ITV’s Big Brother reboot will reportedly be ‘launching in May next year inside a new house on a massive airfield in the countryside’.
According to TV insiders, a new Big Brother House ‘fit for the Love Island generation’ is being built at Bovingdon Airfield in Hertfordshire.
The site is a popular choice for filmmakers, including ITV studios who used the base for Dancing on Ice from 2018 after Elstee Studios became unavailable.
Owned by ITV, one of the aircraft hangers was also used to shoot The Masked Singer and Starstruck.
The BBC used the location to film series one and two of Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel and in 2019 it was used for an adaptation of A Christmas Carol, starring Guy Pearce.
ITV bosses are reportedly using the same base, next to an enormous runway, for their Big Brother revival next year, according to Politicalite.
An inside source told the outlet: “The new series will have massive live eviction shows like the reality juggernauts early days plus spin offs.
“The show will bring back weekly public voting meaning you decide once more.”
The news website also claims that Big Brother 2023 will see the return of the 24-hour live feed using the new ITVX Netflix-style streaming platform.
ITV will use the live feed subscriptions to “boost revenue” for ITVX, similar to business model of the CBS feeds used in America, according to ex-producer Paul Osbourne.
“That’s a smart move. We’ve still got the live feed here in America," the former Big Brother crew member told the outlet.
The world-famous reality TV show, which first launched in the Netherlands in 1999, will “maintain its familiar format” when it returns next year.
It comes back on air in the UK following an almost five-year hiatus after the last two seasons finished on Channel 5 in 2018.
Big Brother first aired in the UK on Channel 4 and ran for a total of 11 series, plus seven series of Celebrity Big Brother and a final special edition series entitled Ultimate Big Brother.
The show subsequently aired for a further eight series on Channel 5, with an additional 15 celebrity series.
The reboot will start with a civilian series with cast members from “all walks of life” entering the iconic Big Brother House.
An ITV spokesperson said: “A new cast of carefully selected housemates, from all walks of life, will take up residence in the world’s most famous reality TV home for up to six weeks, with cameras capturing their every move, and the nation following every twist and turn.
“The action will all play out under the roof of the iconic Big Brother house, which will be given its own contemporary new look ready for this reimagining of the show.”
Paul Mortimer, director of reality commissioning and acquisitions and controller at ITV2, ITVBe and CITV confirmed the new Big Brother is aimed at “younger viewers”.
He said: “This refreshed, contemporary new series of Big Brother will contain all the familiar format points that kept viewers engaged and entertained the first-time round, but with a brand-new look and some additional twists that speak to today’s audience.
“We’re beyond excited to bring this iconic series to ITV2 and ITVX where it should especially engage with our younger viewers.”
Natalka Znak, CEO of Initial – part of Banijay UK who is producing the show – said their Big Brother reboot is “going to be epic”.
“Big Brother is the original and best reality format and one that I have never made before so it’s a huge privilege to be making an all-new version with ITV2 and ITVX,” he said.
