Big Brother’s new hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best have claimed the new series will ‘reflect 2023’ and the mental health concerns of reality contestants.
The duo, who are leading the ITV2 reboot and following in the footsteps of Davina McCall and Emma Willis, admitted that the “world has moved on” since the show’s heyday in the early ’00s.
AJ, 35, insisted she was ‘very conscious’ of the contestant’s welfare and would ‘put her arm around the unfortunate’ on the night of the eviction.
Ahead of the show’s premiere, she said, “(The housemates) are people who haven’t been on TV before and this is a real experience. They will come out to perhaps a loud audience, which will either receive them well or not.
“But I think it’s up to me and Will to really put our arm around them.”
Back with a bang! Brother’s new hosts AJ Odudu, 35, and Will Best, 38, have claimed the new series will reflect the year 2023, admitting the ‘world has moved’ since the show’s heyday in the early ’00s
Get them out! AJ said she’ll put her arm around the unhappy housemate on eviction night, even though the live audience may still boo (former presenter Emma pictured during an eviction in 2013)
Will agreed that while “nobody will be stopped (from booing),” he wondered if the crowd would even want that in these modern times.
He said: ‘The world has changed and progressed, people in every industry are trying to improve people’s work experiences and lives, and that will be reflected in a show like this more than any before.’
The TV presenter later talked about the reality show, which he said had ‘always been a mirror for society’.
‘This is Big Brother 2023, so it’s going to represent Britain 2023 and I think that’s what’s going to make it interesting and exciting, and it won’t be like any show before.’
Despite the concerns, AJ insisted she would still make every effort when interviewing the booted participants.
“I’m the nosy neighbor, so I’ll end up being curious by nature. I’m going to ask the questions, I want the tea!’
And it seems the pair have been kept in the dark about what to expect from the new series.
AJ said, “We know as much as anyone! We don’t know yet who the housemates are and what the house looks like,” while Will explained: “We will find out more about the new series together with the viewers!’
Moving with the times: With AJ, 35, insisting she’ll put her arm around the hapless housemates on eviction night even though the live audience may still boo
Uncertain: Will agreed, saying that while “no one will be stopped (from booing),” he wondered if the crowd would even want that in these modern times
However, the pair are excited to be part of the comeback and insist that the reality show has a special bond with the viewing public.
Will said: “The fact that they are real people, representing a snapshot of Britain right now, means there is so much more for an audience to connect with. It’s unfiltered and unpredictable, making for incredibly compelling television.”
AJ added: “Big Brother allows us to delve into the psyche of the human mind and connects audiences with people from all walks of life who you might never normally meet.
‘I remember looking at Brian Dowling and he was the first openly gay man I had ever seen – what a delight! And Nadia Almada, the first trans person on the show, who was so insightful because I grew up in Blackburn, I didn’t see that diversity in my everyday life.
‘It’s really the people and their stories.’
And about their favorite housemate of all time, AJ shared: “Alison Hammond. She was funny, positive and always cheerful. No wonder we still see her on our screens to this day, Britain couldn’t let her go.’
Will said, “It’s impossible to choose just one! So I’ll have to choose my favorite group of housemates, and I’ll go with old school: BB3.
‘Big names there, and especially nostalgic for me because that was the first series I was really obsessed with.
Star quality: Both AJ and Will said This Morning presenter Alison Hammond was one of their favorite former housemates after she took part in Big Brother in 2002 (pictured this year)
‘Kate Lawler, Jade Goody, Spencer, Alex Sibley, Alison Hammond, Adele Roberts, PJ, Sandy (who peed in a garbage can and then climbed over the fence never to be seen again), Lee the bodybuilder – I loved them all .’
It comes after reports that the reboot would feature some of the reality show’s most iconic former housemates.
According to The sun ‘Nasty Nick’ Bateman, Chanelle Hayes and Nadia Almada are just some of the names producers hope to return to recapture ‘the magic’ of the original series.
A source told the publication: ‘It won’t be a reboot full of old faces, it will be a small amount of BB veterans rather than a flood of BB veterans.’
‘The one thing producers don’t want to do is deliver a show that is essentially a Love Island-style competition, full of beautiful people.
Before adding: ‘They really want the quirky, often controversial characters who are going to stir things up and make things interesting – and many of the names in the frame have made their mark in that regard.’
Nick, now 55, made headlines during the show’s first season in 2000 when he cunningly tried to turn his housemates against each other, before being caught and evicted from the show.
Meanwhile, Chanette, 35, appeared on the show in 2007, where she struck up a romance with housemate Ziggy, and Nadia, 46, won the 2004 series.
Other possible returnees include Makosi Musambasi, who claimed she became pregnant at home despite not having sex in 2005.
As well as Kinga Karolczak who drunkenly showed viewers at home an X-rated party trick with a wine bottle.
MailOnline contacted ITV for comment.
Meanwhile, legendary Big Brother narrator Marcus Bentley has reportedly reapplied for the job on the show’s upcoming reboot.
Shock back! Back for more? The ITV2 reboot will feature some of the reality show’s most iconic former housemates (‘Nasty’ Nick Bateman pictured)
Back? Other possible returnees include Makosi Musambasi, who claimed she became pregnant at home despite not having sex in 2005.
Gateshead-born voiceover artist Marcus, 55, became synonymous with the program after it launched on Channel 4 in 2000 and stayed with the reality series until its final run on Channel 5 in 2018.
Marcus had a booming ‘day one in the Big Brother house’ at the start of each series, describing the action as it unfolded on screen for viewers, and he plans to do the same when the series makes a comeback later this year makes on ITV2.
It has also emerged that the famous live feed will return after viewers were previously able to watch the housemates 24 hours a day from the first series in 2000 before it was axed in 2009.
It was brought back for a fee the following year, but was dropped again when Big Brother moved to Channel 5 in 2011, before being brought back again in 2013 for two hours a night.