The new Big Brother will be the nastiest and cruellest yet, exec producer Phil Edgar-Jones has confirmed.

Tongues were set wagging on Friday when C4 began advertising for the new series with cryptic slogans such as "Black Friday cometh," "From friends to enemies" and "Black is beautiful."

According to several tabloid reports today, producers have taken a number of measures to make the show even tougher after last year's failed attempts to go "back to basics" with a bunch of friendly housemates.

Paramount to this has been the selection process. Twelve "very socially different" housemates have apparently been selected who are certain to "clash, bicker and fight." The house has been redesigned to be "as uncomfortable as possible to live in," while a series of penalties, shock evictions and difficult challenges have also been planned.

“We have a few nasty surprises in store," said Edgar-Jones. "I wouldn't want to go into the house this year."