ITV is set to bring back the iconic noughties reality TV show, Big Brother, and return it to it’s ‘former glory’ in a reboot next year.
According to The Sun the show will be returning to television on ITV2 in autumn 2023 after Love Island has ended for the summer.
What is Big Brother
Big Brother first hit screens in 2000, on Channel 4, and was a reality TV show where a bunch of people were put in a house together and were recorded day and night. There was even a Big Brother 24 hour view back in the day where fans could watch any time of the day, even when the contestants were sleeping – yes, really. Think Love Island Unseen Bits, but very dull.
The aim of the game was to simply live in the house, isolated from the world, and the viewers would vote for their favourite contestants – the last one standing at the end of several weeks, food shops, diary rooms, and controversial tasks, would be crowned the winner and they’d get a cash prize.
The show, which was originally hosted by Davina McCall, was absolutely ground breaking at the time and it ran for 18 years – 2000 to 2010 on Channel 4, then it ran until 2018 after being picked up by Channel 5. The series launched the careers of ITV’s Alison Hammond and the late Jade Goody – who used her platform to raise awareness of cervical cancer – and the late Nikki Grahame, who was on the seventh season of the show.
It was also the beginning of the celebrity reality live-in competitions with it’s celeb version which launched in 2001, for Comic Relief and was first won by Jack Dee.
What We Know About The Reboot
According to The Sun the 2023 the reboot will be aimed at a new audience and ‘younger fans’, but it’s still early on in talks.
A TV source told The Sun: ‘ITV is the home of big appointment telly. They know better than anyone how to put on big live events. It needs the full treatment and they’re confident they are the ones who can return it to its legendary former glory.’
‘They think putting it on ITV2 will open it up to a new audience and legion of younger fans. They are really keen on getting the deal done on Big Brother, and hope to have something firm to announce soon.
‘The talks are still at an early, and delicate, stage and the next few weeks will be key. It needs the full treatment and they’re confident they are the ones who can return it to its legendary former glory. It has millions of fans and is one of the most iconic TV shows of its generation.