 2016	100	18	Kieron Marshall	8.17	44
	Teen 6	22 July 2016	11 September 2016	51	18	Dean Fierston	8.22	80
	7	11 August 2017	13 October 2017	64	17	Sharon Fretlånd	8.41	82
	8 Revolution	8 June 2018	11 January 2019	217	33	Aria Symons	8.28	155
	9 Unlimited	25 January 2019	15 June 2019	141	25	Kyana Verity	8.37	106
	Teen 7 Explosion	17 June 2019	5 July 2019	19	12	Dominic Verita	8.26	24
	10 Infinité	11 October 2019	27 February 2020	140	36	Carsten Araújo	8.20	101
	11 Elevate	8 March 2020	5 April 2020	29	20	Bridget Hinley	9.57	23
	12	14 June 2020	8 September 2020	87	16	Stephen Lounds	8.09	36
	Teen 8	11 September 2020	18 September 2020	36	14	Zoë Corson	8.06	6
	13	3 January 2021	29 March 2021	86	18	Charlotte Asekomeh	8.17	26
	Celeb 3	4 April 2021	16 April 2021	28	13	Dimitri Enam	7.45	7
	Teen 9	16 April 2021	19 April 2021	28	12	Lochie MacPherson	6.51	8
	14	2 May 2021	23 August 2021	113	28	Haleh Keegan	6.73	19
	15	12 September 2021	6 December 2021	86	18	Raleigh Bierman	5.18	40
	16	2 January 2022	11 February 2022	57	16	Kelly Connor	5.01	27

Meálo adero

Meálo adero was the Valorsan version of Veggie Brother. Only people of the country of Valorsa in the Ro-Nations were allowed to participate in this version. It was broadcast solely on TiBB Three, and is broadcast in both Valorsan and English. Meálo adero aired in summer 2020, during the production of Veggie Brother 12. It used the Big Brother Brazil format. It was cancelled before it could air its second series.

Series	Launch date	Finale date	Days	HMs	Winner	TBAR avg.	Episodes
Ma1	14 August 2020	16 October 2020	64	12	Peter Corcos	8.53	29

Sponsorships

Series/Seasons	Sponsor(s)	Slogan	Year(s)
VB1–CVB1; VB4–VB6	No sponsor		2012; 2014–2016
VBT3–CVB2	Veggie Beat	Bumblyburg's favourite magazine	2013
VBT6–VB7		Friendly people equals a happy home	2016–2017
VB8–VB16		Luxury meets Gameplay in Style — Go Big or Go Home	2018–2022
VB1 (Reboot)–onward		Luxury meets Gameplay in Style — Go Big or Go Home	2022–onward

Cancellation reversal and reboot

On 25 June 2021, when it was announced that Veggie Brother would celebrate 10 years in 2022 with the fifteenth series; it had also been announced that the show would be ending. Negative reactions from fans and housemates alike caused the show to remain on-air. In February 2022, it was announced that the show would be rebooted after Series 16; with numbering of series restarting at 1, and individual series being referred to as seasons as well.

Trivia

• Series 1 featured solely characters from the VeggieTales series.
• Series 8 has the record for the longest series at 217 days.
  • Series 9 and Season 7 have the joint second longest series at 141 days
  • Series 10 has the third longest series at 140 days and has the most housemates with 36.
  • Series 14 is the fourth longest series at 113 days.
  • Teen 2, Celeb 1, and Ultimate have the joint record for the shortest series at 18 days.
  • Series 11 has the record for the shortest regular/fused series at 29 days.
• Veg Mobile and Unendlich Ein Airlines have spent the longest time as sponsors spanning 8 years.
  • Starweek Magazine has spent the second longest time as sponsors spanning 6 years.
  • Veggie Beat Magazine spent the shortest time as sponsor at less than a year.
• Celeb 2, Series 3 & 4, and Ultimate are considered lost series, due to their unfinished nature.
  • Series 2 and Teen 2 were originally lost series until they re-aired in the Autumn of 2023 on TPB Three.
• Teen 8, Celeb 3, Teen 9, and Season 2 are pre-recorded series of Veggie Brother.
  • The first three have their episodes split into 2 segments.
    • Unlike the finales of Celeb 3, Teen 9, and Season 2, all of the Teen 8 finale (excluding the revelation of the winner) was pre-recorded.
• 2021 was the first year to have aired 3 regular series in one year.
  • 2022 was the first year to have 4 regular series in one year.
  • 2020, 2023, and 2024 each had 2 regular series in one year.
    • 2020 having 2 regular series was due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

External links

• Official website

Veggie Brother
Rebooted series		Seasons	1 • 2 • 3: Amplified • Teen 1 • 4 • OTT • 5 • 6 • 7: Connect
		Winners	Renee Seward • Gregory Ambrosone • Markus Kohlberg • Wiktoria Olsson • Brooke Faust • Shaye Daniels • Saxon Parnell • TBD
Original series	Civilian	Series	1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6: All-Stars • 7 • 8: Revolution • 9: Unlimited • 10: Infinité • 11: Elevate • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16
		Winners	Zach Pepper • Gabriel Ortiz • Wesley Horgan • Camilla Halliwell • Trace Davies • Kieron Marshall • Sharon Fretlånd • Aria Symons • Kyana Verity • Carsten Araújo • Bridget Hinley • Stephen Lounds • Charlotte Asekomeh • Haleh Keegan • Raleigh Bierman • Kelly Connor
	Teen	Series	Teen 1 • Teen 2 • Teen 3 • Teen 4 • Teen 5 • Teen 6 • Teen 7: Explosion • Teen 8 • Teen 9
		Winners	LaTonya Polen • Jemma Andrews • Georgie Watts • Kia Jamison • Eli Macintosh • Dean Fierston • Dominic Verita • Zoë Corson • Lochie MacPherson
	Celebrity	Series	1 • 2 • 3
		Winners	Zendaya • Sierra Anderson • Dimitri Enam
	Special	Series	Ultimate
		Winners	Ezikiel Reilly-Lynex