As Britain’s voyeurs gear up for the start of Big Brother 9 this week, Hitlist peeps through the curtains at five other people-watching feasts . . .

Endurance
More famous than Big Brother in its homeland, Japan, the reality show that started it all was first seen in Britain as a curio on Clive James’s TV show in the 1980s. Endurance gave us the template for all the ickiest bits of I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here.

Shattered
This somewhat sadistic seven-dayer on Channel 4 had 10 contestants trying to win £100,000 – by not sleeping. Predictably they all went a bit mental, with one chap rambling on about being the prime minister of Australia.

Back to Reality
It looked like a rare Five masterstroke, but this 2004 series featuring former reality contestants was a flop. Back to Reality was the place to see Nasty Nick Bateman (Big Brother), Rik Waller (Pop Idol) and James Hewitt (The Games) spend three weeks together in a posh mansion.

Loft Story
France’s take on the strangers-in-a-room concept was a ratings hit when it launched in 2001 but soon came in for press criticism for dumbing down TV. Next, the government insisted on contestants – who were trying to win a house – getting two hours’ privacy a day.

Mad Mad House
Turning up the weirdness to the nth degree, the Sci Fi channel’s 2004 oddity pitted a witch, a vampire and a naturist against each other to win $100,000 (£50,000). Amusingly, an African religious group sued producers for “demeaning” voodoo.