The show followed a total of fourteen celebrity contestants, known as housemates, who were isolated from the outside world for an extended period of time in a custom built House.

During its original broadcast, Celebrity Big Brother 5 became the subject of an internationally publicised racism controversy.

It attracted the largest number of complaints to the UK media regulator Ofcom about a Big Brother series and, as of 2021, the third highest number of complaints about any British television broadcast of all time (after Jerry Springer: The Opera and the BBC's coverage of the death of Prince Philip).

As a result, a protest took place in India; tensions increased between the UK and Indian governments; and a diplomatic incident occurred[citation needed].

On E4, live coverage from the house once again dominated its daily and nightly schedule, E4 Music was once again rested during the series.

Diary Room Uncut returned on Monday evenings and on Saturday night, straight after the Channel 4 show.

The bathroom is much smaller than previous versions and the toilet and shower were no longer fitted with cameras.

The dining room table was moved inside, and the kitchen fully equipped with modern conveniences.

The House Next Door was used again, and its interior was re-designed to resemble a Victorian-style kitchen, with uncomfortable beds in the bedroom, for use in the master-and-servant task.

Carole Malone is an English journalist and television presenter, who writes a column for the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

Danielle Lloyd is an English glamour model, who had her Miss Great Britain title revoked after appearing in the December 2006 edition of Playboy magazine.

During her time in the house, Lloyd was accused of alleged racist behaviour towards her fellow housemate Shilpa.

Donny Tourette is an English singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the punk rock band Towers of London.

During her time in the house, O'Meara was accused of alleged racist behaviour towards her fellow housemate Shilpa.

Leo Sayer is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and musician, who rose to prominence in the 1970s with releases such as "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You".

He walked from the series on Day 10 after not wanting to wash his undergarments Shilpa Shetty is an Indian actress, primarily known for her roles in Main Khiladi Tu Anari Dhadkan.

During her time in the house, Shetty was the subject of alleged racist behaviour from her fellow housemates Danielle, Jade and Jo.

One event in this series was a technical fault that affected voting lines in the eviction between Cleo Rocos, Dirk Benedict, Ian Watkins, Jo O'Meara and Shilpa Shetty.

[10] Celebrity Big Brother criticism focused around the treatment of housemate Shilpa Shetty by contestants Jade Goody, Jo O'Meara and Danielle Lloyd.

[14] Channel 4, who had initially described the situation as "girly rivalry", later admitted there had "undoubtedly been a cultural clash between her and three of the British females in the house".

[15] After an investigation by Ofcom, they concluded that Channel 4 had breached the Broadcasting Code on three separate occasions.