Tonight's live nominations episode was great.

It proved Big Brother doesn't need to introduce a new Granny Annex Next Door with 46 new Non-Housemates in it, all competing to become real Housemates, and one of them is a circus performer, and the real Housemates have to guess which one it is based on a series of clues delivered to them in Japanese by someone on a crane in order to win a token, and then they all turn out to be rubbish anyway, and the worst one of all wins immunity and makes it to the final — in order to inject some excitement into the series.

No.

Tonight's show proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the core Big Brother format of Housemates, nominations, and evictions is compelling enough on its own to make great television.

Starting in 2005, Big Brother Australia used a similar format for its nominations show: each Housemate was given two minutes to make their nominations, and Big Brother required the Housemates to give a good reason for their choices.

In retrospect, two minutes was much too long, and Big Brother was far too strict — leaving viewers frustrated as they listened to Big Brother yelling, "You're not being clear. Why are you really nominating him? You're running out of time, get to the point" for an hour every week.

Tonight, Big Brother UK showed how it should have been done. Ninety seconds, a visual cue to show Housemates when their time is running out, and no interruptions. If the Housemates nominate properly, great — but if they don't, their votes simply won't count.

When the nominations are aired as part of the highlights show, we don't usually see everybody making their choices. It's fair enough — the producers are right to keep the highlights show focused on House events rather than gameplay — but since the demise of Nominations Uncut, it's been harder to gauge how people feel about each other.

Marcus doesn't like Sree. Why doesn't Marcus like Sree? Because Sree insulted Marcus's culture.

That's all we need. Short, snappy, to-the-point nominations. And that's why live nominations should be made a staple of the Big Brother format.

And, with eviction shows no longer feeling like an event, a live nominations show on Wednesday night could be exactly what Big Brother needs to give some structure to the week's events... and keep viewers locked to their screens.

And Sree.

Evictions have been an issue for Big Brother for the past few years, mostly because of endless repetition and lack of actual content worth staying in for — yes, we're no longer just interested in the evictee, especially if they're rubbish.

This week it was a foregone conclusion that Sophia would find herself booted out of the house — with 91.2% of the vote — and that, coupled with the fact it wouldn't have been the end of the world if Halfwit had gone instead, meant there was no incentive for people other than the two million who are sticking with Big Brother through thick and thin to join at the end of Week 2.

Despite there being several problems with the show's format that are obvious to the viewer and yet don't bother the producers, it's amazing that they felt the need to change the one thing that didn't actually need fixing.

I found it quite difficult to watch the second eviction show, which saw Sophia leaving the house to be interrogated by a panel of "experts", mostly due to Davina barely able to get a word in edgeways. I love the woman but she's used to controlling the interview, so to see her as an outsider trying to get in on the conversation between three other people was quite frankly embarrassing to watch.

Judi James' observations were quite interesting and I did appreciate that aspect, especially with the newly evicted contestant there to listen and respond, but they're trying to condense the Big Brain/On the Couch format into a slot that should be used to find out what the evictee is feeling about the unique situation they've just emerged from, not what outsiders feel about a situation they don't truly understand.

If producers are that bothered about the psychological aspect they should find a space for it somewhere else, but shoehorning it into the evictions is not the answer.

Dom Joly, meanwhile, added nothing that Davina couldn't have covered; she is supposed to be a superfan of the show.

One part of me is pleased they changed something about the show but if it's a change for the worse, then what is that gesture really worth?

I'm finding myself siding with Mike on this eviction — there's just no bad result.

What a refreshing change to the series that the only person not to become an official housemate is the one that provided the least amount of entertainment over the first days, and — despite not yet being able to see the future (I'm working on it) — one who probably wouldn't have changed events an enormous amount had she stayed for the entire duration.

Fast forward to the second week and we're treated to the two most irritating contestants being nominated by the rest of the housemates, plus the next most boring making a voluntary exit out of the Diary Room. RE-SULT. Perhaps without a live feed to keep them occupied, the Big Brother gods are ensuring a much more pleasing outcome over the coming weeks.

If we can get Sree out next week this could be on course to be one of the most satisfying series of Big Brother yet.

What's that you say? "Because of the live feed"? No, don't be silly. I didn't really bother with that before it got axed. You people do realise you're "campaigning" to listen to sound dips and watch stock footage of houseplants, don't you?

No, it's not because of the live feed.

It's because all the boring and/or rubbish people are leaving!

First there was Beinazir, who didn't get any best bits, because she wasn't in the House long enough to have any. And I'm not sure she would've done anyway. ("Look! It's that classic moment when you made a cup of tea and then drank it and then made another one! You've been great!")

Then there was Saffia, who missed her kids and walked out today. This is particularly good news, because there is now one less Housemate whose name sounds the same as everyone else's.

And, of course, there are this week's nominations. Halfwit and Sophia — the two worst Housemates of the series. Normally when I don't care who's leaving, it's because I don't like anyone in the House. This time, it's because I like everyone apart from the two nominees.

Let's hope it stays like this.