Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 1
The first season of the reality game show Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition premiered on the ABS-CBN network on February 5, 2006 and ran for 56 days until April 1, 2006.
The season was originally scheduled to start a day before, but due to the Wowowee ULTRA stampede that happened earlier that day, the management rescheduled the premiere on the next day. Due to this, Willie Revillame dropped his hosting stint from the show.
Keanna Reeves won the season, while John Prats was the runner-up. Bianca Gonzalez and Zanjoe Marudo were the finalists.
The program is produced and can be seen through ABS-CBN, Studio 23, the show's 24/7 cable channel, and the internet.
Overview
House interior theme
The Big Brother house that is used on this edition is the same as the house used on the first season, although there were some changes in the house's interior.The concept for this series is going back to basics. On the first day the Big Brother House initially had no furniture or appliances, with the exception of the plasma TV and the refrigerator. Part of this series' concept was forcing the housemates to use a stick for brushing their teeth, clay jars and an outdoor kitchen for cooking, bare hands for eating, and a water pump for potable water. All pieces of furniture provided to them were even made of bamboo.
After two weeks, Big Brother lifted the "Back to Basics" concept after seeing the housemates adapting to the said lifestyle, despite difficulties. The Forbidden Room, a pink-walled room with beds and mattresses reserved only for eviction nominees, became the ladies' bedroom, while the bamboo beds in the eventual men's bedroom were suddenly covered with mattresses. Earlier, they were provided with a microwave oven, an electric stove, utensils, and some toothbrushes and were allowed to use the swimming pool at any time, as well as wearing footwear indoors. Later, sofas replaced the bamboo benches in the living room.
Hosts
Toni Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez reprised their roles for this season. Willie Revillame was also supposed to reprise his role as host but withdrew due to the Wowowee ULTRA stampede that happened a day before the season's premiere.Talk show host Boy Abunda hosted the Big Debate, a debate show which celebrity supporters of the four housemates debate on who should be the winner of the series. The debate was held two nights before the Big Night.
Prizes
The prizes at stake cost three million Philippine pesos, which includes ₱1,000,000 for the winning housemate, another ₱1,000,000 for the winner's chosen charity, and another million for the charity of Big Brother's choice. Aside from the cash prizes, a condominium unit in Valenzuela City is also at stake.Celebrity housemates
The show began with a welcome party along Manila Bay. They were transported by yacht before the chosen housemates was formally introduced and were taken to the Big Brother House. A prayer that is led by Jesuit priest Fr. Tito Caluag, S.J., a minute of silence and a performance of "You Raise Me Up" were done before the show started to commemorate those who have been affected by the Wowowee stampede. Furthermore, Myx VJ Luis Manzano played pinch hitter for Willie Revillame, who was at the time still devastated by the said stampede.Below are the housemates who are introduced in the Grand Welcome Party. Rather than twelve in the original edition, fourteen were chosen for this edition and are listed below in order of introduction. Days before the Grand Welcome Party, only their feet were shown. However, in the morning of the Grand Welcome Party's new date, the Philippine Star prematurely published a full-page advertisement showing the new housemates in full view.
| Name | Age on entry | Notability | Entered | Exited | Result |
| 36 | Starlet | Day 1 | Day 56 | ||
| 21 | Actor and dancer | Day 1 | Day 56 | ||
| 22 | TV host and model | Day 1 | Day 56 | ||
| 23 | Commercial model | Day 1 | Day 56 | ||
| 33 | Reggae band frontman, songwriter | Day 1 | Day 49 | ||
| 38 | Actor | Day 1 | Day 46 | ||
| 25 | Radio personality | Day 1 | Day 42 | ||
| 21 | Singer and actress | Day 1 | Day 41 | ||
| 26 | SEA Games gold medalist, beauty queen | Day 1 | Day 39 | ||
| 25 | Actress | Day 1 | Day 35 | ||
| 28 | Actor and model | Day 1 | Day 28 | ||
| 58 | Triathlete | Day 1 | Day 21 | ||
| 24 | Fashion designer | Day 1 | Day 21 | ||
| 30 | TV host and news reporter | Day 1 | Day 12 |
Chronology
- February 21: Gretchen left the house on after Big Brother allowed Gretchen to report to her superiors in the Philippine Air Force, where she serves as a second-class airwoman, to face a summary investigation about her being AWOL, as reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He did this in the proviso that she cannot talk to anyone except those who were investigating her and she must return to the house 24 hours after she left. She returned 14 hours later after the Philippine Air Force officially authorized her to continue her stint in the show.
- February 23: Rico and Aleck had their heads shaved in exchange for P100,000 for each of their beneficiaries: Aleck's father and Mich's caretaker. Rico took what is supposed to be Mich's sacrifice because the latter was advised not to do so due to her emotional anxiety. Their hair was donated to make wigs for young cancer patients.
- February 28: Rustom came out of the closet on national TV by revealing to fellow housemate Keanna Reeves that he is a homosexual. Although parts of it were aired later in the day as it is traditionally, it was aired the next day in its entirety.
- March 6–7: Jasmine Trias visited the housemates and stayed in the house overnight.
- March 10: Gretchen, Rustom, and Rico temporarily "exited" the house as sacrifice for their nominated friends Aleck, Keanna, and Roxanne respectively. It turns out that it was actually a task to test their trust to their friends. Gretchen and Rico returned in the wee hours of the next day while Rustom returned in morning. Voting was not affected regardless.
- March 22: After Rustom's exit, it was announced that Toni handed over her main hosting chores to Mariel, starting the next day. Season 1 contestants Say Alonzo and Uma Khouny would take over as hosts of UpLate. Luis would host the last eviction night. At the time, Toni had her official engagements in the United States. She only returned on the night of the Teen Edition's finale.
- March 26: Season 1 contestant Jason Gainza and ABS-CBN actress Sandara Park entered the house disguised as hooded secret agents to steal the housemates' golden eggs under the directions of Big Brother. Although the two did manage to steal John and Zanjoe's eggs, the housemates found the agents, and as a result the two stayed overnight. Earlier in the day, with the blindfolded housemates as virtual nannies, child stars entered the house and created chaos, also as instructed by Big Brother.
- March 27–28: Season 1 winner Nene Tamayo and veteran actor Tirso Cruz III also entered the house as hooded secret agents, trying to steal John and Zanjoe's eggs. Unlike Jason and Sandara before them, they were successful in stealing John's 25 eggs and Zanjoe's 22. Another season 1 contestant, Franzen Fajardo, would later join the two to steal various supplies to test the housemates.
The Big Night
The four remaining housemates were taken to the Manila Post Office from the Big Brother house in Quezon City by a limousine. They were then sequestered in a secret location before the actual live final.The finale was held on April 1, 2006, at the Manila Post Office building on Lawton, Manila. In the final tally, Keanna Reeves was declared the Big Winner, garnering 44.2% of the vote. John Prats came in second with 28.8%, Bianca Gonzalez in third with 19%, while Zanjoe Marudo exited first with 8%.