Will Best Reflects on 'Weird and Scary' TV Axing Experience
Presenter Will Best, widely recognised for co-hosting ITV's revival of Big Brother with AJ Odudu, has candidly discussed the unsettling moment he was suddenly axed from a television job. The 41-year-old star described the experience as both "weird and scary," shedding light on the precarious nature of the entertainment industry.
Early Career Setbacks and Sudden Changes
Will Best began his presenting career in 2010, fronting the short-lived music chat show Suck My Pop alongside Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh. The following year, he landed a role on T4's The Crush, taking over from Rick Edwards, while also working on Freshly Squeezed. However, his tenure was abruptly cut short when the shows faced cancellation.
He recounted the jarring sequence of events: "So I was doing T4, The Crush, which I took over from Rick Edwards, Freshly Squeezed, and it was all going great. And then there was a sort of two-week period one summer where my agent got a call saying, ‘Bad news, T4’s going, but don’t worry because The Crush is going to carry on and Freshly Squeezed is going to carry on."
Just days later, the situation worsened. "And then a few days later, ‘Listen, there’s good news, there’s bad news.’ And I was ‘Okay.’ The Crush, that’s gone, but Freshly Squeezed isn’t. That was kind of a weird, scary time," Best explained during an appearance on the podcast The Businessmen with hosts Joel Dommett and Ben Shephard.
Diversifying into Business Ventures
The lack of job security in television prompted Best to explore opportunities beyond the screen. In 2017, he co-founded Bloody Drinks with his friend Henry Farnham, a company specialising in canned versions of the classic Bloody Mary cocktail. The brand is now stocked in numerous supermarkets across the United Kingdom.
Best emphasised his motivation: "That is one of the reasons why I have always wanted to do stuff outside of TV and have my little grubby little fingers in other pies." This entrepreneurial move has provided him with a stable income stream, contrasting with the unpredictable nature of television contracts.
Current Role and Big Brother Legacy
Since 2023, Will Best has co-hosted the revived Big Brother on ITV2 alongside AJ Odudu. The reality show, which originally aired on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2010 before moving to Channel 5 until 2018, has launched the careers of notable figures such as Josie Gibson, Alison Hammond, the late Jade Goody, and Kate Lawler.
Recent winners of the revived series include Jordan Sangha, Ali Bromley, and Richard Storry. A celebrity spin-off has also featured, with winners like Ibiza Weekend star David Potts and Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd. However, reports indicate that Celebrity Big Brother and its Late & Live spin-off have been "rested" to allow ITV to focus on the main civilian series.
A source commented on the broadcaster's commitment: "Despite the hold on the celeb version, ITV has always insisted that the programme is what they call a ‘priority reality format’. So it’s reassuring to see plans like this on the table." The source added that extending the civilian series by a week is under consideration, as fans have noted that the action intensifies in the latter stages.
The insider further explained to The Sun: "The civilian one is far cheaper to produce than celebrity so the return on investment is worth the while. ITV really is committed to the format and has lots of ideas to keep the civilian version as exciting as possible, with the extension being one of the options being considered."
