You did auditions through You Tube this year, how do you think they went? Do you think it reached a new type of auditionee?
We were totally blown away by the response to our online auditions. For our first attempt at anything like this to become the most successful upload contest that YouTube have ever run with a partner in the UK is amazing. We had a huge range of people apply, from hard core Big Brother fans to an entirely difference audience, people who were unlikely to attend our nationwide open auditions.

Can you tell us anything about the new house or the new housemates; it’s usually shrouded in secrecy?
I would hate to be the one to spoil the magic of our launch show, when our fans get to see exactly who will be stepping out of their car and what their new home is going to look like for the first time. What I can say is that even after 10 different houses and over 140 housemates, Big Brother has found some never-seen-before characters and our new housemates might just be in for a shock…

What do you look for in a housemate?
There’s no magic formula for a potential housemate, but each of them has to provoke some kind of reaction in you when you meet them. You might find something intriguing about them and want to know more… or you just may never want to see them again!

How much time do you actually spend with the potential housemates before deciding whether they should enter the house? Do they always turn out how you expected once the show starts?
The Big Brother producers do the most amazing job in finding out pretty much everything there is to know about the potential housemates and spending time with them in a variety of situations. However, even with all the time and research in the world, you never really know how a housemate will react once they are in the house and once they have met their fellow housemates… and that’s what I think is the most exciting part of Big Brother.

Now in its tenth series what do you think it is that keeps the show successful?
It’s down to the housemates pure and simple. No one year of Big Brother is like any other because of the housemates. If we do our job and find some fascinating and infuriating new folk to spend our summer with, then the series keeps feeling fresh.

After ten years do you have a favourite series? What or who has made the show a good experience for you?
I honestly don’t think I can pick one series as my favourite. But, if I could create my own fantasy Big Brother series, it would probably have the fun and games of Kate, Johnny and Jade from Big Brother 3, with the agonising relationship drama of Rex and Nicole from last year, all under the evil eye of Big Brother from series 5, complete with cold showers and sprinklers in the garden!

If you had to describe Big Brother as a person what would you say?
Big Brother is like that teacher at school who you could never get the better of… and secretly had a small crush on.