ITV has officially pulled the plug on Big Brother's Late & Live, the companion talk show that followed the main reality programme, just two years after its launch. The broadcaster confirmed the show's cancellation after it consistently failed to attract a sufficient television audience.
The Struggle for Viewers
Hosted by the presenting duo AJ Odudu and Will Best, the spin-off was unable to win over viewers despite efforts to boost its appeal with high-profile guests such as JoJo Siwa and other popular housemates. An industry insider revealed to The Sun that the show's live format was a significant part of the problem, as a growing number of fans have migrated to watching content on-demand via the ITVX streaming service.
The source explained, 'Big Brother in general has struggled this year due to fierce competition from the likes of Celebrity Traitors.' They added, 'Late & Live has really struggled due to the main show not doing as well as hoped.' Whispers about the show's impending cancellation had been circulating for weeks, becoming an open topic of conversation amongst the production team during the final week of broadcast.
Behind the Scenes of the Axing
According to the insider, the team working on the show, many of whom were freelancers, were 'quietly' informed by bosses that they should not expect the programme to return. While describing the axing as 'a shame,' the source conceded that every television show must eventually come to an end.
The decline in popularity for Late & Live was starkly reflected on its IMDb page, where it garnered an average rating of just 5.5 out of 10 from a meagre 54 reviewers. This contrasts sharply with the legacy of the main Big Brother show, which first captivated British audiences in 2000. At its peak in 2002, the finale of the original series drew a massive audience of 10 million viewers.
Future of the Franchise and Fan Reaction
Despite this setback for the spin-off, ITV remains committed to the core Big Brother programme. The network reportedly believes it has the perfect presenters in AJ and Will and notes that the main show has found a new, significant audience through streaming, amassing a whopping 150 million streams on ITVX.
However, some viewers expressed disappointment with the recent civilian edition of the main show on social media. Comments in The Big Brother UK Group on Facebook included one user writing, 'Really disappointed with Big Brother... lots of people I know are switching off,' while another simply stated, 'It's rubbish now.'
The final weeks of Late & Live were not without controversy. During one episode, an audience member shocked the studio by making a 'completely unacceptable' remark about housemate Caroline Monk, prompting host AJ Odudu to immediately shut down the comment on air.
While the curtain falls on Late & Live, the Big Brother franchise itself is scheduled to return to ITV and ITVX at an unconfirmed date in 2026.
