Big Brother returns: 2.5 million watch as ITV launch show divides opinion

More than 2.5 million people watched 16 contestants enter the Big Brother house as the reality show returned to British TV for the first time in five years.

The series has moved to ITV, and the new crop of housemates immediately took part in a “housewarming party” with games that had unexpected consequences.

Jenkin, 25, had his suitcase blown up and lost access to hot water for a day.

The launch got a mixed reaction – the Telegraph called it “fun” but the Times said it felt “like a Noughties fossil”.

AJ Odudu and Will Best are the new hosts, but some viewers compared them unfavourably to the previous eras of Davina McCall and Emma Willis.

Davina posted on X during the first episode on Sunday: “How’s it going? I’ve got horrific fomo [fear of missing out].”

Big Brother transformed British TV when it first began on Channel 4 in 2000, before moving to Channel 5 and eventually being axed in 2018.

The launch show was watched by 2m on ITV1, and a further 527,000 on ITV2 – which will be its primary home in the coming weeks.

‘Striving for authenticity’
In a four-star review, the Telegraph’s James Hall wrote: “Do we really need Big Brother back? Of course not. Raw and real? Obviously not.

“But this was fun and is at least striving for a degree of authenticity while also knowing it has to entertain.”

Metro’s critic Adam Miller welcomed it back, also awarding four stars and writing that the show’s return “was more impactful than I could have imagined”.

“Big Brother shines on deception, tactical game play and sheer ludicrousness – the launch night alone had all three in abundance,” he wrote.

The line-up is “the most interesting cast Big Brother has seen in years, possibly ever”, he said, but added that it was “strange” that the opening episode was pre-recorded “knowing how electric those live launches could be”.

Fans were also enthusiastic on social media.