When ITV brought back Celebrity Big Brother in 2024 after six years off air, reality TV fans were ecstatic – myself included – but I can confidently say my expectations were shattered when that season aired last year.
ITV seemed to promise a bright new era for this rough and real show, promising ‘proper celebrities’, a ‘decent budget’ and bringing back the old school feel that the show had when it aired on Channel 4 and Channel 5, But for me, sadly, this was not the case.
The cast this year includes Mickey Rourke, Trisha Goddard, JoJo Siwa, Chris Hughes, Jack P. Shepherd, Patsy Palmer, Angellica Bell, Danny Beard, Ella Rae Wise, Daley Thompson, Michael Fabricant, Chesney Hawkes, and Donna Preston.
It’s your usual mix of former Love Island stars, ex-soap actors and, of course, a former Tory MP ( ITV seem to really like putting an outspoken Tory into their reality shows to cause up a stir).
In my opinion, this crop of contestants are beige.
What made Celebrity Big Brother so addictive back in its heyday was the unpredictability – you never knew which famous face was going to kick off next over something as stupid as having to compete in a task.
The legendary GC – Gemma Collins – is a prime example of a housemate who genuinely had no concern for how she might be perceived on the outside. If she didn’t want to do something, she wasn’t doing it and she spoke her mind while doing so.
Now the new load of celebrities – apart from the controversial Mickey Rourke, but that’s another story that you can read about here – seem to be quiet and reserved, almost as though they have updated their media training just days before entering the the Big Brother house.
We want celebs who offer something juicy, yet fun. We aren’t asking for people who offend for no reason, we want hilarious and meaningless drama.
Fans crave outrageous, loud and obnoxious celebs who stir up drama over something as simple as an empty milk carton – determined to find out which fellow housemate dared to leave it in the fridge.
And we want to see icons like Katie Price put Katie Hopkins in her place, Kim Woodburn – who famously screamed ‘adulterer’ while getting dragged off by security as she held a glass of booze.
And, who can forget the legendary Tiffany Pollard, who took a strong disliking to Gemma with her ” old maiden type of shoes” rant. And that’s not even mentioning her infamous reaction to the death of David Bowie.
I don’t think there were as many if any memorable quotes from last year’s season – and that’s exactly whats missing, there are now no stand out points to the show.
Maybe it’s a case of reality TV being over saturated – who knows?! Or maybe the same format being repeated over and over again doesn’t hit the same in 2025.
There are far better fictional shows out there on the BBC, ITV and streaming platforms – such as This City is Ours, Adolescence and The White Lotus.
Sometimes fiction is better than reality and viewers are craving a show that takes them away from everyday life.
Join theDaily Record’s WhatsApp community hereand get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
As a fan of any thing reality TV, it pains me to say it, but it’s time to admit the truth: the magic of Celebrity Big Brother is gone and, unless the show finds a way to reinvent itself or find more out there celebs, then it risks becoming a relic of telly history – remembered, but, ultimately, left in the past.