Creative Nerds head of social Alfie Green spend the first month of 2018 working as a Producer on Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother.

Proving a hit, becoming the most Tweeted about show of 2018 so far, and smashing social goals – it was a series to remember with Drag Race star Courtney Act being crowned winner.

Alfie brought new creative to the 20-year old format working with their in-house digital team, including live streamed pre-shows, GIPHY stickers plus new dynamic nightly social pieces to continue to push users to broadcast at 9pm. Hitting over 100,000 on YouTube, a first 2Million view Instagram video, and engagement breaking records, it goes to show that quality social media really does convert.

But, what goes on behind the scenes at Britain’s most famous house? Alfie shares 5 of his top insights…

It’s a 24/7 show!

It might seem simple, but Big Brother never sleeps. The team are working around the clock, and so is social… Content is being logged and monitored at all times, which lets the digital and main show team ensure they don’t miss out on any juicy moments!

Around the studios, we have access to a mix of feeds, meaning we can cut between different rooms in the House and ensure nothing is missed.

The camera runs are really confusing

Behind every mirror in the Big Brother House is a camera. To create exclusive social, I got the chance to spend a good amount of time wandering around this maze of wires and very quite camera operators. The House is constantly changing, with each series creating a totally new layout behind the scenes.

For one piece of content we rigged a camera behind the glass to create a time lapse piece of Courtney getting ready. Staring right through the glass we could see the Housemates… But they couldn’t see us at all!

Rylan eats a LOT of McDonalds

I’m sure he won’t mind me saying, but Rylan loves a McDonalds breakfast. Working alongside the Bit On The Side team he certainly made the most of Borehamwood’s finest takeaway offering.

The BOTS team work incredible hard to make a live show 5 nights a week, and with their star guests it creates for perfect social content.

The voices of Big Brother are real people

Well, obviously… but still! As a lifelong fan of the show it was incredibly surreal to meet and put a face to the sound of a ‘Big Brothers’ voice. You’ll often hear the Housemates discussing the voices, who their favourites are but little do they know they’ll come face to face with them all at the wrap party.

For one task, children were invited into the Big Brother House and it was quite odd to see Big Brother welcoming them and then speaking to them from through the speaker system that runs through the House.

It’s incredibly authentic

With the rise of formats such as Geordie Shore and TOWIE, its easy to imagine that the producers step into the Big Brother House and tell the housemates what to say or do. I can honestly say it was refreshing to see there was no interference or storyboarding from the show.

The arguments and tears you saw were real, we were watching them live! There’s something magically about the fact that Big Brother can create some compelling moments without having to ‘fake’ anything.

To find out more, or arrange a meeting to find out what we could do for your social, get in touch at [email protected]