ITV2 dropped a major bombshell earlier this week by announcing its upcoming Big Brother reboot and while we don’t know much about the new series, fans are certainly hoping that a few staples from the reality show’s history will be returning.
A Big Brother classic that fans remain particularly fond of is the 24-hour live feed, which allowed viewers to check in with the contestants at any time via the red button when the show was on Channel 4. But will the live feed return in 2023? The voice of Big Brother, Marcus Bentley, doesn’t think so.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview, the voiceover artist said that he doesn’t think ITV2 will bring back the 24-hour live feed due to the expensive nature of the feature.
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“I’ve had lots of discussions about it. It costs so much money. I didn’t particularly enjoy it because anything that was important or controversial or whatever was always blocked out by bird noise anyway.
“But why it’s expensive is, you’ve got to have a lawyer and a producer watching it at all time,” he explained. “Somebody might suddenly start talking about their dad who’s got a gambling addiction? And of course, that’s a personal thing. That would be very embarrassing for somebody. And so that’s [the] type of thing, [and] there’s a million versions of that.”
Bentley continued: “So you have to have these lawyers, and the lawyers are not cheap. TV lawyers, especially. And, you know, it just became very expensive.”
Bentley didn’t rule out the return of the 24-hour feed completely though, given that the fans remember the livestream fondly.
“It might come back a little bit. Who knows? The fans would love it and the hardcore fans seem to absolutely insist on it but I can imagine it not being granted. It also causes continuity issues as well,” he added.
The live feed was first introduced in 2000 for free, before being scrapped in 2009 and brought back the following year with viewers required to pay a fee.
When the show moved to Channel 5, the live feed did not initially feature, however in 2013, it did return for a two-hour nightly show.
ITV announced that Big Brother would be returning to our screens in 2023 during Monday’s Love Island final before teasing in a press release that the show will feature a new cast of “carefully selected housemates from all walks of life”.
Big Brother will air on ITV2 in 2023. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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