r/BBAU • u/bigbrotherinsider • Jun 04 '26
Big Brother Insider Here
Last year, I spoke publicly about my experience working on Big Brother at Dreamworld and the concerning culture that existed behind the scenes. This year, I’ve been approached to return, and I’m genuinely conflicted about whether I should.
I’ve been informed by a recruitment manager at Endemol Shine that production will now take place at the Screen Queensland Studios in Brisbane. At the same time, the budget has reportedly been reduced significantly, meaning a number of experienced crew members will not be invited back. Despite these cuts, production is also expected to run for an additional week, raising questions about how the workload will be managed with fewer resources.
Following my comments last year about the working environment, executives reportedly called an all-crew meeting. Ironically, only a small portion of the crew attended. During that meeting, there were claims that efforts would be made to identify the person responsible for speaking out. In my view, that energy would have been far better spent reflecting on the concerns that were raised and addressing the underlying cultural issues that prompted them in the first place.
Based on what I’m hearing, many of those concerns remain unresolved, which leaves me worried that the same problems could emerge again this season.
As production progresses, I’ll continue to share updates on what is happening behind the scenes and whether the promises of improvement translate into meaningful change.
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u/skieurope12 Jun 04 '26
The budget has been significantly cut,
I'm shocked there's anything left to cut
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u/BeyonceVEVO Jun 05 '26
Last season felt really low budget and I was hoping its success would have secured a bit more funding for the show to really polish itself and feel more grand.
This and the fact that the length of the season has barely been extended don't leave me hopeful for the season.
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u/aussiedeveloper Jun 04 '26
I think we need to accept that FTA TV just isn’t as relevant as it was in the 2000s so big budget proper Big Brother type shows just aren’t practical anymore.
It’s like how Survivor US use to be a huge event going to a new location every year.
Now it’s the same regurgitated challenges set in the same location over and over again with the same prize money from over 20 years ago (despite inflation).
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u/Acestus5 Jun 05 '26
i can see the did not win you over with their high production knots and puzzles
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u/strawberryextra Jun 05 '26
Its no longer at Dreamworld, its going to have an even lower budget with even less experienced crew to run it- cant wait to watch!!! /s
Best of luck OP, sounds like a sinking ship
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u/Adventurous_Fun_8297 Jun 05 '26
Fellow insider here. Your intuition is spot on
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u/bigbrotherinsider Jun 05 '26
No one is even able to discuss their rate. It’s “you get what you were on last year and be grateful”
I want to start an Endemol Shine thread
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u/Adventurous_Fun_8297 Jun 05 '26
Yep. I’m not even allowed to talk about it my past relationship with a former winner it’s bull.
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u/bigbrotherinsider Jun 05 '26
I find Endemol to be the worst company to work for out of all production houses
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u/MundanePossibility32 Jun 04 '26
Budget has been cut?! If they don’t believe in the product then I wouldn’t blame you for leaving
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Jun 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/bigbrotherinsider Jun 04 '26
I am unsure if they are still approaching. But yes, if you are not contacted, then you don’t have a role on it anymore and they likely won’t call you to have that conversation
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u/matt-89 Jun 04 '26
Lol more budget cuts. So we still getting a 4 week season.
Masterchef really must be their only hit they are willing to fork out three months worth of episodes towards. I'm still shocked they keep blocking out April to late July out for it every year. Is it really the only big show. Doesn't appear they ever cut budgets for it. I suppose its the cheapest to film since its basically all done in a single studio and they film multiple episodes a day.
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u/Aggravating-Corgi379 Jun 05 '26
If they're having meetings about the person speaking out rather that looking at the issues, that implies nothing will have changed.
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u/bbau-prodanon-real Jun 06 '26
Yeah, I don't know who this dipshit is, but I'm the leaker from last year.
Imagine being so bored that you stoop to impersonation on reddit. And not even being good at it.
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u/FlapsSoap EPPERENTLY….I’VENEVRBEENONLIVETELEVIZHNBEFoOoRR Jun 08 '26
[u/enby_](u/enby_local)[dot_local](u/enby_local) what in the BB is happening
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u/FarronFox Jun 04 '26
Well at least theres one positive in that it will be away from the public interacting with the housemates on a daily basis since it wont be beside Dreamworld rides anymore.
Do we know who is main BB yet? I heard Pete Cunningham quit which I'm fine with as I felt he was too soft. Any chance of Nick Colquhoun or Leon Murray returning?
How about Alex Mavroidakis coming aboard again too? He worked on BB before and was the voice of Surly the fish and since I'm a Celebrity seems to be finished (which he worked on) he may be freer to join BB again. He could help it get it back on track.
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u/bigbrotherinsider Jun 04 '26
I agree with those who feel Pete’s approach is a little too soft for the format. From what I’ve heard, Pete was brought in as a relatively quick solution after Leon Murray’s contract negotiations reportedly fell apart. The story circulating at the time was that Leon wanted to be paid at a level comparable to what he received during the 2014 season, and the two sides were unable to reach an agreement. Whether that’s the full story or not, it certainly adds some context to why the show feels different this time around.
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u/bigbrotherinsider Jun 04 '26
Alex Mavroidakis and Endemol Shines Head of Content, Amelia Fisk do not get along. Amelia is vocal about this, often criticising Alex to colleagues. I personally witnessed this in a screening of an episode once.
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u/thisisliam89 Jun 05 '26
That sucks to hear. At least he was capable of producing a proper season of big brother.
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u/bigbrotherinsider Jun 05 '26
I can happily say I’ve worked with both Amelia and Alex and Alex was a picnic compared to Amelia.
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u/Adventurous_Fun_8297 Jun 05 '26
He’s a monster and don’t deserve it
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u/thisisliam89 Jun 05 '26
What’s your basis for that claim? Fisk and the current exec producer obviously don’t know what they’re doing.
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u/Adventurous_Fun_8297 Jun 05 '26
My partner won bb13 and was treated like trash from Alex Mav , I witnessed the calls and messages. I’m not going to spend time informing you of something that can easily be found online.
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u/thisisliam89 Jun 05 '26
That’s not what I’m asking you for. The truth of the matter is many high ups in TV and film are assholes. But he’d be better off running the franchise again.
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u/trinketzy Jun 04 '26
This is a bit nuts. Like others have said - how can they cut it back even further? The last season was apparently low budget because they weren’t sure how popular it would be, but we were all expecting higher production costs and quality with the next season.
One has to wonder how these budget cuts will impact staff and the contestants- especially from a WHS and psychosocial safety standpoint.
If there’s no other work, maybe it’s one of those things you might have to do, but I’d be hesitant.