The Irish answer to Big Brother and MTV’s Real Life launches today, involving five students based in Dublin.

Five volunteer Dublin students - three male and two female - were today faced with the unenviable task of being filmed going about their everyday lives in their shared home.

The “reality-based” websoap, called No 54, will be available though the Irish student website, Oxygen.ie, with the cameras being switched on until the new year.

In exchange for being filmed, the students will have rent-free accommodation, but only for the duration of the soap. The websoap has been set up by Oxygen, which picked the five contestants from more than 500 students who responded to an ad.

In all, 20 webcams have been installed to cover all the action in every room, including the bathroom.

Cara Given, Oxygen content manager, explained the idea wasn’t just to be an Irish web version of Big Brother. “The show will feature live bands, DJ sets, stand-up comedy and more. The students will live in the house, be online all the time. And their lives will provide the entertainment for the channel where there are no regular scheduled events. They are stars in the making.”

The students involved include Frieda Gormley, 20, a law student at Trinity College, Dublin; Ross O’Mullane, 22, studying information and communications technology at Trinity; Ewan, a Trinity history and French student; Liam Doyle, 23, studying analytical science at Dublin City University; and Siobhan O’Dowd, 20, a drama student from Belfast.

• This article was amended on 2 December 2021 to remove some personal information