The first season of the reality game show Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition (retroactively known as Celebrity Edition 1 after the season ended to differentiate it from the second celebrity season) premiered on the ABS-CBN network on February 5, 2006 and ran for 56 days until April 1, 2006.[1]
The season was originally scheduled to start a day before (February 4, 2006), but due to the Wowowee ULTRA stampede that happened earlier that day, the management rescheduled the premiere on the next day. Due to this, Willie Revillame dropped his hosting stint from the show.
Keanna Reeves won the season, while John Prats was the runner-up. Bianca Gonzalez and Zanjoe Marudo were the finalists.
The program is produced and can be seen through ABS-CBN, Studio 23, the show's 24/7 cable channel, and the internet (ABS-CBN Now).
The Big Brother house that is used on this edition is the same as the house used on the first season, although there were some changes in the house's interior.
The concept for this series is going back to basics. On the first day the Big Brother House initially had no furniture or appliances, with the exception of the plasma TV and the refrigerator. Part of this series' concept was forcing the housemates to use a stick for brushing their teeth, clay jars and an outdoor kitchen for cooking, bare hands for eating, and a water pump for potable water. All pieces of furniture provided to them were even made of bamboo.
After two weeks, Big Brother lifted the "Back to Basics" concept after seeing the housemates adapting to the said lifestyle, despite difficulties. The Forbidden Room, a pink-walled room with beds and mattresses reserved only for eviction nominees, became the ladies' bedroom, while the bamboo beds in the eventual men's bedroom were suddenly covered with mattresses. Earlier, they were provided with a microwave oven, an electric stove, utensils, and some toothbrushes and were allowed to use the swimming pool at any time, as well as wearing footwear indoors. Later, sofas replaced the bamboo benches in the living room.
Toni Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez reprised their roles for this season. Willie Revillame was also supposed to reprise his role as host but withdrew due to the Wowowee ULTRA stampede that happened a day before the season's premiere.
Talk show host Boy Abunda hosted the Big Debate, a debate show which celebrity supporters of the four housemates debate on who should be the winner of the series. The debate was held two nights before the Big Night.
The prizes at stake cost three million Philippine pesos, which includes a million pesos for the winning housemate, another million for the winner's chosen charity, and another million for the charity of Big Brother's choice. Aside from the cash prizes, a condominium unit in Valenzuela City is also at stake.
The show began with a welcome party along Manila Bay. They were transported by yacht before the chosen housemates was formally introduced and were taken to the Big Brother House. A prayer that is led by Jesuit priest Fr. Tito Caluag, S.J., a minute of silence and a performance of "You Raise Me Up" were done before the show started to commemorate those who have been affected by the Wowowee stampede. Furthermore, Myx VJ Luis Manzano played pinch hitter for Willie Revillame, who was at the time still devastated by the said stampede.
Below are the housemates who are introduced in the Grand Welcome Party. Rather than twelve in the original edition, fourteen were chosen for this edition and are listed below in order of introduction. Days before the Grand Welcome Party, only their feet were shown. However, in the morning of the Grand Welcome Party's new date, the Philippine Star prematurely published a full-page advertisement showing the new housemates in full view.
^Note 1 : With Angela's exit on Day 12, the eviction on Day 14 was canceled and was made into a nomination night. ^Note 2 : Big Brother automatically put up for Eviction the nominees from the previous nominations, whom were saved after Angela's exit. ^Note 3 : Big Brother automatically nominated Christian and Rustom for their violations, and therefore only the housemate with the highest nomination points was included in the list of nominees. ^Note 4 : Open voting for the Big 4 was announced after Budoy's exit.
The four remaining housemates, were taken to the Manila Post Office from the Big Brother house in Quezon City by a limousine. They were then sequestered in a secret location before the actual live final.
The finale was held on April 1, 2006, at the Manila Post Office building on Lawton, Manila. In the final tally, Keanna Reeves was declared the Big Winner, garnering 44.2% of the vote (571,607 votes). John Prats came in second with 28.8% (372,198 votes), Bianca Gonzalez in third with 19% (245,594 votes), while Zanjoe Marudo exited first (and therefore came in last) with 8% (103,422 votes).