Tonight will see the tenth year of the social phenomenon that is Big Brother return to our screens and any contestants hoping for a luxurious five star experience will receive a rude awakening tonight, when one by one they take the walk through the hostile crowd and into the house where they face a potential 13 weeks of hell as this year is anticipated to be the toughest Big Brother yet.

The 16 contestants, who have been kept away from the media for the past few weeks, are billed by Channel 4 as the “most diverse group yet”, coming from a number of different countries and ranging in age from 18 to 40.

But this year the eight male and eight female inhabitants of the house have been told that they are not official housemates until they have earned the title by completing a series of tasks over the next three days. Until they are officially Big Brother 10 housemates they will not receive their suitcases along with their personal belongings, the “contestants” will only have access to the Big Brother compound’s living room, which has no beds or creature comforts apart from a toilet and the garden for some much needed fresh air. The “contestants” three day torture will be compiled by only being able to wash using an outside bath, which can only be filled with cold water using a hole-ridden bucket.

Once fully fledged housemates they will be competing for a £100,000 prize. The show, which launches tonight at 9pm on Channel 4, is due to run for 13 weeks, ending at the beginning of September.