Every housemate has a secret, and several of them will be unveiled in tonight’s opening episode with a twist.

Filmed last night on the Gold Coast, myself and hundreds of other reality-TV loving spies were at the Big Brother launch show and saw new host Sonia Kruger wave a new batch of housemates into the famous dwelling, which has a ‘then and now’ retro vs. contemporary vibe for the revamped 2012 season.

#ureyesonly The door opens…The first Big Brother Housemate for 2012 has entered the House.#BBAU

— #BBAU LIVE (@BBAULIVE) August 12, 2012

Above, Kruger’s pictured in the garden, where perhaps the coolest feature on the house is a floating island seating area right in the middle of the swimming pool – perfect for all those important housemate gossip sessions.

Photos from inside the house were revealed at the weekend. Check some out here and see the cool 1950’s kitchen below.

There’ll be 14 housemates added to the Dreamworld-based residence this week, and going by previous years’ shenanigans, there are bound to be some other ‘intruders’ added to the mix later.

Perhaps as a result of controversies over the sketchy behaviour of the more fame-hungry ‘bogan’ wannabe housemates of previous years, and the outcry over fatuous fakery on The Shire, there’s a toned-down family-friendly vibe about this year’s flock of Big Bro contestants. The first few inside may not even impress you with extraordinary looks, talent or personality, but as tonight’s opening event continues, some genuinely engaging characters appear.

“Are there any gay ones?” I hear you ask. Sexuality wasn’t really mentioned in the opening episode – except one girl said she’s repulsed by bigotry like racism and homophobia, which is always good to hear. You might well speculate that being gay or lesbian or even transgender may well be one of the secrets, but the opening night’s revelations point to no such ‘outing’ situation. It’s early days yet though… the first show only unveils part of the bigger picture.

We’ll avoid putting in major spoilers here, as we hope you’ll be as intrigued as we were by the premiere night’s twisty proceedings.

But here’s a few cheeky hints we weren’t supposed to write about…

> It’s sure to be edited out of tonight’s finished show, but last night’s filming was hot stuff – the camera had to stop rolling when a fire broke out behind Sonia and the audience urgently pointed it out to her, before smoke filled the stage and extinguishers were quickly produced.

> The eviction stage reminds us a lot of the one they have in the UK version of the show.

> The first few housemates bring on top of their heads A LOT of hair into the house. One of them could well be wearing a wig – that would make a hilarious secret revelation.

> There’s no mention of gay marriage, but one housemate’s opinion on another current political issue may well annoy you within seconds of first meeting her.

> A secret room is revealed!

> The last housemate to enter last night won the hearts of the Dreamworld audience immediately, enjoying massive cheers and applause as they entered the house.

This year’s show lacks a live feed to watch what’s happening in the house in real time, but its crew is embracing social media more than Aussie Big Bro has ever done in the past.

Tweets are already keeping us in touch with housemate happenings in real time…

#ureyesonly In the secret room, Big Brother reveals the secrets of several Housemates and charges them with an important task.

— #BBAU LIVE (@BBAULIVE) August 12, 2012

Selected from thousands of auditionees from around Australia, the various housemates are today relaxing in the Big Bro compound, enjoying their new surroundings and getting to grips with their very first task, before the nation meets them tonight on our screens for the first time.

Big Brother 2012 starts tonight at 7pm on Nine. See its official website here.

Read what happened when our mate James auditioned for the Big Brother house here.