Despite some faults, the 2025 series of Celebrity Big Brother has been a triumph – ITV just needs to make one change to return it to the upper echelons of reality TV.
When news broke in 2022 that ITV was picking up the reality show format, as a fan, I was excited but also apprehensive. While I welcomed the return of the “ultimate social experiment”, I was hoping that ITV took a different tack to their other reality TV shows.
What we didn’t need was another series akin to Love Island filled with wannabe 20-something influencers who are only there to further their careers. And credit to ITV, the revival of the civilian series was a success, filled with contestants of all ages, occupations, viewpoints that worked in its favour.
Next came the announcement that Celebrity Big Brother would be returning and again I was excited, but apprehensive. The last series, which aired on Channel 5 in 2018, saw Z-list reality stars living alongside names such as Ann Widdecombe, Wayne Sleep and even Maggie Oliver, the Greater Manchester detective constable who blew the whistle on the Rochdale sex abuse ring case.
It was clear that the show had run out of steam in its Channel 5 era. Still, nostalgia prevails for the heady heyday of Tiffany Pollard thinking David Guest had died and George Galloway cosplaying as a cat with Rula Lenska. So with the hope that bosses could return to what makes the show tick I was among the millions excited to tune into the revival.
