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Crisis talks as Big Brother Australia "axed"


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http://www.behindbigbrother.com/showarticl...p?articleID=935

Unconfirmed, but their are reports that Big Brother Australia has been axed with immediate effect following the removal of Ashley and John from the house - in addition to the axing of "Adults Only" a couple of weeks ago. Ten executives are also concerned about the plunge in sponsorship funding!

Tomorrow's eviction is said to have been replaced with episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama, with reports suggesting the remaining prize money will be split equally between the eight remaining housemates and the series wound up.

And it would probably be the end of Big Brother Australia all together - it's widely known their existing contract ends this year, with no official confirmation of a seventh series being commissioned (though rumours suggest it had).

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Unconfirmed, but their are reports that Big Brother Australia has been axed with immediate effect following the removal of Ashley and John from the house - in addition to the axing of "Adults Only" a couple of weeks ago. Ten executives are also concerned about the plunge in sponsorship funding!

Tomorrow's eviction is said to have been replaced with episodes of The Simpsons and Futurama, with reports suggesting the remaining prize money will be split equally between the eight remaining housemates and the series wound up.

And it would probably be the end of Big Brother Australia all together - it's widely known their existing contract ends this year, with no official confirmation of a seventh series being commissioned (though rumours suggest it had).

As of 11:15 AM CDT the site is still up and the live feed is still going. Jamie and David are having a looong talk in the kitchen. It is 02:15 AM Sunday morning there and they are still going strong. As far as I know, there will still be a live show on Sunday night with a live eviction. If I get any additional inforation I will post it here.

:ninja: :ninja: :ninja: :ninja:

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For further information on this incident you should read the following article:

NEWS.Com.AU

in which it is pointed out the most of the pressure about this incident is coming from SA Federal MP Trish Draper . Apparently she is the chairwoman of a group of 40 MP who are a Classification Issues Group in the Coalition.

Ms. Draper said that Minister for Communications, Helen Coonan should intervene in the show.

Ms Coonan said last night the Government would not take any immediate action against Ten.

"Assault is very serious and is a matter for Queensland police," her spokeswoman said.

"As for Big Brother, it will still be subject to the existing content restrictions."

No further word has been released by Endemol Southern Star or Channel Ten who are the producers and distributors of the show.

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HOLY %%%% TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I watched the concert but turned in after it was over.

The HG were really ramped up from the event and enjoying the moment.

I hope someone got a capture of it!

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It is still just a rumour - you would think if it was true, the live feed would have been pulled.

It's another excuse though for the same old bandwagon of conservative MPs to attack the show though!

It was really laughable the bloke who attacked Adults Only, asking how Ten could screen such material THREE HOURS after his daugher was watching The Simpsons!

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Tonight's eviction went ahead as planned. No idea if anything was said about the incident, not checked out the Aussie forums yet.

The official website has put a statement regarding the future of the show:

Statement

Network Ten and Big Brother producers, Endemol Southern Star, today reaffirmed their commitment to the highly popular television program and confirmed Big Brother adheres to all broadcasting codes of practice and all relevant rules and regulations.

No footage of the incident that led to housemates Ashley and John being evicted was broadcast on television, nor would it be.

This is a closed police matter.

TEN and ESS proactively invited the Queensland Police to view the footage, and they subsequently interviewed housemate Camilla, who reiterated she did not wish to take the matter forward.

While the footage was never broadcast, and will not be, TEN and ESS will fully cooperate with any Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation, and we are confident that we have upheld the Television Industry Code of Practice and any other broadcasting law or regulation.

Ashley and John were evicted because they broke the rules of housemate conduct. Big Brother is very popular, as evidenced by the strong and broad audiences it draws every night of the week, and will remain on air.

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Thank you for letting us know Brekkie.

Glad its staying on.

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That put a big ding in the flow of the game for me.

I liked John and Ash and now the house seems so empty, too soon.

Anyway, the forums are back up also, but I don`t care for them...

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Reuters100x26.jpg

Australian PM Calls For 'Big Brother' Eviction

BB_Aussie_tape.jpg

Night vision cameras captured a scene from the incident that caused the eviction of

two Big Brother Australian housemates

CANBERRA -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard called on Monday, July 3 for reality television program "Big Brother" to be taken off the air after an incident between contestants prompted an investigation into sexual assault. The police were called in after two housemates were kicked off the program on Saturday, July 1.

An investigation by authorities was considered necessary after an early-morning incident was broadcast live on the Internet by Ten Network Holdings Ltd. Police said they would lay no charges over the incident, where a male contestant held down a female housemate while another male contestant rubbed his crotch in her face.

"I think it is just a question of good taste," Howard told Australian radio on Monday, July 3. "Here is a great opportunity for Channel Ten to do a bit of self-regulation and get this stupid program off the air."

camilla030706_228x192.jpg

Camilla Halliwell is the 'Big Brother' contestant at

the center of the controversy after being attacked

by a fellow housemate on the Australian version

Australian Police have already interviewed the young woman involved, 22-year-old red-haired housemate Camilla Halliwell, but they say that because she has not raised a formal complaint no action can be taken.

However, Communications Minister Helen Coonan has ordered a full inquiry into the incident by the broadcasting watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which is expected to release its findings within a few days.

The show's producers were clearly disturbed by the 4 a.m. incident. They ordered security guards to escort the two men, 'John,' a pseudonym for 21-year-old Michael Bric, of Melbourne, and 'Ashley,' 20-year-old Michael Cox, of Perth, from the show, which is filmed in Queensland. The producers said the young men's actions were a "breach of the rules."

BB_Aussie_housemates.jpg

Security guards escorted Michael Cox, (Ashley) and Michael

Bric, (John), from the Big Brother house

The incident, which was seen in detail on an internet version of the program, has provoked a storm of outrage around the country, with callers to radio stations saying they were disgusted. Unofficial forums bubbled with controversy, one writer commenting: "Geez, this show is sick."

However, the TV audience for the second viewing surged as voyeurs, hearing of the sex row, tuned in. As Labour opposition leader Kim Beazley joined Howard in calling for the show to be dumped, a group representing family values said it was not surprised that the incident had occurred.

"When you have a provocative setting with sexually-charged young people and ply them with alcohol, you can't be surprised that this could happen," said Bill Muehlenberg, secretary of the Victorian Family Council.

BB_AussieCast.jpgBB_Aussie.jpg

The current Australian 'Big Brother' cast and the control room which truly plays the role of Big Brother

by keeping tabs and recording the housemates 24/7

As controversy continued to rage, psychologists said they were worried about the health of Halliwell. The fact that she had suggested she was in some way responsible and had apologized for getting the men evicted was a matter of great concern, said psychologist Dr. Ronnie Zuessman of Queensland.

"Her apology is an indicator that the circumstances have not been adequately resolved for her and is not a good sign," he said. But Channel 10 insisted last night that Halliwell had spent "quite a substantial amount of time" with the program's resident psychologist, Dr. Carmel Hill, following the alleged assault.

The show still has its supporters among some politicians. Australian Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett, who lives in Queensland, said Big Brother "should be left alone by meddling MPs." And the head of media studies at Sydney University, Associate Professor Catherine Lumby, said Big Brother provided "a forum for discussion about what's right and wrong for young people."

BB_Aussie_tapeA.jpgBB_Aussie_tapeB.jpg

Screen captures of the incident that has threatened to shut down Australian 'Big Brother'

The Saturday incident is the latest in a long string of complaints about the raunchy antics of the young housemates. The previous week the channel dumped an adults-only version of the show after complaints about excessive nudity.

Members of Howard's conservative government have complained that the program is in bad taste and will undermine the Ten Network's push for more deregulated media ownership laws. The current sixth series of "Big Brother" in Australia is part of a bid by the country's third-ranked television broadcaster to target and build up a younger audience.

Big Brother is a reality show where a group of strangers are locked in a house and are gradually voted off by the television audience. Local versions of the show have been produced around the world, from Britain to South Africa.

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