Four children have been charged with burning down the former set of reality TV show Big Brother, near Dreamworld on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Police allege six children entered the empty house yesterday afternoon to deliberately start a fire, “completely destroying” the house.
The children were seen by witnesses running towards Railway Road where they were located by police a short time later.
The kids charged with arson are aged between 11 and 15. Two nine-year-olds assisted police with their inquiries and were released.
The fire comes just weeks after a YouTuber uploaded a video of the dilapidated set, which seems to have been neglected since the last season was cancelled in 2014.
Abandoned location explorer “MuiTube” posted a 14 minute video of the house that was trashed and graffitied. Days later, a fire was lit at the house, which did not damage the residence, unlike yesterday’s inferno.
The Big Brother house was neglected before it was burned down June 22. Source: YouTube
Thanks for the memories, Big Brother
The children who destroyed the house are barely old enough to remember the landmark reality TV show that ran for eight seasons between 2001 and 2008 (returning briefly between 2012 and 2014).
It rated pretty well for the first seven seasons, averaging more than a million viewers per episode.
The show filmed every moment of a group of people locked in a house together, broadcast the best bits on national TV, and got the public to kick them out one by one.
There is little surprise it was named after George Orwell’s book 1984 which centres on a dystopian future dictated by the all-seeing leader “Big Brother”.
The show did not air without a bit of controversy. This included an alleged sexual assault in 2006, when a housemate ‘turkey slapped’ a woman while in bed. The incident even prompted the Prime Minister at the time John Howard to call on Channel Ten to cancel the show.
The show also platformed a number of people who have gone on to have careers in the media. Season four contestant Ryan Fitzgerald is now a radio show host, Season three contestant Chrissie Swan is a radio show host and has been nominated for a Gold Logie.
And, of course, who can forget 2005 contestant HotDogs, who last year made a brief comeback on the DIY renovation show House Rules.
HotDogs made a brief TV comeback last year. Source: Big Brother/House Rules
