The countdown to the Celebrity Big Brother (CBB) launch show is officially on and fans can expect a number of twists as the rebooted show returns following a six year hiatus.
The ‘civilian’ version of the show proved a success last year and hosts AJ Odudu, 36, and Will Best, 39. are confident that the celebrity version will be equally well received.
“Obviously it was nerve wracking because it was a reboot, there was a lot of pressure on it, but the one thing that wasn’t nerve wracking was I’m going to be with AJ,” Best told members of the press, including the Standard.
Thankfully, Blackburn-born Odudu agrees, adding: “One of the best things for me personally as an experience was getting to work alongside one of me bezzie mates.
“Myself and Will have been friends for years and yes, we’ve worked on different shows together and it’s like a dream come true getting to go to work with your mate knowing that you’re in a safe pair of hands no matter what.”
Traditionally, the launch show has always been filmed live and fans were left disappointed last year when it was pre-recorded instead.
TV bosses have taken their feedback on board however and the live launch show is back.
“It’s going to be live,” confirmed Odudu. “We filmed it as live before and they edited and all that jazz, but not anymore. We can now be trusted!”
“It made sense from an edit point of view because otherwise you have so much time of people walking out of cars,” interjects Best.
“The fans wanted it live and they were like, listen, lets watch AJ and Will for five minutes,” laughs Odudu.
CBB companion show Late & Live is also back and will air for an hour right after the main show.
“Late & Live is returning every single night of the week with me and Will alternating it,” said Odudu.
“I always loved it when the housemates’ friends and family came into the studio, hopefully we’ll see more of that because once you’ve got the celebrity housemates as well, they’re bringing celebrity mates and celebrity family members so they are just going to be everywhere, and I can’t wait for that.”
Evictions will also happen twice a week instead of just once, which the hosts predict is going to lead to some extra drama in the house.
“We know from just chatting to housemates who have been in how the mood is affected by evictions and by nominations, so them happening more often cranks up the pressure and it will really mess with their heads,” said Best.
“I almost think that Big Brother doesn’t need to do as much to bring out extreme reactions from celebs comparatively to the civilians but that doesn’t mean that Big Brother won’t do weird and wonderful things.“I think Big Brother is easier the quicker and more completely that you can forget you’re being filmed. If you have anywhere in your mind that I’m actually being watched, this is being recorded, it would be super, super tough and make you behave in a more eccentric kind of way.”CBB airs tonight (March 4) at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
