First BB task a stroke of genius

Big Brother contestants were asked to paint lifelike portraits of each other on Saturday afternoon as part of their first collective task.

17:08 29 May 2005

Big Brother contestants were asked to paint lifelike portraits of each other on Saturday afternoon as part of their first collective task.

The housemates were paired up to complete their paintings, with each budding artist getting just half an hour to complete the portrait of their partner.

Bossy Makosi, whose secret Big Brother mission is to irritate her housemates in order to save herself from eviction, was quick to try and wrestle artistic control from political speechwriter, Derek.

"Tell me when you're doing the mouth," she demanded as he started her portrait.

Derek, who earlier in the morning started talking to himself about the benefits a rules regime would bring to the house, would not be swayed by his mouthy muse and announced he would start with her eyebrows first.

Meanwhile hairdresser Craig was horrified to discover that he ended up looking more like Aunt Sally in his portrait after sales girl Lesley made his cheeks a bit too rosy.

Each housemate will now have to explain the inspiration behind their painting.

But while not every Big Brother contestant proved themselves to be a great artist, audience figures will at least reassure the programme's producers that the reality show is more fun than watching paint dry.

A reported 5.8 million people tuned in to watch the launch of the sixth on Friday night.

Although the figure was one million down on last year's viewing figures, Big Brother still romped ahead of reality rival, Celebrity Love Island, which attracted 2.2 million viewers.