interview
AJ ODUDU & WILL BEST: ‘You’ve got to be brave TO GOON CELEB BB!’
The hosts talk to Nikki Peach about the highly anticipated return of CBB
If Tiffany Pollard’s maiden shoes, Gemma Collins’ claustrophobia, Megan McKenna’s mood swings, and the words “David’s dead” mean nothing to you, then you’ve missed out. Celebrity Big Brother has brought us some of the biggest, funniest and most WTF moments in pop culture history and this week, hosts AJ Odudu, 36, and Will Best, 39, returned to give us another helping.
With the non-celeb version making a triumphant return last September after a five-year hiatus, now it’s the turn of its glamorous, star-loving sibling. The house has been “celebritified”, as Will puts it, and the broadcast slot has been upgraded to primetime ITV1. So, if you want to see pop stars from your youth, retired athletes, and influencers fighting over food, having a meltdown over hair products or spouting melodramatic vitriol in the diary room, ITV have got you covered for the next few weeks.
A head of the launch show, we caught up with presenting power pairing AJ and Will to find out how they prepare for eviction night, which stars are in their CBB hall of fame and why, despite not being allowed to swear, they f**king love Big Brother…
Celebrity Big Brother is back! Can we expect any big changes?
AJ: The house has had a little makeover.
Will: It’s been celebritified, if that’s a word. In the same way it was last series, it’s a house full of people who would never have met or been friends normally – and who definitely would never, ever have lived together. So, it’s that, but with the glitz of celebrity sprinkled all over it.
So, there’s no special treatment for these celebs?
W: They get to be on ITV1.
A: That’s right! They get to be on primetime every night.
W: In terms of stuff they get, the format is the same and what the viewers get is the same in terms of unfiltered access. Any celebrity who agrees to do it is brave in my book. There’s a lot at stake…
A: Or it’s chance at a comeback. It’s a big move. It could be the making or the breaking of these people.
Unfiltered access –does that mean the livestream is back?
W: It was one of the big successes of the last series –people loved to see it, so it’s back again. There’s nowhere for the celebs to hide. We’re seeing them at their most vulnerable and intimate. When we see them on TikTok Live and all that stuff, that’s still an image of themselves that they want to portray. Now, they’re handing that power over to Big Brother.
Was there anyone you were really hoping would go in?
A: I didn’t give the rumoured celebs too much thought, because you don’t want to get excited or disappointed. Ilove reality TV in general, so I’d
