# Big Brother (Bulgarian TV series)

Big Brother is a reality show based on the Big Brother series by Endemol. The show originates from the Netherlands, where in 1999 the first season was aired.
At present, the format is spread in a number of countries around the world. A group of people (called the Housemates) live together in an isolated house. 24 hours a day their life is recorded by hidden cameras in all the rooms in the House. They do not have TV, Internet, newspapers, even watches on their wrists. The Housemates are completely isolated from the outside world. Every week, each one of them must enter the Diary room and nominate two of the other people for public eviction. The two or more housemates with most negative votes become nominated. For almost a week the TV viewers have to decide which of them to be evicted, voting via SMS or phone calls. Every week the Housemates have a week task. Depending on whether they perform their task successfully or unsuccessfully, their week budget is increased or decreased. During the final week, the viewers vote which one of the remaining people in the House to be the winner, who receives a large cash prize.
The show's name comes from George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopia in which Big Brother is the all-seeing, omnipotent leader of Oceania.
In Bulgaria, the first season of Big Brother was aired in 2004 on Nova Television, and quickly became one of the most successful TV formats in the country. Niki Kanchev was the main presenter in all editions, except for Big Brother 4, where he was replaced by Milen Tsvetkov. Evelina Pavlova was a co-host in the period 2004–2006. Six main seasons, ten Celebrity seasons, four All-Stars seasons, two Most Wanted seasons, and a Family season have been produced so far. The sixth main season premiered on 8 October 2024 and was the first non-Celebrity season to be produced in nine years.

## Seasons
### Big Brother

| Season | Launch date | Final date | Days | Housemates | Winner |
| Big Brother 1 | 18 October 2004 | 17 January 2005 | 92 | 15 | Zdravko Vasilev |
| Big Brother 2 | 19 September 2005 | 19 December 2005 | 92 | 19 | Miroslav Atanasov |
| Big Brother 3 | 18 September 2006 | 11 December 2006 | 85 | 18 | Lyubov Stancheva |
| Big Brother 4 | 22 September 2008 | 14 December 2008 | 84 | 26 | Georgi Alurkov |
| Big Brother 5 | 17 August 2015 | 11 September 2015 | 26 | 13 | Nikita Jönsson |
| Big Brother 6 | 8 October 2024 | 30 November 2024 | 54 | 16 | Mario Todorov |
| Big Brother 7 | 2025 | 2025 | | | |

### VIP Brother

| Season | Launch date | Final date | Days | Housemates | Winner |
| VIP Brother 1 | 13 March 2006 | 10 April 2006 | 29 | 12 | Konstantin Slavchev |
| VIP Brother 2 | 26 March 2007 | 27 April 2007 | 33 | 13 | Hristina Stefanova |
| VIP Brother 3 | 16 March 2009 | 10 May 2009 | 56 | 17 | Deyan Slavchev - Deo |
| VIP Brother 4 | 16 September 2012 | 17 November 2012 | 63 | 16 | Orlin Pavlov |
| VIP Brother 5 | 15 September 2013 | 16 November 2013 | 63 | 17 | Stanka Zlateva |
| VIP Brother 6 | 15 September 2014 | 17 November 2014 | 64 | 18 | Vladislav Karamfilov - Vladi Vargala |
| VIP Brother 7 | 13 September 2015 | 13 November 2015 | 62 | 15 | Georgi Tashev - Gino Biancalana |
| VIP Brother 8 | 11 September 2016 | 11 November 2016 | 62 | 19 | Miglena Angelova |
| VIP Brother 9 | 11 September 2017 | 10 November 2017 | 61 | 18 | Yonislav Yotov - Toto |
| VIP Brother 10 | 10 September 2018 | 2 November 2018 | 54 | 17 | Atanas Kolev |

### Big Brother Family

| Season | Launch date | Final date | Days | Families | Winner |
| Big Brother Family | 22 March 2010 | 10 June 2010 | 81 | 15 | Eli & Veselin Kuzmovi |

### Big Brother All Stars & Most Wanted

| Season | Launch date | Final date | Days | Housemates | Winner |
| Big Brother All Stars 2012 | 19 November 2012 | 17 December 2012 | 29 | 11 | Nikola Nasteski - Lester |
| Big Brother All Stars 2013 | 18 November 2013 | 16 December 2013 | 29 | 12 | Zlatka Dimitrova |
| Big Brother All Stars 2014 | 19 November 2014 | 15 December 2014 | 27 | 10 | Todor Slavkov |
| Big Brother All Stars 2015 | 16 November 2015 | 14 December 2015 | 29 | 8 | Desislava |
| Big Brother: Most Wanted 2017 | 13 November 2017 | 11 December 2017 | 29 | 12 | Georgi Tashev - Gino Biancalana |
| Big Brother: Most Wanted 2018 | 5 November 2018 | 10 December 2018 | 36 | 12 | Stefan Ivanov - Wosh MC |

## Big Brother: The Housemates Strike Back

On 7 June 2007, Big Brother brought former housemates from Big Brother and VIP Brother seasons together and gave them their last task — to destroy the House. Here are the housemates, who participated in the special edition of the show:
| From | Housemates |
| Big Brother 1 | Mariela "Mel" Kiselkova Nayden Kiselkova Stoyka Stefanova Tihomir Georgiev (Also participated in VIP Brother 2) Veneta Mileva-Ilieva Zdravko Vasilev (Winner of Big Brother 1 and also participated in VIP Brother 2) Zeyneb Madzhurova |
| Big Brother 2 | Elena Georgieva Ivan Hristov Naydenov Leonardo "Leo" Bianchi Miroslav Atanasov (Winner of Big Brother 2) Nedyalko Petkov Lazarov Silvia Dragoeva Stefan Angelov Kemalov "Bat Sali" Zvezdelin Kochev Minchev "Vego" |
| Big Brother 2 | Stefan and Leonardo made a performance as a part of the concert in the House by some of the singer stars from VIP Brother. |
| VIP Brother 1 | Damaskin "Dim" Stoyanov Dukov Dimitar Vasilev Marinov "Mityo Pishtova" Konstantin Ivanov Slavov (Winner of VIP Brother 1) Rayna Terziyska |
| VIP Brother 1 | Rayna and Konstantin also made a performance. Damaskin also sang with Konstantin. |
| Big Brother 3 | Borislav Nikolov Borisov Eva Ivanova Miteva Garo Edi Papazyan Lilyana Yurieva Angelova Panayot Aleksandrov Kyuchukov "Patso" Penyo Todorov Daskalov Svetlana Nikolaeva Stoycheva The Triplets: Vyara, Nadezhda and Lyubov Ilieva Stancheva (Winners of Big Brother 3) Violeta Tsvetanova Kondova "Vili" |
| Big Brother 3 | Penyo participated in the concert. |
| VIP Brother 2 | Desislava Hristina Stefnova (Winner of VIP Brother 2. Zdravko's wife.) Kalin Lubenov Velyov Magdalena "Magi" Zhelyazkova Petya Pavlova Tihomir Georgiev Zdravko Vasilev |
| VIP Brother 2 | Desislava and Petya participated in the concert. Kalin sang with his friend Nina Nikolina. |

## Trivia

* General
** Winners: 14 males, 7 females and 1 family
** Youngest Big Brother winner: Lyubov Stancheva (Big Brother 3) – 21
** Big Brother winner with the highest percentage: 78%, Konstantin, VIP Brother 1
** Highest eviction percentage: Elena Georgieva, 86%, Big Brother 2
** Least eviction difference: Lilana, 4%, VIP Brother 1
** Oldest Big Brother housemate: Radka and Chavdar Kamenarovi – 62 years old, Big Brother Family
** Season with most contestants: Big Brother 4, 26 housemates
** Season with fewest contestants: Big Brother All Stars 4, 8 housemates
** Shortest gap between 2 Big Brother seasons: 2 days, BB5 – VIP Brother 7
** Shortest Big Brother: Big Brother 5 – 26 days
** Longest Big Brother: Big Brother 1 and Big Brother 2 – 92 days
** Shortest stay in the House: Danail Panchev and Daniel Delchev, Big Brother 4, 4 days
** Big Brother with highest money-prize: Big Brother 4, 300 000 leva
** Most housemates to leave the house voluntarily: 4, VIP Brother 1
** Most housemates left on the final night: 7, VIP Brother 3
** Youngest Big Brother housemate: Vanesa Tsvetanova (Big Brother Family) – 17 years old
** VIP Brother with highest money-prize: VIP Brother 2, 100 000 leva (in the first season it was 50 000)
** Longest time spent in the House: 118 days, Zdravko Vasilev – Big Brother 1 and VIP Brother 2
** Contestant won twice: Georgi Tashev "Gino Biancalana" – VIP Brother 7 and Big Brother Most Wanted 1
* 2004–2005 /Big Brother 1/
** First set of nominees: Anelia and Dimitar
** First contestant to be evicted: Anelia Ivanova
** First contestant to voluntarily leave: Dimitar Kazalov
** First replacement housemate: Tihomir Georgiev
** First Big Brother Winner: Zdravko Vassilev /200 000 leva/
** First contestants to be expelled by Big Brother: Nayden Naydenov and Svetlan Shevrov “Groshi”
** First sex in the House: Tihomir Georgiev and Mariela Kiselkova
** First lesbian sex: Mariela Kiselkova and Svetlozara Trendafilova
** Longest time spent in the house without being nominated: 70 days, Svetlozara Trendafilova
** First housemate not to be nominated during the whole season: Viktor
* 2005 /Big Brother 2/
** First "evil" Big Brother
** First Big Brother with a couple competing: Elena and Miroslav
** First contestant to be voted into the house by the public: Elena Romele
** First foreigner housemate: Leonardo Bianchi (from Italy)
** Longest time spent in the house by a replacement housemate: Elena Romele
* 2006 /VIP Brother 1/
** First set of nominees: Rayna, Mityo Pishtova and Vesela Neynska
** First VIP housemate to be evicted: Raina
** First VIP housemate to voluntarily leave: Vesela Neynska
** First VIP Brother Winner: Konstantin /50 000 levas/
** First child to enter and live in the House: Danaya (3 years old)
** First blood related housemates: Violeta and Danaya, mother and daughter
** Fewest housemates to be evicted: 2
** First Big Brother with secret inquisition: VIP Brother 1
* 2006 /Big Brother 3/
** First season with a talk show: Big Brother's Big Mouth
** First triplets competing: Vyara, Nadezhda and Lyubov
** First pregnant housemate: Svetlana
** First Big Brother baby: Amber
** First faked eviction: Panayot and Mariola
** Longest time before the first eviction takes place: 29 days
** First nominations with 5 nominated housemates (Vyara, Nadezhda, Lilyana, Svetlana, Penyo): the sixth nominations
** First double eviction: Penyo and Nadezhda
** First non-secret nominations: the eighth nominations
** First nominations with positive votes: the ninth nominations
** First final with two people in fourth place: Lilyana and Paloma (they had equal votes)
** First woman to win: Lyubov
* 2007 /VIP Brother 2/
** First housemates to compete in two Big Brother seasons: Zdravko and Tihomir, previously from Big Brother 1
** First TV show shot in the House during Big Brother: Hot with host Veneta Raykova (one of the Housemates)
** First family in the House: Zdravko, Hristina and Yanitsa
** First wedding in the House: Zdravko and Hristina
** First non-VIP on VIP Brother: Hristina
** First nominations when the Housemates can nominate themselves positively: the first nominations
** First nominations when the Housemates had to nominate three people: the second nominations
** First non-VIP to win VIP Brother: Hristina
** First intruder to win: Hristina
* 2008 /Big Brother 4/
** First season to be shot in the new House
** First season without Niki Kanchev as a host
* 2009 /VIP Brother 3/
** The longest VIP season of the show in Bulgaria – 56 Days.