Big Brother (British TV series) series 20

Big Brother 2023, also known as Big Brother 20, was the twentieth series of Big Brother to air in the United Kingdom. It is the first series to air on ITV2 after ITV gained the rights to the series in August 2022, almost four years since it last aired on Channel 5. The series began on 8 October 2023, with a launch show airing simultaneously on both ITV (ITV1 and STV) and ITV2, with the remainder of the series broadcasting primarily on the latter channel. It is co-presented by AJ Odudu and Will Best, who also front the companion show, Big Brother: Late & Live.

On 17 November 2023, Jordan Sangha was announced as the winner of the series, beating Olivia Young who finished as runner-up. At 42 days, this was the shortest-running regular series of Big Brother in the UK, surpassing the seventeenth series, which lasted 50 days.

Production

In April 2022, it was reported in several tabloid newspapers that ITV Studios were in talks with production company Banijay, who own the rights to Big Brother, to revive the series in 2023, following a five-year hiatus. On 1 August 2022, during the final of the eighth series of Love Island, a 20-second teaser trailer aired on ITV2, with ITV subsequently confirming that the show would return for a new series in 2023. ITV are the third network to gain the rights to the series, following the cancellations of the show on Channel 4 and Channel 5 in 2010 and 2018 respectively.

Following the announcement of the series, Paul Mortimer, the director of Reality Commissioning and Acquisitions 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 [...] We’re beyond excited to bring this iconic series to ITV2 and ITVX where it should especially engage with our younger viewers." Ian Katz, the chief content officer for Channel 4, who originally broadcast the show from 2000 until 2010 said of the show's revival that whilst it was a "wonderful show" [...] that "there [was] something depressing about this microwave moment of TV of shows being reheated."

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Kevin Lygo, the Managing Director of Media and Entertainment at ITV said that the success of Love Island influenced the network's decision to recommission Big Brother, saying that "We look at Love Island and we see this extraordinarily successful show that defies all current logic and goes against what people say, that young people don’t watch terrestrial television." However, he noted that the series was unlikely to "skew [an audience] as young as Love Island does" due to the former show's legacy, and called it "arguably the sort of best thing there's ever been on television, or most extraordinary thing, that shaped most television afterwards". Lygo also added that the key to Big Brother was to keep it like it was in its "golden period".

Davina McCall, who presented the programme on Channel 4 from the show's inception until its original cancellation in 2010, ruled out a return as presenter. She stated that although she "loved the show with all her heart" and had the best 11 years of [her] life [...] and that whoever [hosts the show]... she [would] be supporting it with every fibre in her body", she added that she didn't think it would be her [presenting]. McCall later stated in an interview on Radio X that she would have returned to present the series had she been asked, but maintained her stance that the show was in "safe hands". She did however express interest in filming a cameo prior to the show's opening titles to state her infamous phrase "Fancy another one", which she would use on double eviction nights. Emma Willis, the presenter of the programme prior to its cancellation on Channel 5, also ruled out the possibility of her returning as host saying that she "loved [her] time on the show" but "very much kind of said goodbye to it back then because [she] thought it was over". Willis did however express interest in appearing as a guest panellist on the series' spin-off show. Former Big Brother's Little Brother presenter Dermot O'Leary said that whilst he was sure the new series would be a "hit with viewers", added that the show needed to be "less of a popularity contest" and go back to how it was in the early days as "more of a social experiment". Rylan Clark, who won the eleventh series of Celebrity Big Brother and went on to present the spin-off show Big Brother's Bit on the Side between 2013 and 2018 said he was "devastated" not to be involved in the show's reboot [...] adding that he had "naively assumed that he would have been asked back [as presenter].

It was initially reported that the series was set to launch in March 2023, following the conclusion of the ninth series of Love Island. However, it was later confirmed that the series would launch in autumn 2023. This was said to be due to the high influx of reality television programming on the broadcaster earlier in the year and to avoid clashing with the upcoming series of Love Island and I'm a Celebrity... South Africa, with Big Brother receiving a "more prominent slot" in the autumn schedule. It was also confirmed that the series would be accompanied by a spin-off show. Applications for the series opened online on 10 October 2022. They were originally set to close on 27 January 2023, however, following the announcement of the series being delayed until the autumn, the application window was extended a further three times until 30 June and 14 July, before ultimately closing on 27 July 2023. Over 30,000 applications were received for the series, with producers shortlisting around 500 applicants to conduct in-person interviews.

Following the announcement of the reboot, speculation as to who would be presenting the series began, with the media reporting various potential hosts including Mo Gilligan, Emily Atack, Vick Hope, Olivia Attwood and Roman Kemp, the latter of whom confirmed he had been "in talks" with producers of the series. In April 2023, ITV announced that AJ Odudu and Will Best would be presenting the series. Odudu previously co-presented Big Brother's Bit on the Side alongside Clark in 2013, whilst Best regularly appeared as a panellist on the show. Upon her appointment as presenter, Odudu said she was "so excited to finally be able to say that, yes: [she is] hosting Big Brother! I couldn't be happier" adding that "following in the footsteps of some of [her] favourite broadcasting legends to front such an iconic show is an absolute honour - and to do it alongside my amazing friend Will is the icing on the cake.", whilst Best said he "grew up with Big Brother so getting a chance to host it with [his] mate AJ is a dream come true. I can't wait to tell some housemates not to swear."; in reference to former presenter McCall's catchphrase.

In June 2023, it was reported that the show's theme song, which had been used since its inception in 2000, could be axed following accusations of sexual harassment allegations against Paul Oakenfold made earlier in the month. However a remixed version of the original theme tune was used in the series' eye reveal, which ultimately served as the theme tune for the series. In July 2023, several news outlets reported that the series was planning to bring back former housemates in a bid to "recapture the magic" of the original series, however ITV later confirmed the reports were false.

Format

Following the commissioning of the show, ITV announced that the series would feature a new cast of carefully selected housemates, from all walks of life. The series is set to run for up to six weeks, with "cameras capturing [the housemates'] every move, and the nation following every twist and turn." Shopping tasks, nominations and live evictions returned, with the public once again voting throughout the series and ultimately determining the winner, who would walk away with a £100,000 cash prize.

The series began on 8 October 2023, with a 90-minute pre-recorded launch show airing simultaneously on ITV1 and ITV2, with the remainder of the series being broadcast six nights a week on the latter channel. The launch show took place the day before on 7 October, with the housemates entering the house in front of a live studio audience. It ran for 42 days, the shortest civilian series in the show's history and was covered over 36 episodes, airing six nights a week from Sunday to Friday at 9pm, immediately followed by the live companion show Big Brother: Late & Live at 10pm (or in the case of extended episodes, immediately following the conclusion of the main show). In contrast to previous series on Channel 4 and Channel 5, eviction interviews took place on the companion show. Following this, the Big Brother: Live Stream covered live feed from the house "into the small hours every night" on the broadcaster's new streaming service ITVX. The streaming aired seven nights a week from 11pm until 2am from Sunday from Friday, and from 9pm until 2am on Saturdays. The series concluded with a 90-minute finale episode, where the finalists left the house in the order of their placing, and were interviewed (with the exception of the winner, whose interview took place on Big Brother: Late & Live).

It was announced on 28 October 2023 that from the coming Friday onward, all live evictions and the final would, like the launch show, broadcast simultaneously on ITV1 & ITV2, filling a gap in the Friday evening schedule following the conclusion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which had took up the vast majority of ITV1's weekend schedule through September and October.

House

The location for the series was not initially confirmed, but it was teased as "an iconic Big Brother house" which would be given "its own contemporary new look ready for this reimagining of the show." A week after the announcement of the series returning, media outlets reported that the series was set to be filmed at ITV Studios Bovingdon after planning applications were submitted for three new studios, as well as a backlot for temporary studios with outdoor filming. It was later speculated that ITV were planning to build a "standalone house" for the series, with Radio Times reporting that a "brand new house built on a huge airfield in the countryside" was in the works. In May 2023, it was confirmed that the house would be located at Garden Studios in North London and was said to boast "versatile staging", as well as an "in-house virtual production studio". On 6 October 2023, ITV revealed photos of the garden on social media, with Richard Arnold conducting a tour of it on Good Morning Britain. Later that day, the Big Brother social media accounts posted a video which depicted the construction of the house, before subsequently revealing the Diary Room chair that evening, a red, orange and yellow chair made from post-consumer recycled polyester and shaped like the Big Brother eye logo - with a smaller eye in the centre and curved neon coloured lights on the top. The following day, full photos of the new house were released, which for the first time included a mezzanine overlooking the living area, as well as a lift, to ensure that [the house] is "fully accessible to all housemates."

Eye logo

During the 20-second teaser aired in August 2022, it depicted numerous ITV2 logos forming into the shape of a Big Brother eye. However, the host reveal trailer and the official social media accounts feature the same shaped eye with the ITV2 colour scheme of purple. In July 2023, the official eye logo for the series was revealed in the ad break during the final of the tenth series of Love Island. The eye features multi-coloured icons with various symbols, and the words "Big Brother", it also includes a smaller eye in the centre.

Promotion

In September 2023, the first set of promotional trailers for the series began airing across ITV channels, both of which featured presenters Best and Odudu. The first trailer saw the pair impersonating narrator Marcus Bentley, whilst the other saw them singing along to the show's theme tune. Later that month, a further set of trailers were revealed, which featured members of the public in "real-life" situations which included a woman attempting to climb out of a toilet window after regretting getting back on the dating apps; a man failing to fit in with his new group of housemates after eating a raw onion from the fridge; a dog licking his owner; a woman who is due back at work after a disastrous eyebrow appointment, and a sperm travelling towards an egg depicting the fertilisation process and representing a couple who had "put the kids to bed early". Each advert begins with narrator Bentley stating the timestamp and concludes with him reiterating the tagline "Big Brother sees it all". The series was also promoted on billboards in various cities around the UK, as well as various posters in PureGym branches, beer mats in pubs and adverts on food delivery company Deliveroo that featured the tagline observing the public undertaking activities.

Housemates

On 7 October 2023, a day prior to the airing of the launch show, the Big Brother social media accounts posted close-up teasers of the sixteen housemates' eyes.

Weekly summary

The main events in the Big Brother 20 house are summarised in the table below.

Nominations table

Notes

Viewing figures

Official 7-day consolidated ratings in the table below are taken from Thinkbox and include +1, but exclude viewership on devices.

The first episode was simulcast on ITV1 and ITV2; the rating listed is both added together (2.436m and 0.954m respectively).

ITV Media announced that across 36 episodes, this series was streamed 38 million streams - an average of 1.06 per episode.

Including streaming figures on ITVX, this brings the series average to 2.77 million, the highest-rated civilian series of Big Brother since the eleventh series in 2010.

Late & Live

Notes

References

External links

• Big Brother at IMDb
• Big Brother UK at YouTube
• Big Brother at ITVX
• Big Brother official website