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00:00 Welcome to Binge Watch. We're giving you our top picks of what's happening in the world
00:16 of film and TV. In this episode we're going to be talking
00:19 about the reality TV show that started it all.
00:25 ITV are bringing back Big Brother with new hosts and a new house, but can the original
00:32 reality show compete in today's overcrowded market?
00:35 Jacob, how excited are you to have it back? I'm really excited. I was a massive fan of
00:40 the show back when it was on, especially in those Channel 4 days. So the fact it's coming
00:44 back, it might have felt a bit premature when they announced it, but now that the season
00:49 has rolled around, I'm kind of really ready for it and I'm really excited to see what
00:53 ITV bring to it. I feel like it's in safe hands. They've kind of pumped a lot of money
00:59 and a lot of creativity into reality TV lately. It made complete sense for them to go, "Yeah,
01:07 let's dust off Big Brother." So I am excited. I mean, it'll be interesting to see how they
01:11 like translate it for 2023, just because I feel like at the beginning it was so novel
01:17 and it was just the idea of... I mean, it actually was like a social experiment, the
01:21 idea of being able to see people 24/7 in some cases was just bizarre. But now with social
01:29 media, we have that all the time. So I'm wondering what's going to make it seem innovative this
01:34 time around.
01:35 Yeah, it's funny because it's like it kind of had to kind of roll with the times when
01:38 it was first on, from being that social experiment, as you say, to maybe embracing social media.
01:46 And with that, you kind of got... The housemates kind of changed, didn't they? It became less
01:50 of a cross section of the country and more potentially fame hungry people or people who
01:58 had a following on social media. Whereas now I think they're going to intentionally try
02:03 to curate that social experiment feel. So I'm really hopeful that it's going to feel
02:09 as fresh as it weirdly as it did in 2000, 2001.
02:13 Yeah, I guess it will have to because it can't like regress back to what it was just because
02:18 that can't exist today.
02:19 People don't really want it because they did it on Channel 5 and ultimately those series
02:24 were kind of well liked, sure, but I don't think it was vintage Big Brother. I think
02:28 people were kind of done.
02:29 So Will Best is presenting with AJ Odudu and they are... First and foremost, they are actually
02:35 friends outside of the show. So I think that's actually going to be great because they're
02:39 going to have some ready-made camaraderie. There's going to be no awkwardness.
02:42 [Sings]
02:49 Go!
02:50 2.17pm. AJ and Will are in the trailer butchering a classic.
02:56 The thing about Davina and Dermot when they were like the family and Emma and Ryan on
03:01 Channel 5, they had great chemistry and I think you need the host to kind of guide you
03:06 through. And when I spoke to Will, I asked him about what the new era of Big Brother
03:10 is going to bring and also about some of his favourite moments and housemates from
03:13 the past 23 years of Big Brother. Here is what he said.
03:17 Hello.
03:18 Hello, Will. How are you?
03:19 Yeah, good. How are you?
03:20 Yes, I'm very well. Happy to have you here.
03:22 Thanks. Yeah, it's good to be here.
03:23 Good man. And I mean, now it's ramping up, it's coming, it's here. I have to ask you,
03:28 are you a fan of Big Brother?
03:30 I am a big fan of Big Brother. Yeah, I mean, it's one of those shows, isn't it, that like
03:37 everyone's been a fan of Big Brother at some point in their life. And I remember when it
03:41 first came out, it was such a huge deal, not just in terms of TV, it felt like a proper
03:48 like cultural moment. And so I was kind of totally hooked right from the start. And I
03:53 remember those early series on Channel 4. I mean, like my whole family, everybody would
03:58 gather around the TV to watch Big Brother. My dad is not your traditional reality TV
04:03 guy. He'd be there every night, 9pm, lapping it up, telling us who to vote for, getting
04:10 the phone for us. I mean, it was a full kind of family thing. And then yeah, I just kind
04:15 of, that love for the show sort of never left me. And if you told my younger self that one
04:23 day I would be hosting it, I would have not believed you.
04:27 It's quite wild.
04:28 Yeah, it is quite wild. But yeah, it's not often you get to host a show, which is something
04:34 that you absolutely love. And that is happening now.
04:40 It's happening, whether you like it or not. And you and AJ, Adoodoo, are stepping into
04:45 some big shoes.
04:46 We are.
04:47 Obviously Davina McCool, Thelma O'Leary, Emma Willis. Have you spoken to any of them?
04:53 So well, Emma and AJ are really good mates. So vicariously through AJ, I've received advice
05:02 from Emma. AJ always says this, like, we're not going to be like the next Emma and Rylan.
05:09 We are the current Will and AJ. So it's kind of like, also, it's not the sort of show that
05:15 you can, you're quite limited in terms of the preparation you can do. Because every,
05:21 you know, it depends on the housemates, right? Like, it's a show where we have no idea what's
05:26 going to happen. That's, I think, why it's such an enduring format. Like, there's very
05:31 few opportunities for it to be produced. Once it starts, you have the tasks. But that's
05:37 it. Like, it's like the most hands off kind of production.
05:41 Anything goes, right?
05:42 Anything goes, right? And I think that means that it's going to be interesting, and it's
05:47 going to be authentic, and whatever happens is going to be real. But it also means that,
05:52 like, we can't rehearse. Like, some of the stuff that has happened, there'd just be no
05:57 way that you could possibly have, like, planned for the stuff that goes on in that house.
06:04 And does that excite you or make you kind of more nervous? As you?
06:08 No, it excites me. Because I love live telly anyway. And I've done quite a lot of live
06:14 stuff in the past. I love the fact that you react. You can only prep so much, and then
06:20 it's done. Like, that's good. But I also like the fact that me and AJ are going to be discovering
06:25 stuff and experiencing it along with the audience. So, like, you know, if there's an exit interview,
06:31 we're going to be asking the questions that we, as fans of the show, want to know the
06:35 answers to. And we're going to be reacting to everything in real time as well. So, no,
06:40 I think that just makes it all the more fun.
06:42 You're steering BB into a new era. And I'm hoping there is some element of similarities
06:48 to what was there before. But how do you think or hope it's going to differentiate from what
06:53 came before?
06:54 It's going to be totally different, man, I think. Tonally, the show will feel different.
06:59 And then compared to 2000, when it first came out, I mean, like, that may as well have been,
07:03 like, the 1800s. It's completely different worlds.
07:06 Would you have ever, if you were not a presenter or in any way famous, have auditioned for
07:13 Big Brother?
07:14 I mean, I would be... I think I'd be too scared. I think I know that I don't think I'd be a
07:20 very good housemate because I would be so pathetically eager to please. I would want
07:25 everyone to like me. And it would be... I'd probably... People would see straight through
07:29 it. The worst thing... I remember, like, from previous series, you'll remember this as a
07:32 fan. Like, the worst thing that people could be accused of is being fake. And I think people
07:37 would be like, no one is that.
07:38 Is that nice?
07:39 Is that nice? And I'm not. I'm not. I would be being fake.
07:43 Yeah. But we've all got a bit of a dark side, by the way. It's funny because it's like always
07:48 like sitting on the fence is actually... Playing it safe is actually not the way forward.
07:53 Do you find yourself thinking about the months ahead? And what is it that you kind of find
07:57 yourself feeling most hyped about?
07:59 The show is... Not only is it a big show, but it's a big show for me in terms of a show
08:05 that I love. It's not been around for a long time. Like, it's been this kind of abstract
08:10 concept at the end of the year. Like, Big Brother's coming back. I can't even imagine
08:16 what that's going to be like. After the first production meeting, it went from being this
08:19 kind of like abstract thing of like, oh my God, Big Brother's coming back. I can't even
08:23 get my head around it. To like, oh, it's going to be a show and it's going to be amazing.
08:27 And they were taking us through, you know, walk through the house and like a running
08:30 order for the opening night.
08:33 Favourite housemates. I know you mentioned Sandy, which is such a left field answer.
08:36 I love it. Over the years, I mean, what makes a good housemate firstly?
08:40 Range. Do you know what I mean? Like, these people are characters, right? And they become
08:45 like characters that kind of live in our lives for the time that they're on. So you want
08:50 to see a journey. Do you know what I mean? You want to see people learning from the experience,
08:57 growing from the experience of being in there. You want to see people who are able to have
09:02 fun, who aren't afraid of a bit of drama, you know, who can be explosive and unpredictable.
09:08 I mean, like Nikki Graham, right? She's one of the all time great housemates because she
09:12 had everything. She had some of the most legendary rants.
09:16 Who is she? Who is she? Who is she?
09:20 It's a good question. We should all be asking ourselves, who am I? Who are we? And Nikki
09:26 wasn't afraid to ask that. So she had those kind of amazing rants, but she also had moments,
09:31 you know, that were funny and charming and sweet. And then her reaction when she left
09:37 the house. Do you remember like, because the crowd when you exit, that has got to be quite
09:44 an extraordinary experience to step up because nobody knows when you're in there how the
09:49 public have taken to you. So she was terrified that she was going to maybe not get the best
09:55 reaction, was going to be a bit of booing or whatever. But the reaction she got when
09:58 she left of like thousands of people, rapturous applause and cheering. And just that kind
10:04 of final thing of her just like crying tears of joy. That's a great narrative arc. Do you
10:09 know what I mean? She had moments when she thought that people weren't going to like
10:13 her and then she came out. She was a hero.
10:16 So I really liked Jedward in there. But then I watched like clips of Jedward back and I
10:24 love them, but it was quite, that was quite a one dimensional performance in that Jedward
10:30 were just Jedward. The whole time they're in there, they were just Jedward. Which is
10:34 great. Which ticks that authenticity box. But some of the stuff that they used to do,
10:40 like pranksters, like do you remember them like flooding the bathroom and using each
10:44 other as mops and stuff? Absolutely wild behaviour.
10:47 If you live with them, you would be a bit frustrated.
10:50 It's a miracle people didn't get a bit more annoyed. So when it was announced that I was
10:56 doing it, I actually got a voice note on the day it was announced from Jedward.
11:01 Oh yeah.
11:02 Yeah. They left me a voice note on Instagram with a song and they sang, I think they sang
11:10 Let Me Be Your Hero, you know that Enrique Iglesias song. I need to remind myself, they
11:15 did like a duet of Let Me Be Your Hero.
11:18 Here's a question. If you could pluck, and it can be someone you've said already, an
11:21 old housemate and put them in with the new lot in this series, who would you pick? Just
11:27 like so you perhaps selfishly so you could like just watch them again.
11:30 That is a really good, that's really, one of my favourite storylines that I really enjoyed
11:37 and had a big impact on me. Do you remember the, do you remember the kind of will they
11:41 won't they bromance with Craig and Anthony?
11:44 Oh yeah.
11:45 That was an amazing, that was an amazing thing. I'd like to see something like that. Maybe
11:52 it's because when it came out, I think I was interviewing him quite a lot on like T4 and
11:56 stuff. Dappy.
11:57 Dappy.
11:58 What's Dappy up to? I think get Dappy in that house.
12:02 Absolutely.
12:03 Like, because he's still making music. He's a very talented rapper still.
12:07 I reckon he'd say yes as well.
12:09 I think he'd say yes. And I think he would, I think he'd be an interesting addition. He
12:13 would feel like a normal, like a real person.
12:16 Absolutely. That's the key.
12:17 Going in there.
12:18 That's the key.
12:19 But with that Dappy edge.
12:20 Yeah, for sure.
12:21 With the Dappy edge. That sounds like an insult.
12:22 What's the, what's the, you know, like a lot of housemates used to go in, I guess in the
12:26 later series thinking that maybe they could get some form of deal coming out of it. This
12:33 year do you think there'll be a smaller amount of that with the housemates that are selected?
12:37 I think so. I think so. I think so. And I think, I think, you know, it will like, look,
12:42 that comes down to the casting as well, to an extent. And I think one of the, you know,
12:46 people's reasons for going in there, obviously interrogated, you know, as part of the selection
12:51 process. I mean, a lot of people who are going to become big fans of this series, they'll
12:56 only really know Big Brother from TikTok. I mean, a friend sent me a stat the other
13:00 day and this was a while ago, so it will be much more now, but like 16 billion views of
13:04 like Big Brother clips, UK Big Brother clips on TikTok. But a lot of people watching that,
13:10 they won't know the context. They'll just think, oh, that's funny or weird or whatever.
13:14 Do you envision this kind of running for a few series?
13:17 I hope so. I hope so. ITV are, it's kind of the home of reality TV now, right? And, and
13:23 they've done such an amazing job with other reality formats. They know what they're doing
13:29 and like the team behind it are just like some of the best people in telly. Like just,
13:37 it's got everything going for it. So I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful it will run and run.
13:42 And working with AJ finally, working with AJ, who are you friends of AJ?
13:46 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, mate. So me and AJ met, we met like 10 years ago, maybe. Yeah.
13:53 I think we first worked together. Yeah. In like 2013, 2014, we just became really good
13:58 mates. So we've known each other for years. Like we, we, we have, we worked together last
14:02 summer on a show for Red Bull. And before that, well, it'd been locked down and stuff.
14:07 So we haven't worked together, but we still hang out. Like we're like actual mates.
14:11 Come on, get that finger up.
14:13 I mean, AJ is like one of my favourite people in the world. She is so lovely and like genuinely
14:23 like kind. And I also, she's also one of the funniest people I know. Like she is just hilarious
14:30 and she's so like authentic. She manages, she's one of those presenters who manages
14:34 to be a really like slick presenter. Like she's amazing at her job, but also totally
14:42 like has a feeling of being like unfiltered and authentic and reactive and funny and all
14:47 of those things. So, you know, this would be hosting a show like this that I love so
14:53 much. So I'm putting pressure on myself to do a good job because I love the format. Like
14:57 that would be even more daunting if I was doing it, if I wasn't doing it with like my
15:03 mate.
15:04 Yeah. I mean, I personally can't wait to see who's going into the house. Cause I mean,
15:07 that's what matters. The house.
15:08 Yeah, no, the housemates are, I mean, you look at past series, they are made by the
15:13 housemates. Series live and die by them basically. I can't wait either just to see who, I remember
15:19 back in the day, like I was a massive fan and would just be, just like really champion
15:26 certain people. And sometimes it was for no rhyme or reason, you know? So I'm really excited
15:30 as well to see what this new era is going to bring in terms of the housemates. Whether
15:34 they go for some who are quite wild or whether it's just going to be just a really fun selection
15:42 of people, as Will said, people who would never ordinarily meet in real life, who are
15:47 just thrust together in this extraordinary situation.
15:49 The housemates are probably the most important part of Big Brother. So I'm very excited to
15:53 see, and we'll get to meet all of the housemates going into the new series of Big Brother on
15:56 ITV, ITV1 and ITVX on the 8th of October at 9pm.
16:01 We'll be sure to tune in and thank you for watching Binge Watch on Independent TV.
16:05 We'll see you again next time. Like and subscribe to us on YouTube.
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