Producers of the UK show have opted for a gothic, hellish decor, based on Dante’s Inferno and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s notion that “Hell is other people”. “Hopefully we’ve made it more moody and atmospheric,” said C4’s David Williams ahead of Sunday’s launch programme. Speculation is mounting over who will take part in the 2010 series. Coronation Street’s Kym Marsh, actress Stephanie Beacham and rapper MC Hammer are among those rumoured to be participating. Last week, a high court judge upheld a decision by the Probation Service banning singer Boy George from appearing on the show. Journalists were given a sneak peek inside the Big Brother house on Tuesday at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. The redesigned house includes a large living room area with fur rugs, gilded panels, ornate lamps and upholstered couches. Cushions emblazoned with diamante skulls augment the demonic theme, as does a clinical kitchen painted in “autopsy green”. The latter room is decorated with outsized insects in specimen jars that recall Damien Hirst’s famous pickled shark. Other elements include a bathroom dominated by a roll-top bath and an exterior wood-panelled “snug” with leather sofas and a fireplace. Housemates will enter the house via an imposing double staircase, passing walls decorated with a flame motif. “The famous line from Dante’s Inferno is ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’, which has inspired much of what we have done to the house,” said executive producer Shirley Jones. “When the celebrities arrive on Sunday night, they will definitely wonder what is in store for them.” — BBCOnline.
