Big Brother is back and he’s wasting no time putting his housemates through their paces.
With a new house, new challenges and new strategies, it’s going to be tougher than ever before to be the last one standing this time around.
WATCH: Big Brother exes Katie and Max both enter the house
Big Brother Australia 2021 has finally kicked into gear and we’re watching as closely as the games master (well, almost) to see who has what it takes to make it to the end.
The new nominations challenges, as well as classic side tasks from Big Brother himself, will see the housemates put through the absolute wringer, physically and mentally, to stay in the competition.
Whoever wins the nominations challenges gets to nominate three housemates for eviction. After that, it’s up to the contestants to decide who gets to stay and who’s out of the race.
It’s a system that leads to many cunning alliances and even potential backstabbing, all in the name of being the last one standing in the new-and-improved Big Brother house.
Scroll down to see who has left the competition.
Max
The first housemate to get sent packing was Gold Coast ironman Max after Renata just beat him in a nominations challenge and considered him to be a big threat in the house.
After that it was up to Daniel and Nick to choose whether to send Max, Christina, Melissa, or no one, home.
While Nick wasn’t keen on eliminating any of the three, “loose cannon” Daniel voted Max out of the race, forcing the ironman said his final goodbyes.
Speaking to our sister site New Idea, Max revealed why he thought Daniel sent him packing, stating, “I didn’t get voted out because I was hated, I got voted out because one guy was scared, that’s all”.
Flex
The second eliminated housemate was social media queen Flex Mami. Fans of Flex, real name Lillian Ahenkan, were excited to see the podcasting guru and TikToker dominate the Big Brother social game but were shocked to see she was quite reserved and shy. As she said in the episode, “my game is to be a bit of a chiller,” but tragically that didn’t work.
In the second elimination, outback mum Mel McGorman, 33, nominated Flex, 66-year-old fashion designer Sarah-Jane, and 27-year-old Australian Ninja Warrior star Katie Williams. While SJ pleaded her case by confessing to the group her struggles to open up to people, the social media influencer was tragically eliminated for not being social enough.
“And just like that, she’s GONE!!!” Flex wrote on Instagram. “Issa travesty.” Truly, it is.
While her time on Big Brother was short, she will be remembered for that memed face of hers when she was stuck up a seven-metre pole.
Renata
Third to leave the house was 45-year-old nursing student Renata.
After new housemate Jess won the nominations challenge, she placed Renata, Sid and Melissa up for eviction, even after telling Melissa she wouldn’t.
Ultimately, the housemates voted Renata out of the competition.
Speaking to Now To Love, Renata revealed she “knew (she) had a target on (her) back” but it was upsetting nonetheless.
Michael
Michael barely got his bearings in the Big Brother house before the marketing consultant had to pack his bags.
After the blue team triumphed over the red team in the nominations challenge, the victorious housemates put Michael, Mary and Tilly up for eviction.
Mary’s cooking skills secured her place in the house and “play smart, act dumb” Tilly’s emotional pleas also tugged at some heartstrings, meaning Michael drew the short straw and was evicted from the competition.
In an interview with New Idea, Michael revealed that contestant Sarah Jane isn’t exactly who she claimed to be in the house.
“I remember SJ saying she doesn’t watch TV, she doesn’t really use social media, she just does her own thing. But then I get out of the house and I was so shocked that she had this huge social media following and I was like… ‘what is this SJ?’.” the evictee dished.
Christopher
And for his final trick… magician Christopher has disappeared from the competition.
After Tilly and Melissa won the balancing balls nominations challenge, they placed Charlotte, Sarah Jane and Christopher up for eviction.
In the end, it came down to Chris and Charlotte, but the stylist lived to see another day in the house, while 37-year-old Chris was sent packing by his fellow contestants.
As for why he was voted out, “master manipulator” Ari claimed his personal reason for evicting Chris was his vocation as a magician, suggesting he should “get a real job”.
Carlos
School teacher Carlos has been dismissed from the Big Brother classroom.
After Tilly won the nominations challenge (again!), the 21-year-old faux-ditsy student nominated Carlos, along with Jess and Charlotte.
From here, the alliances came out to play. Charlotte, a safe choice, was entirely free from the firing line, and Sarah Jane and Mary managed to convince Sid to rally their fellow housemates to keep Jess safe, leaving Carlos as the next to go.
Speaking with New Idea, Carlos said that he while he was a positive ray of sunshine on our screens, he struggled to gain a proper alliance that would keep him in the competition. And, the person he thinks was his “public enemy one?” Ari.
“I didn’t match with certain personalities” Carlos reveals to New Idea. “I tried, but I’m not close with Ari. I didn’t really have a connection with him.”
Mitchell
After Tilly won yet another nominations challenge, she put Sid, SJ and Mitchell on the chopping block.
Despite his desperate pleas to his fellow contestants, in which he compared them to his favourite birds, Mitch’s roomies sent him flying from the Big Brother nest.
In an interview with New Idea, Mitchell confessed that what we saw on screen wasn’t completely accurate, especially when it came to some of his bonds in the house.
“I had a really crappy relationship with SJ (Sarah Jane) in the house.” Mitch told us. “It started off nice, but I didn’t really get along with her well and they didn’t show that at all – me talking about her in the diary room or anything like that.”
Nick
After key player Katie won the nominations challenge, she placed Nick, Melissa and Ari up for eviction.
As a Hail Mary move to save herself, Melissa voted for her fellow alliance member Nick to be evicted.
The lovable larrikin sadly ended up with the most votes and was sent packing; at least he got to return to the most important thing in his life, his dog Edwina… and his wife Lara, of course.
Melissa
A day after Melissa voted her alliance-buddy Nick out of the house, the farm-girl was sent packing herself.
After “master manipulator” Ari won the nominations challenge, the law student placed Daniel, Melissa and “safe vote” Marley up for eviction.
While key player Daniel has certainly ruffled a few feathers around the house, the contestants saw Mel as more of a threat, voting her out of the competition.
Katie
After key player Daniel swindled his way into a fake alliance with the seemingly unbreakable trio: Katie, Marley and Jess, the real estate agent convinced basketballer Marley to place Katie up for eviction along with Charlotte and Ari.
In the end, Katie was too much of a threat to keep around the house and her fellow contestants booted her from the show.
Since leaving the social experiment, Katie dished to New Idea about her experience, revealing, “It was so much harder than I expected. You cannot prepare for that show. Big Brother throws so many twists and turns, it’s such an emotional roller coaster.”
Alex
Despite newbie Charlotte originally rallying contestants to keep her sister Alex in the competition, when the twins had to battle it out for the final intruder spot in the house, Alex made the ultimate sacrifice to keep her sister in the competition.
Forfeiting the challenge, Alex assured Charlotte a place in the house, packing her own bags and heading home to her boyfriend.
Charlotte
After intruder Mitch won the nominations challenge, he placed Ari, Charlotte and Gabe up for eviction. However, Ari was spared from the chopping block due to a technical fault making it impossible for him to win the challenge.
As a result, it came down to sassy stylist Charlotte and shy new-comer Gabe. In the end, Charlotte was voted out by her fellow housemates.
Gabe
Despite being saved from eviction, intruder Gabe voluntarily left the competition after confessing to Big Brother that he was “struggling” with the experience.
Mitch
After breaking a record by winning her fifth challenge, key player Tilly placed 27-year-old Mitch on the eviction chopping block, along with the “walking dead” Christina and Brenton.
In the end, the lovebirds were saved while the FIFO worker was sent packing.
Speaking to New Idea about his Big Brother experience, Mitch claimed that, while he dominated the games-master’s tasks, Tilly is the real “challenge beast”.
“She is an absolute beast in the challenges and played the social game really smart,” Mitch explained. “So I came across looking like the challenge beast but she ended up taking more wins than me. As soon as I got in I just started pretty much killing it – I sort of let her fly under the radar while I was there”.
Brenton
After Marley, Mary, Tilly, Charlotte and Adriana won the nominations challenge, the victors placed Sarah Jane, Christina and Brenton up for eviction.
Ultimately, despite his cooking chops, it was the latecomer Brenton, 31, that was sent packing from the competition.
In an interview with New Idea, Brenton confessed that, although his romance with Christina potentially had a hand in his elimination, he has no regrets about how things played out.
“I definitely don’t regret that part of it,” Brenton said. “I think I could have gone home anyway regardless of whether I was with Christina or not.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the intruders are getting picked off one by one, especially anyone that’s got physical abilities.”
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Jess
She may have been top dog in the house for a while, but Jess’ reign officially came to an end after Christina won the nominations challenge, placing the AFL star in the firing line along with Ari and Sarah Jane.
However, after Daniel won the power to hide a nominee of his choosing in the underground cave, he saved Ari, meaning the housemates had to vote between Jess and Sarah Jane. In the end, the 66-year-old lived to see another day in the house while Jess was sent packing.
In an interview with New Idea, Ari dished that the evictee and her nominator Christina struggled to gel while in the house.
“Jess and Christina are not friends at all, they can’t stand each other,” Ari told us.
Mary
After fan-favourite housemate Marley placed Mary up for eviction, along with Christina and Ari, he was sure the chef would survive another day in the Big Brother house. The 56-year-old, however, was sent packing.
Speaking to New Idea, the beloved cook explained she knew her days were numbered.
1“I knew from the night before I was leaving,” Mary said, “I’d already packed my stuff. My gut was telling me. When Sonia said ‘Mary, what do you think?’ I said, ‘Sonia, I know I’m being blindsided’.
Charlotte
After Tilly won yet ANOTHER nominations challenge, she placed Adriana and Christina up for eviction. The third nominee was chosen by the heads of house, Sarah Jane and Danny, who selected intruder Charlotte to face the chopping block.
In the end, Charlotte got the most votes and was kicked out of the competition.
Tilly
After a couple of fake evictions in which Tilly and Ari were banished to Big Brother’s room of mirrors, the two housemates were finally forced to battle it out for a spot in the competition.
In the end, luck was not on Tilly’s side as she selected the box with a red gem inside, effectively eliminating the threat from the competition while Ari survived another day in the game.
Adriana
The last intruder Adriana was sent packing after challenge-winner Danny nominated her for eviction along with Sarah Jane and Christina.
SJ guaranteed her safety after she won a puzzle challenge, meaning the housemates had to vote to evict either Adriana or Christina.
In the end, the OG was granted another day in the house while the intruder was booted from the competition.
Sid
After Christina won the nominations challenge, the flight attendant thought it was only fair that three boys be nominated – considering the previous night had been all girls. As such, the 22-year-old placed Daniel, Sid and, much to his surprise, her close pal Ari up for eviction.
The boys battled it out in a second chance showdown which saw Danny guarantee his safety, leaving it down to Sid and Ari. In the end, the artist was sent packing from the competition.
Daniel
One of Big Brother Australia’s best game players to date, Daniel Hayes, was booted from the show in what was dramatically deemed a “blindside”.
3After Ari placed the real estate agent up for eviction alongside Sarah Jane, the master manipulator rallied Christina to send one of the biggest threats packing from the house.
And “the rat”, as Big Brother calls him, succeeded.
Throughout his time on the reality show, Danny would continuously say “it’s just a game” whenever a contestant was voted out. And it seems he has kept that mentality following his own exit, with the real estate agent telling New Idea that Ari simply “outplayed” him.
“Ari’s strategy was to lie. He had to do what he needed to do to make it to the podium and he outplayed me, it’s that simple. He just went back on his word.”
Ari
Big Brother’s “master manipulator” just missed out on a spot in the final three.
During the game’s final challenge, after finishing the first few obstacles in record time, the 22-year-old stumbled at the final puzzle, eventually losing to Marley.
The basketballer then had to choose who out of Ari, Christina and Sarah Jane he wished to send home. In the end, Marley sent Ari packing from the competition.
4Now that the final three have been chosen, it’s all up to the viewers to vote for who wins in tomorrow’s live finale.
This story originally appeared on our sister site, New Idea.
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