Celebrity Big Brother is reportedly facing the axe, according to new claims. The beloved reality show was revived by ITV, with the 23rd series airing in March 2024, following the spin-off's debut back in 2001 on Channel 4.
Only Two Seasons in Latest Incarnation
The rebooted series, fronted by AJ Odudu and Will Best, has only completed two seasons in its latest incarnation, seeing David Potts and Jack P. Shepherd crowned champions, while Nikita Kuzmin and Danny Beard finished as runners-up in 2024 and 2025, respectively. However, despite featuring big-name stars including JoJo Siwa, Louis Walsh, Fern Britton and even Sharon Osbourne, it has now been reported that Celebrity Big Brother will not be making a comeback.
Competition from The Celebrity Traitors
An insider told The Sun: "Bosses face a huge challenge trying to sign up celebrities because so many of them are now pressing their agents to get them on The Celebrity Traitors." They added: "That is already causing problems for other big shows, like Strictly and I'm A Celebrity, which rely on star contestants because they now find themselves as second in the pecking order. So that is an even greater issue for a show like Celebrity Big Brother because, now it's on ITV, it needs a certain calibre of contestant which are very hard to sign up now."
ITV's Scheduling Concerns
At the same time, the source added, ITV are working to secure two sets of stars to feature on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and its brand new spin-off, The Wild Frontier, which would reportedly broadcast around the same time as a potential new series of Celebrity Big Brother, at the start of 2027. When contacted for a response, an ITV spokesperson told The Mirror: "Big Brother returns to ITVX and ITV2 later this year. No decisions have been made for 2027 as yet."
Controversy and Commitment
Celebrity Big Brother caused quite the stir last year, with Mickey Rourke booted out of the villa for repeated offensive comments. It was later claimed that the reality programme wouldn't be returning for 2026, though ITV's Director of Television Kevin Lygo echoed the broadcaster's previous comments that they remained "committed" to the show. Speaking at the 2025 Edinburgh TV Festival, he said: "Celebrity Big Brother we're looking at. We're thinking not on the main channel, that's the answer. It's so difficult now to book big celebrities, famous people, which is what we need on the main channel. Whereas you can go more interesting and niche on ITV2. We're in a battle with [production company] Banijay about the price. It does really well for us on ITVX. It's a really important, crucial show. I love it and it does a tremendous job for us so, yes, it's coming back."
Celebrity Big Brother is available to watch on ITVX.
