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Know what the Big Brother house smells like, touch the towels that the contestants will use, share some time with the celebrities who for a few months (or weeks if they are not lucky) will show their embarrassments in prime time or put your hand in the jacuzzi that so many television moments gives edition after edition. It is the dream of any fan of the 'king of reality shows' and THE WORLD has been able to live the experience. Big Brother VIPhas returned to the television grid, become the great bet of Mediaset for the season after four years of hiatus, and minutes before it opens its doors we visit the most mediatic house of TV and the ins and outs that are cooked behind it.

As soon as we enter we face one of the most enigmatic voices on television: that of the famous Super. This is Floren Abad, who in addition to being the voice of conscience of the program, is the executive producer of the format. He is one of those in charge of giving us the guided tour of this mansion of 750square meters located in Guadalix de la Sierra. "We have changed the distribution for this return. The structure has nothing to do with it," he says. This year, as a novelty, they have simulated several elevators that will act as a time machine. "It's our DeLorean, you can go to different times, different times in your life," he adds.

There is barely half an hour left for the premiere of the program and a woman quickly scrubs the floor of the living room. It smells like a mix between new and freshly painted and some guys give the last construction finishes here and there. The living room does not lack detail. In front of the sofa (which is harder than it seems) on a huge screen already sports the logo of the program. Far from looking like an 'Ikea house', the personality of the chosen furniture is striking, and a striking open kitchen in fuchsia, blue and yellow tones that is the main protagonist. They do not let us recreate much or take photos, but I manage to open one of the cabinets, in which I find a brand new mixer perfectly placed.

On the countertop there is fresh fruit prepared that shines so much that it looks like plastic -but it is not-, a kettle and several reusable water bottles. Agus Cantero, Director of Image of Banijay Iberia, explains that this year they have reduced the use of plastic and have opted for recycled elements. The tables in the living room, for example, are made with materials from recycled washing machines.

They do not want the house to look like a set, so they have designed it with construction materials – in other words, the walls are not made of papier-mâché – and have filled it with details that will not appear before the cameras but that are designed to make the contestants feel at home. Plants in inaccessible corners, spray air fresheners scattered throughout the rooms, a fully equipped gym with weights of all kinds or bathrobes with the logo of the embroidered program hidden from a closet. In addition, the contestants will enjoy two large gardens, one of them with the already mythical jacuzzi -and yes, the water is hot-. "Whenever there's a mirror, there's a camera," Cantero recalls.

140 microphones and 64 cameras pending 24 hours a day

It is to look up at that moment and see mirrors in all rooms, but so well integrated that it is not strange. In total, there are 140 microphones and 64 cameras pending at all times of the contestants: 56 of them robotic and eight studio that hide behind the mirrors. Robotic cameras are where you least expect them. Integrated into a shelf next to several decorative figures, in the hallway, above the kitchen counter, above the dressing table or in the corners of the bedrooms. It is striking that they are located especially low, at approximately 1.50 in height.

"I want to run away from the surveillance camera. Big Brother is about telling stories and I like to do it from the point of view that we all have: to make contrapicados, to see the ceilings ...", says Marta Fernández de Bobadilla, head of realization of the program. As he explains, the contestant forgets that there are cameras on the second day of being in the house. "At first you see that he looks at them, but then you see everything you think ... don't they know that we are recording them? It's amazing," he recalls. To do this, she herself is responsible for indicating well in advance where she wants each camera to go so that, when building the house, they integrate them as best as possible into the space.

There are only two places where privacy is assured: the toilet and the shower. In a rectangular cubicle with its own door (which the cameras do not pass) we see a small shower tray with glass screen. There is a phosphorite orange terry mat placed right in front, waiting for the first celebrity who wants to shower – or be absent for a while from the spotlight. The showers are inside the vanity, in which perfectly placed await several electric blue towels.

In the bedrooms, which stand out for huge windows to encourage the entry of natural light, the beds are ready for the confidences and adventures of their guests. I look forward to sitting on them to see if they are comfortable, and also to visit the confessional. As there are few minutes left for the contestants to enter and everything is ready for them, they do not let us.

But in Guadalix de la Sierra there is not only the house of Big Brother. Around it is distributed a network of warehouses converted into offices for the editors of the program (which even have a dining room) and huge warehouses that they use to store decorations or material used for the tests of the program. All this preceded by a parking lot in which employees' cars are interspersed, a huge white limousine that transports the contestants and an ambulance to use in case of emergency. In total, 180 people work in the house, divided into shifts to keep an eye on the contestants 24 hours a day.

Red carpet waiting for the contestants. Mediaset

In the surroundings of the house, there are dozens of corridors full of cables through which cameras and editors go from here to there in the dark during the recording of the program. The nerves are palpable in the environment. "Sometimes, during the program, things that were planned fall or something very interesting happens and you stay there and you ignore something else, but this is the entrance gala, there are no established plots, so everything is very staggered," says the head of production. After 20 years working on 'the eye that sees everything', for her the program is "like a son".

It may seem that the most complicated part of her job is to be attentive to the six dozen cameras that are scattered around the house and choose in which of them the most interesting thing is happening, but the worst thing is to identify the voices. "Although they are known people, there are so many that you say... who has spoken now? Especially the first week," he explains. What surprises him most edition after edition is "the lack of modesty" of the contestants, who on the second day are "at home". "At the gala they suddenly arrange themselves as if they were going to appear for the first time on television and you say... But if we have seen you just raised, "he recalls with a laugh.

Karina upon arrival at the house. Mediaset

To make the experience complete, far from being a mere editor who has come to write these lines, they invite us to go on screen. Along with other journalists, I occupy the front row behind the red carpet located in front of the entrance door of GH's house and I see some of the contestants, such as Pedro García Aguado, Carmen Alcayde or Jessica Bueno. Between commercial breaks, Marta Flich (the new presenter of the space), welcomes them live on a giant screen located in front of them.

Every time a limousine occupied by a celebrity arrives, Raúl, alderman of the program, asks for cheers and applause both to us and to the dozen extras who are behind pretending to be public crowded at the doors of the house. "The person who is going to come down now is very famous," he advances shortly before an excited Karina gets out of the limousine. And so we spent a good part of the night in which we discovered some of the best kept secrets behind the king of reality shows.

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