Chained to reality TV

Millions tuned into Big Brother during the summer

Channel 4's new digital offshoot has unveiled its follow-up to Big Brother - which features four groups of six people chained together, with producers hoping two of them will fall in love.

Production company Endemol is working on Chained, which is due to make its debut on the new E4 service next year.

Each group of six will include a "commander".

He or she will order one of the other contestants off the chain each day, until just two participants are left - with producers hoping for romantic sparks between the final pair.

Endemol is the company behind Big Brother

An Endemol spokeswoman told BBC News Online: "If it's a girl that week, she'll pick five men that she fancies from a group of hopefuls.

"They'll then be chained together for five days, and they'll be followed around by cameras doing whatever they are doing - shopping, socialising, whatever - and one will be set free each day until she is left chained to one guy on the last day."

The prize will be cash, which will go to the "commander" and he or she will be free to give away as much or as little as they want to their chosen suitor.

One group will feature one woman and five men, another will have one man and five women, a third will feature gay contestants and the final one will be made up of bisexuals.

Contestants will even have to sleep and bathe chained together, although they will be unshackled to visit the toilet.

The show is based on a Dutch format, Chains of Love.

Earlier this week, US broadcaster NBC abandoned plans for its own version of the series because of "creative differences" with Endemol, which also owns the rights to Big Brother.

The US version of Big Brother - unlike its European cousins - suffered from mediocre ratings and attacks by critics.

Big Brother's UK version is set to return to Channel 4 next year, although details have not yet been confirmed.