Big Brother Israel — Season 10 (2020)

The 2020 season began on January 1, before the coronavirus crisis transformed daily life and the show's production arrangements.[1][2] Its premise placed contestants together in a house monitored continuously by cameras, with participants permitted to communicate only with one another and normally isolated from outside news.[3]

The house was located in Neve Ilan and was the new facility's second season in use.[4][5] Fourteen contestants entered at the beginning of the season, while a later group joined approximately a month and a half afterward.[6] As Israel introduced broad restrictions in response to COVID-19, the contrast between the contestants' isolation and events outside the house became a defining feature of the season.[3][2]

Throughout the early weeks of the season, contestants remained largely unaware of the COVID-19 crisis developing outside the house.[3] The Israeli edition was described as one of four international versions of Big Brother still being filmed as the pandemic accelerated in early 2020.[3]

On March 17, after most of the original contestants had spent 77 days isolated from outside news, production informed the housemates about the coronavirus situation in Israel and abroad and delivered reassuring messages from their families.[2] An episode documenting the disclosure was scheduled to air during that week.[1] The decision represented an exceptional departure from the program's usual rule that housemates remain disconnected from external events.[2][7]

Contestant Paul Chagyan, who chose to leave the house and enter home quarantine, described the jarring transition upon his departure: "When I came down the stairs from the 'Big Brother' house, I had the feeling that something bad was happening in the country, but I didn't realise how much. I was disappointed because I wanted to go out, drink beer, meet friends, relax a bit outside. Now I feel like I left the 'Big Brother' seclusion for my house."[3]

One of the season's major storylines centered on Lior Duak's relationships with Yarden Adri and Tikva Gideon. Adri's feelings for Duak, followed by his growing closeness to Gideon, contributed to a turbulent romantic triangle and conflict among the contestants.[6][8] Gideon also developed a large base of public supporters whose votes helped carry her to the million-shekel prize.[8]

Gideon, who was 31 years old at the time of her victory and managed a restaurant in Holon, made an immediate impression by entering the house wearing a fake pregnant belly as part of a secret production task.[5] Her season also included an early controversy involving Oren Hazan's statement that doors were closing for her, a remark she revisited after winning.[5]

Odelia Suissa was a notable late entrant. Although she joined approximately a month and a half after the opening, she reached the final and finished fifth, outlasting early entrants including Lior Duak, Yossi Orfali, and Adam Eliouf.[6]

The finale was held on April 4, 2020, during Israel's broad COVID-19 lockdown and without an in-person audience.[2] Ynet described it as the first Big Brother Israel finale conducted without a crowd. Viewers instead participated from their homes through Zoom.[7]

The five finalists were Tikva Gideon, Yarden Adri, Asif Elkayam, Gadi Panibilov, and Odelia Suissa.[5] The final ranking placed Gideon first, Adri second, Elkayam third, Panibilov fourth, and Suissa fifth.[2] Gideon received a prize of one million shekels.[7]

The finale drew a 25.2% prime-time rating.[4] Maariv reported that it was the most-watched Big Brother finale since the Israeli television-market merger and represented a 28% increase over the rating for the 2019 VIP finale.[4]

The season premiere drew a 23.1% rating, while the season as a whole averaged 17.4%.[4] Maariv characterized the seasonal average as the weakest recorded by the format up to that point, contrasting with the finale's stronger performance.[4]

After her victory, Gideon said she had received numerous messages from full-figured women who felt inspired by her on-screen self-presentation and clothing choices. She said that she had not entered intending to represent a particular group, while describing being both full-figured and Ethiopian as parts of her identity.[5]

The pandemic visibly reshaped the season's final weeks. Production departed from its usual isolation rule by informing the contestants about the crisis, while the finale proceeded without a studio audience and incorporated viewers through Zoom.[2][7] These changes made the conflict between the format's controlled isolation and events outside the house a central feature of the 2020 season.