Big Brother goes back to basics: but can it capture its heyday?

It’s hard to explain to the Love Island generation quite how revolutionary the first series of Big Brother felt. The idea of constant surveillance was dangerous and thrilling. The contestants weren’t wannabe influencers because Facebook hadn’t even been invented yet, and the most outrageous thing that happened was Nasty Nick rigging the vote. Tame by today’s standards, headline-grabbing back then. There was no obvious agenda, no strategy or game play.

In the years that followed the antics became seedier and more calculated (from suspected hot tub pregnancies to Kinga’s encounter with a bottle…), the format twists grew more desperate and complicated (including Cameron swapping places with a contestant in the South African Big Brother house mid series) and the housemates were ever hungrier for the fame that came with the show.

ITV’s heavily advertised revival promised to go back to basics. No more Insta lovelies, just a diverse cross-section of modern Britain spilling their hearts out on a shiny new diary room chair. But can you ever rekindle the innocence of the original format? How can you conduct a genuine social experiment when the contestants are all too aware of the brand sponsorships and TV opportunities waiting for them on the other side?

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The pre-recorded launch show, hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best, tried to set the tone. "The OG is back,’" they declared, quickly quoting original host Davina McCall’s catchphrase: "Fancy another one?" Of course, 23 years on, they couldn’t create the atmosphere of those exciting early launch shows, with a live, baying crowd clutching the hottest ticket in town. A handful of happy audience members cheered, but it didn’t feel like their hearts were in it in the same way.

We rattled through our introductions to the 16 housemates at lightning speed. The edit was probably necessary (otherwise we’d have been there for hours) but for Big Brother to be at its edgy best you need to feed off the anarchy and the adventure that made the show sparkle.

First impressions of the housemates were good: there’s a heady mix of opposing political opinions and life experiences represented, with big characters from different generations ready to shake things up. People you instantly love, others you already can’t stand. Crucially, it’s not just a set of 16 TikTokers – instead, it genuinely feels like real effort has been made to bring interesting people together for an extraordinary experience. From a bingo caller, to Miss Universe, to an ‘ecstatic dancer’ who shimmies under the moon on the Isle of Man.

Once they’d stepped inside the famous doors, it didn’t take long for pesky Big Brother to stir the pot. The first man to enter the house, Jenkin had barely sipped his glass of welcome bubbles before he lost his right to hot water. His suitcase was then blown up and any chance of making friends went out the window when he accidentally put his housemate Olivia up for eviction. Little did he know he’d selected the most precious contestant in the show. Her overblown reaction was a classic Big Brother moment, as she stormed round complaining to anyone who would listen, sobbing into her glittery two-piece. The first big storyline is already underway.

Time will tell how the series develops. There’s a brand-new generation of viewers who won’t remember the likes of Nikki Grahame and Brian Dowling. It will be up to them to decide whether Big Brother can compete with the romantic excitement of Love is Blind or the theatrical backstabbing of The Traitors.

The concept of sharing a house has been poached by almost every other reality show – can it still whip up enough drama to get people talking? While ITV’s reset looks like it may be elevating the brand from the gutter, it’s unclear whether it will be enough to dominate the public conversation as the show once did.

One thing we can all agree on: Marcus Bentley’s return as the iconic narrator, and the classic Paul Oakenfold theme tune sent a shiver of nostalgic excitement. The contestants – and the producers pulling the strings – will determine whether that magic can last.

Big Brother airs weekdays and Sundays at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

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