The Big Breakfast

That new living room with the extended bar looked so much better than the next new look which came just 4 months later!

I’ve still wondered why they gave the living room that mini refresh. Had the 2001 relaunch been in the planning before then?

A new look seemed to be an annual thing from 1996 onwards (and three times in the space of 8-9 months over 2000/2001), but I don't recall them making big changes in the early years. I think the chairs turned from yellow to green when Zoe arrived and the decor was certainly changed at some point in the first four years, but certainly not annually and I don't think they ever redid the whole house in one go.

You'd have thought so considering they knew Johnny was quitting and they'd bought Denise back specifically for his last few months. I don't think they had revamped in Sept 1999 so maybe they felt they needed to do something after 2 years with the same look, but you'd have thought they could wait four months.

At that stage the axe was hanging over it. It was a genuine consideration to bring back Denise for a swansong and end the show in January 2001.

A clip from Friday 11th October 1996 complete with version 2 of the opening and closing titles. Can't tell if this has been filmed from the TV screen or captured properly.

It looks filmed from the TV screen, although ironically is better quality than a lot of other BB clips.

I was positive that the fly-in titles were in use by October! What a mess of a relaunch. At least the 2001 relaunch was slick.

That said, the house looks a lot better than show one of the relaunch and it feels a bit more like the BB again. Interesting to see "Challenge Anorak" because that style of item introduced in 1996 would remain throughout the rest of the show's run. A lot of the format changes introduced were enduring throughout the Vaughan years.

Sharon clearly didn't want to be there - she didn't even take her coat off!

Another what if but just wonder if Sharon had dropped out before the relaunch and Denise been parachuted in to host if Rick and Denise might just have worked out.

Denise wasn't great alongside Rick when they did host together. When she was first brought into the house she was a classic 90s stage school kids TV presenter, just rattling through the script and it took time for her real personality to shine through. I think the way it happened allowed Denise to build up some confidence as host in time for Johnny's arrival.

I wonder why they had 3 presenters that day? Richard Orford was doing a re-launched version of the family of the week where he stayed with them instead of them being at the house. Unless they dropped that format like they did the telecopter and bought Richard in to the house too like with Denise.

I still quite like the art deco look, the back of the house looks much better here then it did a month ago.

Isn't The Big Decision 'Judge The Grudge' under a new name?

He returned to the house with the family every Friday.

The Big Decision dated back to the Chris and Gaby era, they ran alternately. Judge The Grudge settled disputes between two people, The Big Decision solved a personal dilemma. I remember the first of the latter because it was some bloke saying "shall I get a dog or a girlfriend", and after it Evans decided he was a terrible bloke and, after the show of hands between the two options, he said "Hands up who thinks he doesn't deserve either!", and then refused to talk to him on the phone.

Richard Orford came into the house every Friday in the 1996 relaunch, he was with the Family of the Week in their house from Monday to Thursday, and then the family and Orford came into the house on Friday. But as I've said before, Orford did loads in the house on Fridays, not just with the family, which led me to assume they'd already decided Rick and Sharron weren't going to work and they needed some other people in there sharpish.