Big Brother is to make a comeback in 2023, with ITV2 and its new streaming service ITVX securing the rights to the pioneering reality television format. The announcement was accompanied by a promotional video aired during the final of Love Island on Monday evening.
The revived series will feature a cast of "carefully selected housemates from all walks of life" living together under constant surveillance for up to six weeks. Producers have promised a "contemporary new look" while retaining familiar elements, with viewers continuing to vote for evictions and decide the winner of a cash prize.
The original programme first launched on Channel 4 in 2000, won by Liverpudlian builder Craig Phillips, and went on to become an influential cultural phenomenon. It also spawned celebrity editions featuring the likes of Katie Price, Gemma Collins and Mark Owen. However, the show also attracted controversy, with complaints about bullying, racism and fixing made to police and Ofcom.
After moving to Channel 5 in 2011, Big Brother was axed in 2018 amid declining ratings. Channel 5 controller Ben Frow later said he had no regrets, arguing that the media landscape had become "very crowded with reality shows". Creative director Philip Edgar-Jones said audiences "very clearly hated it" when producers intervened too much, describing the point at which a show loses its authenticity as "jumping the shark".
Former contestants have welcomed the news. Kate Lawler, the show's first female winner in 2002, said the programme had been "away for long enough for people to remember it with real nostalgia and fondness". She also noted that the rise of social media had transformed the experience for contestants. Irish duo Jedward, who twice appeared on the celebrity version, have already offered to host the new series.
