Big Brother made a comeback to UK after five years, but with some significant changes in the format of the show quiet strictly.
The influential social experiment new hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best hosted the relaunch on ITV, as the show had been discontinued by Channel 5 in 2018. They introduced 16 new contestants in front of a live studio audience.
Ahead of the launch show on Sunday evening, Best said in a video posted on Instagram: “We all just want to be fair and kind to everybody, and that way we can all enjoy this series together and we can support our housemates on the show and beyond.”
Odudu added, “Let’s make this the most positive series yet and give all of the housemates the respect that you would wish for if you were a housemate too. Is that a deal?’
However, there were two big differences from the past. First, the audience was not allowed to criticize the contestants. “They told us at the beginning, ‘It’s 2023, we want it to be celebratory’, so we weren’t allowed to boo anyone like in the old days”, a crowd whistleblower commented to The Sun.
This was a common practice in earlier seasons. The show’s producers wanted to create a more celebratory atmosphere in 2023. ITV has also mentioned. as part of the protocols, new batch of housemates underwent respect and inclusion training before entering the house.
In line with this, housemates, their families, and friends were asked not to share any content related to the show on their individual social media accounts while the competition was ongoing. This precaution is similar to what’s been seen on ITV’s Love Island.
