Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack is a special series of Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off series of the British reality television programme Big Brother. It was broadcast on E4 from 3–28 January 2008. A number of closely associated programmes also aired on the same channel. Dermot O'Leary – who had hosted Big Brother's Little Brother since 2001 – was the main host of Celebrity Hijack, and it was his final series of Big Brother.
The series was announced on 8 October 2007 by Channel 4 and that it would be replacing Celebrity Big Brother in January 2008, due to the widely publicised racism controversy in Celebrity Big Brother 5. In 2009, Celebrity Big Brother returned to Channel 4 and no further series of Celebrity Hijack were produced.
The premise of the series saw one celebrity a day taking control, with the help of Big Brother; organising their own tasks, making their own rules and talking to the housemates in the Diary Room. They were in charge of a set of housemates, ranging in age from 18- to 21-years-old and all having a special talent.
The housemates competed to be the last to leave the house for a £50,000 prize.
The series ended on 28 January with John Loughton being voted as the winner.
Production
Eye Logo
The "eye" logo used for Big Brother 8 was adapted to include the star used in celebrity versions and a splatter of purple paint across it to signify that the eye itself had been "hijacked". The colour of the splat is the same purple used for the E4 logo. The logo was unveiled on 3 December 2007.Sponsorship
The series was sponsored by Virgin Mobile, who took over from parent company Virgin Media, the sponsors of Big Brother 8.Broadcasts
The majority of Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack was broadcast on E4, with the first hour of the launch show being broadcast on E4 and Channel 4. The live launch, eviction shows, finale and Big Brother's Little Brother were hosted by Dermot O'Leary – who had been the host of Little Brother since Big Brother 2 in 2001. In 2007, O'Leary announced his departure from Big Brother, and Celebrity Hijack would be his last. E4 broadcast live coverage from the house, as well as Big Brother's Big Mouth, which was hosted by Mathew Horne and James Corden, who were guest hosts during Big Brother 8 the previous summer. They would not return for any subsequent series of Big Brother or Celebrity Big Brother.Housemates
The housemates for this series were a mixture of British 18- to 21-year-olds, all with a special talent.| Name | Age on entry | Hometown | Occupation | Day entered | Day exited | Result |
| John Loughton | 20 | Edinburgh | Politician | 1 | 26 | |
| Emilia Arata | 18 | Birmingham | Circus performer | 1 | 26 | |
| Amy Jackson | 21 | Oxford | Conceptual artist | 1 | 26 | |
| Anthony Ogogo | 19 | Suffolk | Boxer | 1 | 26 | |
| Jeremy Metcalfe | 19 | Hampshire | Racing driver | 1 | 26 | |
| Nathan Fagan-Gayle | 21 | London | Singer/songwriter | 1 | 26 | |
| Calista Robertson | 19 | London | Classical musician | 1 | 23 | |
| Jay Wilson | 19 | London | Fashion designer | 1 | 23 | |
| Latoya Satnarine | 19 | London | Dancer | 1 | 21 | |
| Victor Arata | 19 | Birmingham | Circus performer | 1 | 16 | |
| Liam Young | 19 | Liverpool | Entrepreneur | 1 | 16 | |
| Jade Eden | 21 | London | Beauty queen | 1 | 9 |
Amy Jackson
Jacqueline Amy Jackson is a conceptual artist who lived in Leeds where she attended Leeds Girls' High School. She holds an MFA in Fine Art from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art part of the University of Oxford. She won the Geoffrey Rhodes Prize for the highest first-year exam results, and is a multi-award-winning conceptual artist working with photography and installations – Amy doesn't paint as she finds it 'too messy'. Amy wanted to incorporate her experience in the Big Brother House into her artwork. She plays the saxophone, piano, clarinet and trombone. During the Andy McNab task, both Amy and Anthony were taken away and interrogated. They were both given a code and whoever did not tell the code to McNab won a £5,000 prize and immunity to that week's eviction. Jackson was favourite to win the series, but she finished third place on the final day, Day 26. Jackson eventually graduated with a first-class degree in a Fine Art from The University of Oxford. Since leaving university she founded a new website called Lost Found and Loved Again for likeminded artists and designers who create upcycled goods from vintage items and a Pop Up Supper Club, an experiential dining company in London, which raises funds and awareness for crucial causes. Amy Jackson still works as an artist creating public art and participating in group and solo exhibitions. In recent years she studied Sustainable Finance at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford and also works in responsible investment where she presents about issues surrounding climate change on radio shows and podcasts including Breaking Banks.Anthony Ogogo
Anthony Osezua Ogogo is an international boxer who has captained Great Britain's team in the World European and Junior Olympic Tournaments. He won the Junior Olympics in 2004, picked up the Most Outstanding Boxer of the Tournament and was crowned World Under 17 Champion in 2005. He represented Great Britain in the Summer 2012 London Olympics and won a bronze medal. Training three times a day, Anthony's overall ambition is to become World Champion, but he would also love to become the first mixed-race James Bond. His boxing name is 'Beautiful Brown Suga'.On Day 26, Anthony was evicted, despite being second favourite to win, he came fourth. In 2015 Anthony participated in Strictly Come Dancing. In 2019, Anthony Ogogo had to retire from boxing following a serious eye injury.
Calista Robertson
Calista Kazuko Robertson is a classical musician and children's music teacher. She has been playing the violin since she was 3 years-old and can also play the piano. Her father Paul Robertson is one of the founding members of the Medici String Quartet. She is currently studying at King's College London, where she receives instrumental tuition via the Royal Academy of Music. Calista specialised in composition at The Royal Academy of Music's junior academy under David Knotts and was awarded full scholarships to attend Miguel Mera's Film Music course with Stile Antico in 2007, both at Dartington Summer School. Calista has written over 100 songs ranging from full orchestral to cheesy pop, including the newly famous 'Bongo Jam'. She also teaches piano to 7- to 9-year-olds, as well as privately teaching violin, singing and music theory. Calista was the sixth housemate to be evicted, and left the house on Day 23 in a double eviction. Calista also went to St Catherine's School in Bramley as her secondary school.Emilia Arata
Carmen Emilia Arata is a professional circus performer. She and her brother Victor have performed in front of the likes of The Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal. They also took part in Graham Norton's BBC One talent show When Will I Be Famous? in 2007 where they went on to win. Emilia comes from seven generations of circus performers and has been in training since she was four years old, performing professionally for the first time when she was six. Emilia performs six nights a week at the Palazzo Variety Show in Berlin with her brother Victor. Their mother Carmen is a trainer on Sky One reality show Cirque de Celebrite. Emilia has a list of work-related injuries that include broken knee, shoulder, wrist, fingers, and several ribs. Throughout the series, Emilia was regularly booed by the crowds outside the house, however despite facing three eviction votes, she survived them all to make a surprise appearance in the final. She speaks fluent Italian. Emilia was announced as the runner-up, on Day 26, with 46.1% of the votes. In 2015, Emilia and her other brother, Billy, appeared on Britain's Got Talent. In 2017, Emilia and Billy appeared on the 12th season of America's Got Talent.Jade Eden
Jade Keiley Eden is a professional beauty queen. Jade has won numerous beauty pageant awards including Miss Essex 2006, Miss Winchester 2007 and came third in Miss England behind Naomi Smith who came second and Georgia Horsley. She is just back from competing in Miss Global City where she won the European section and was also awarded with Miss Sunshine Beauty 2007. She has been a member of Mensa since the age of four. Jade won a scholarship to a school for gifted children and recently graduated from The Urdang Academy in Covent Garden where she was also awarded a scholarship for Professional Musical Theatre. Jade is also an award-winning dancer. She competed internationally in Artistic Gymnastics and won 3rd prize for most expressive floor routine. She also featured in the music video for Blazin' Squad's single, "We Just Be Dreamin'". On Day 9, Jade was the first housemate to be evicted.Recently, Jade appeared on the Walkers crisps Do Us a Flavour campaign as one of the dancers for its Onion Baji advertisement.