Big Brother is making its much-anticipated comeback, and it’s almost here.
ITV has revealed that Big Big Brother: The Lauch, the highly anticipated new season presented by AJ Odudu and Will Best, will premiere in a matter of weeks.
The programme will return on Sunday, October 8 at 9 p.m. as part of a ‘disruptive multi-channel and streaming takeover’ on ITV1, ITV2, and ITVX.
‘It will be pre-recorded the night before, but there will still be tonnes of live programming on opening night, with Big Brother: Late & Live following shortly after, live from the location of the house,’ a source claimed.
‘Viewers will not only meet the new set of roommates, but they will also experience all of the action from the first night in their new home!’
Episodes will be accessible on ITV2 and ITVX every night at 9pm, save Saturdays, for the rest of the series.
Big Brother: Late & Live, hosted by AJ and Will, will air live in front of a studio audience on site at the Big Brother house, with the hour-long programme promising ‘exclusive Big Brother content’ including the evictees first live interview alongside other treats like celebrity guests, weekly nomination results and ‘access to the camera runs’.
ITV has hinted that the premiere would feature a “new cast of carefully selected housemates from all walks of life” as they become the first group to “take up residence in the brand-new Big Brother house” in front of a live studio audience.
The crew has also promised a ‘modern new style’ for the remake, as well as ‘innovative tasks, nail-biting nominations, and live evictions,’ with fans having a major part with voting throughout the season, according to a press release.
There’s more, though, with Big Brother: Live Stream returning seven nights a week on ITVX, ‘offering fans the option to view live video into the dark hours following Big Brother: Late & Live’.
Big Brother debuted on Channel 4 in 2000, then moved to Channel 5 in 2011, and finally ended in 2018, while ITV’s Head of Reality TV and ITV2 Paul Mortimer has all but assured the revival of the celebrity offshoot.
When asked about the prospect of a celebrity version, Paul said at the Edinburgh TV festival: ‘We have bought into Big Brother, a lot of us at ITV are BB fans.
‘I can’t imagine that we’re in it just to do two, six-week runs across 2023 and 2024. This is the start of it – so just watch this space.’
Big Brother: The Launch is airing on ITV1, ITV2 and ITV X at 9pm on October 8.
