BB4 will begin at the end of the month, it has been officially confirmed today -- DS:BB has the details.

Just like last year, the new series will begin with twelve contestants -- six men and six women -- who will be hoping to stay the full 64 days and win the £70,000 grand prize (yes, it still stands at £70,000).

More importantly, there will be no gimmicks like the rich/poor divide this time round. A spokeswoman explained: "There will be no bars or rich/poor house; just the pure, original reality format of 12 people living together in a community, cut off from the outside world for nine weeks and getting voted out as the weeks progress." This also seems to put the nail in the coffin on rumours of the US 'head of household' idea gracing this year's show.


The new-look bedrooms

The house has been given a full makeover and has been described as "more open-plan" than in Big Brother 3. This year, the house has a new sheltered area outdoors "for the housemates to enjoy in all weather conditions."

TV coverage this year will be boosted on Channel 4, with a brand new show planned for E4.

Once again E4 will stream back-to-back application videos in the weeks leading up to the start of the series. For the first time, however, Big Brother's Little Brother will depart E4 and head over to Channel 4, broadcasting "at teatime" Mondays through Fridays. E4 will repeat the show later in the evening. On Sunday, BBLB will go out at lunchtime, featuring the first interview with the evicted housemate. E4 will air an extended version.


The outside view

Davina will be live on the launch night as the housemates are revealed and sent into their new home. Marcus Bentley fans (do people exist who aren't?) can breathe a sigh of relief -- the man will be back to narrate the 30-minute highlight shows on Monday through Thursday, and the hour-long weekend roundup / psychological analysis on Sundays.

The format is unchanged on Fridays, with two eviction shows dealing with the eviction result and the event itself.


The kitchen

This year sees the return of the weekly group task, on which the shopping budget depends. A new rule means that the group will have to bet a minimum of 50% on successful completion of the task. Saturdays will see a new feature -- the individual reward challenge, which will broadcast live. This task, which is separate from the weekly team effort, will be "the only opportunity throughout the week when the housemates will be allowed to compete as individuals to win luxuries."


The living room

Live streaming from the house will, as ever, go out on E4. Sky viewers will be able to go interactive and select between four video feeds -- two live and two with highlights -- twice the size of last year's quarter-screen options for better picture quality. Telewest viewers will also get the four feeds. Freeview viewers will unfortunately be without constant live coverage, but will be able to play the interactive Big Brother Quiz for the first time.


The sheltered area outside

Mourning the loss of BBLB, E4 will be hoping to make up for it by being home to a new exclusive, weekly show called Nominations Uncut. This half-hour show will air Tuesday evenings, revealing the housemates’ nominations in full and the motives behind their decisions.

Contrary to popular rumours doing the rounds, there will be no premium Big Brother TV channel this year, although the web feeds will still be available at a cost of £4.95 a month. E4 will be introducing a new interactive element to its live streaming, however -- a text ticker, which, at selected times of the day, will allow viewers to text in their opinions and appear on screen.

“This year, the absolute essence of the show is the people and their existence, cutting individuals off from society and getting them to live together as a community," explained Gigi Eligoloff, Executive Producer of Big Brother, at today's launch. "Big Brother is all about character and personality and this year’s focus should allow people the scope to reveal who they really are. The human capacity to surprise is what makes the series so compelling, and of course Big Brother always has some surprises of its own. All this and an all-important game to play – just what will people do for £70,000 and what tactics, if any, will they employ to stay?”

Stick with DS:BB in the coming weeks for the latest on the new series and check back next week for our brand new look site!