House Guest: The Rules

The rules of engagement

Published: Thursday, 1 May 2008, 10:15AM

The guests arrive

One host will take all the newly-arrived guests to see the guest room. This is where they’ll sleep if they are chosen as house guest. What are their reactions? Meanwhile, the co-host is franticly putting finished touches to their starter in the kitchen.

The judging

After dinner, the hosts disappear to clear up in the kitchen, leaving the four guests to discuss the evening together, jury style. They must agree on three marks between them:

A mark out of 10 for FOOD
A mark out of 10 for ATMOSPHERE
A mark out of 10 for TEAMWORK

Who's staying?

Now it’s time to find out who will be staying the night. This person plays a critical role in the marking process, awarding the final mark out of 10 for their overnight experience. The guest who draws the House Guest toothbrush from the holder will be sleeping over. Watch the reaction as the overnight guest reveals themself to the hosts in the kitchen.

Once a guest has slept over at a host’s house, they will be immune from sleeping over again – so everyone will have a go.

Time to say goodbye

As they wave off the other guests, we follow what happens next. Do hosts and houseguest have a good gossip and a whiskey over the washing up, or do they disappear straight off to bed? Will they be camping on a futon, or have they struck gold with their own wing and four poster bed?

We’ll leave a video diary with our houseguest to capture any thoughts they have in the night. Are they convinced the house is haunted? Can they hear their host snoring through the partition wall? Should they flush the loo after midnight?

The morning after

The hosts face their final challenge the following morning. Will they bring their house guest breakfast in bed? Will they cook a full English breakfast? Or can they only offer fried-up left-overs?

After breakfast, the house guest awards their mark - did the house guest feel hospitality extended through the night and into the morning? Are they relaxed and refreshed? Or ready to scarper at first light?

The final mark gives the hosts an overall score out of 40, as will be revealed on our scoreboard. The competitor with the highest mark at the end of the week wins. If two or more hosts are tied on the same high score, the remaining competitors must vote for a winner.

The end of the week – revealing the winner...

On the final morning, after the last house guest has given a mark for their overnight stay, all the couples will arrive at a neutral location to hear who has won the £1,000 prize.

Each couple will be shown their rankings individually. Do they think the results are fair, or are they outraged at where they’ve come in the line up? The couples are invited to come together and toast the winners with a glass of champagne – whether they accept is up to them.