Grande Fratello VIP is the celebrity version of Grande Fratello, the Italian edition of the Big Brother reality television franchise. Based on the original Dutch format created by Endemol, it places a group of celebrity housemates in a house under constant surveillance, where viewers can watch them around the clock and vote them out. The show belongs to the wider Big Brother franchise, which takes its name from the omnipresent figure in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Format and rules
Housemates live together in a house fitted with numerous cameras and microphones that record their every move. They can visit the confessional at any time of the day, either to speak privately with the producers or to make nominations. Each week they take part in tasks that set their food budget or can affect that week's nominations. The overall aim is to be the last housemate remaining and claim the prize fund.
Origins of the title
The title draws on Orwell's novel, in which a figure called Big Brother monitors the inhabitants of the totalitarian state of Oceania through cameras. The novel's slogan, Big Brother is watching you, inspired the show, since within the house Big Brother holds total control over the situation.