Big Brother
Season 3
Presented by	Gretel Killeen
No. of days	86
No. of housemates	16
Winner	Regina Sorensen
Runner-up	Chrissie Swan
Companion shows	Big Brother Nominations Big Brother: Uncut Big Brother: UpLate The Insider
No. of episodes	122 (+ 55 UpLate + 2 specials)
Release
Original network	Network Ten
Original release	27 April (2003-04-27) – 21 July 2003 (2003-07-21)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 2 Next → Season 4

The third season of the Australian reality television series, Big Brother, also known as Big Brother 2003, lasted 86 days, starting on 27 April 2003 and ending on 21 July 2003. The winner of season 3 was Regina Bird. Regina earned public admiration with her down-to-earth charm and work ethic.^[1] Chrissie Swan was the runner-up for the season and has excelled as an entertainment and media personality since. Bird was the first female winner of the show.

The season follows the same basic format at the prior season - however the twist for the season had housemates starting their Big Brother experience in two separate houses - a "Round House" and a "Square House". On Night 22, all Housemates were locked into their respective bedrooms and a construction crew spent the night merging the two houses and revealing the hidden swimming pool and kitchen that had been in between the two smaller houses. Housemates were released into their new combined house on the morning of Day 23. Later in the day, a bathroom linking the two bedrooms was revealed. This was also the first season in which cameras were completely hidden for the first time in this season. Previously some cameras were visible to housemates and at times housemates were aware of the camera tracking their movements.

Two new shows were introduced:

• UpLate hosted by Mike Goldman. Mike Goldman was best known for doing the voiceovers in the daily show. UpLate was broadcast late at night showing live vision from the house with minimal editing.
• The Insider hosted by Tim Ferguson was a panel-type show with additional gossip and discussion about the show. Frequently the week's evicted housemate would be one of the show's guests.

The Tower of Terror is displayed, and the logos of Dreamworld, Big Brother Australia, Network Ten and a map of Australia turns into a housemate-selection machine. We go through the orange bedroom, through the blue bathroom for a shower, through to the blue control room, to the edit section where footage from the diary room is being edited to be shown on the show before progressing to the garden (or the Big Brother Australia yellow stage for Nominations and Evictions). We then go to the purple kitchen, and three housemates are up for nomination the red housemate gets the most votes. The pink dining room is broadcast to a person on the internet at home. After 85 days, a winner is selected.

Fourteen Housemates entered during the first week of the series and were sent to one of two houses - the Square house (which was on the right of the compound) originally featured Belinda, Jaime, Irena, Carlo and Claire with Vincent and Saxon joining later in the week. After Ben entered the Round house on Day 1, Joanne, Regina, Chrissie, Daniel, Patrick and Leah were progressively admitted over the first week.

Notes

Regina Bird returned to compete again on Big Brother 2022,^[2] and won, making Regina the first player of Big Brother Australia to win twice.

In February 2015, Chrissie Swan appeared on the first season of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, finishing in third place.^[3] She also appeared on Celebrity MasterChef Australia, being first to be eliminated.^[4]

Regina Bird appeared on the 11th season of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, and finished as runner-up.

On Day 68, Anouska Golebiewski, the first evictee on Big Brother UK 4 entered the Big Brother Australia house. She left on Day 78, having stayed for 10 days, 2 days longer than her time as a Housemate in the Big Brother UK House.

Colour key:

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Approximately 45 minutes before the live premiere, Queensland police detective Brett Jensen withdrew from the series after being advised by Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson that taking part would be “unprofessional” and not in the interests of the service. Despite knowing of his withdrawal, Network Ten did not initially inform viewers or media outlets, and Jensen was still described as the “official” sixteenth housemate.^[7] Tamara, a travel agent and the 16th housemate, appeared on the Launch show but did not enter the house as she was a decoy for the public. Both were from Queensland.

A major incident during the 2003 series involved a scandal surrounding housemate Belinda Thorpe, later referred to by the media as “Belindagate.” After a night of drinking, Thorpe confided to fellow contestant Carlo and Vincent that her younger sister had been involved in the murder of a homosexual man, and gave a graphic account of the circumstances of the victim's death. The conversation was not initially audible to production due to whispering, but when Carlo relayed the information to the other housemates, the details including the use of her sister's name were captured on the live internet stream. Because identifying a minor involved in an active court case is illegal in Queensland, the broadcast was cut within seconds and left blank for several hours, but only after the information had aired.^[8] Disturbed by the account, other participants repeatedly questioned Thorpe for further information.^[9][10]

The concern did not stem from Thorpe's graphic reference to the homicide itself—proceedings against her sister were already underway—but rather from her disclosure of her underage sister's identity, which constituted a legal violation by publicly identifying a minor involved in an active trial. The revelation caused a legal crisis for Endemol Southern Star and Network Ten and online discussion about the incident quickly spread. A few weeks later, Belinda withdrew from the house, though not solely as a result of the incident, becoming the first contestant in the program’s history to leave voluntarily.^[11] The episode subsequently triggered a surge of complaints and hostile correspondence directed at the show's official website. Producers later acknowledged the event in Daily Show 13, and an edited version was included in Big Brother Uncut except in Queensland, where it was omitted entirely.^[12] Thorpe’s sister was later convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.^[9]

Former UK contestant Anouska Golebiewski, who had been evicted from the British edition after one week, entered the house on day 68. Shortly after entering the house, she participated in a scene in the hot tub with fellow contestants Patrick and Vincent. During the interaction, Golebiewski removed her bikini top and engaged in playful and flirtatious behavior with the two housemates, including close physical contact such as nibbling their ears and briefly placing Vincent's head against her chest. The male contestants allegedly appeared awkward during the interaction, showing some hesitation as Golebiewski engaged in flirtatious behavior. The scene received significant attention in British media coverage of the program due to its provocative nature, particularly as Golebiewski was reported to be in a relationship at the time.^[13]

In addition to the above post season specials, a number of special episodes also aired during the original run of the season. These included:

Anouska Golebiewski from the Big Brother 4 (UK) house joins the house as a guest.

• Behind Big Brother Archive - Season 3; Updates, Daily Shows and Diary Room Visits