Before Love Island, there was Big Brother, a famous reality TV programme in which regular people were housed together and subjected to round-the-clock surveillance.
Five years after it was cancelled, the original programme, which aired on Channels 4 and 5 from 2000 to 2018, is returning for a new season.
The Love Island final last night saw the debut of the show’s brand-new logo, which heightened anticipation for the upcoming season.
When will the show air, though? Who will serve as hosts? Who may be in the cast, too?
Here is what we currently know.
When does Big Brother 2023 start?
Although no specific start date for the series has been announced as of yet, it is anticipated that it will happen some time in October 2023.
The 36-episode season will include of 34 highlights programmes and a 90-minute premiere and conclusion show. It will run on ITV2, Big Brother’s new home, from Sunday through Friday.
For this season, the live broadcast will also be back and will air for two hours following the main presentation (the initial 24-hour live feed was discontinued in 2009).
Paul Mortimer, director of reality commissioning & acquisitions and controller, for ITV2, ItvBe, and CITV, said of the revival: ‘This refreshed, contemporary new series of Big Brother will contain all the familiar format points that kept viewers engaged and entertained the first time round, but with a brand new look and some additional twists that speak to today’s audience.
‘We’re beyond excited to bring this iconic series to ITV2 and ITVX where it should especially engage with our younger viewers.’
Who is hosting the Big Brother reboot?
The Big Brother revival will have two hosts: Dance Dance Dance host Will Best and Big Brother’s Bit on the Side presenter AJ Odudu.
After being announced as the host, AJ said: ‘This is not a drill! I’m beyond excited to finally be able to say that, I am hosting Big Brother!
‘I couldn’t be more ecstatic to front such an iconic show and to do it alongside my amazing friend @iamwillbest is the icing on the cake. Get ready to be obsessed!
‘Big Brother House, I’m coming to get you!’
Will said, of the revival: ‘I grew up with ‘Big Brother’ so getting a chance to host it with my mate AJ is a dream come true. I can’t wait to tell some housemates not to swear.’
The show’s evictions will be overseen by AJ and Will, who will also speak with the housemates to learn all the insider rumours.
They will also be in charge of presenting the live broadcast, on which they will scrutinise every aspect of what happens in the home.
Marcus Bentley, a Big Brother legend who has narrated the programme from its inception, will also return to comment on events inside the house with his trademark Geordie accent.
Who could be in the cast of the Big Brother reboot?
Although no one has been officially announced for the 2023 lineup, an inside source claims that ITV is not searching for people who resemble the Love Island cast but rather for unique and controversial individuals who would “stir things up.”
Also expected to be starring on the programme are Chanelle Hayes, Makosi Musambasi, Nadia Almada, and Nick Bateman, who were all previously associated with the first Big Brother series.
However, the source told The Sun: ‘It won’t be a reboot full of old faces, it’s likely to be a smattering rather than a deluge of BB veterans.
‘They know that they need the random mix of people that featured in the original C4 version, so this is a way to help achieve that.’
Big Brother is launching on ITV2 and ITVX in October
