Entertainment
Big Brother return branded ‘depressing’ by Channel 4 boss-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro
He described Big Brother as a ‘wonderful show’ which did ‘wonderful things’.
Fans can’t wait for Big Brother to return (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)
The long-awaited return of Big Brother has been branded ‘depressing’ by a boss at Channel 4, who compared the revival to food being ‘reheated’ in the microwave.
Next year, the reality show which made stars of individuals including Jade Goody, Josie Gibson and the late Nikki Grahame is making a comeback after what will be a five-year hiatus.
When it returns with a yet-to-be-announced host, it will air on ITV2 and new streaming platform ITVX, having previously been on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2010 and then Channel 5 up until 2018.
While speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Ian Katz – chief content officer at Channel 4 – described Big Brother as a ‘wonderful show’ which did ‘wonderful things’.
However, he then questioned the decision for an old TV show to be rehashed, saying: ‘I’m sure it will bring an audience to ITV but I do think there is something depressing about this microwave moment of TV of shows being reheated.’
He added: ‘If Channel 4 is about anything it is about finding that new dish.’
The reality show has found a new home with a rival broadcaster (Picture: ITV)
Earlier this week at the TV festival, Kevin Lygo, the managing director of media and entertainment at ITV, credited the success of Love Island with leading to the revival of Big Brother on the channel.
‘We look at Love Island and we see this extraordinary successful show that defies all the sort of current logic and goes against what people say in that, “Young people don’t watch [linear] television,”’ he said.
“And then you think every single night at nine o’clock on ITV2 and on the Hub is this show for eight weeks that more young people watch than they watch anything else.
‘And we should all take great joy in the fact that if you get the right show, they’re going to come and watch it.’
Emma Willis recently ruled herself out from presenting when the show returns (Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)
Lygo speculated that the audience tuning in to watch Big Brother might not be as young as the main demographic of Love Island fans, as he believes older members of the public will ‘remember it so fondly’, having watched it years ago.
He dubbed the legacy of Big Brother as an ‘extraordinary thing’, which he argued ‘shaped the most television’.
Emma Willis recently ruled herself out from presenting the upcoming series of Big Brother, having presented the show for five years.
‘I think with every new era of Big Brother, I think there should be a new host,’ she told RadioTimes.com.
‘You know, I loved my time on the show, and I very much kind of said goodbye to it back then because we thought it was over. I don’t tend to go back. I like to move forward.’
She continued: ‘I think it’s right. It’s starting again, it’s got a new home – it should have a new host.’
Big Brother is set to return in 2023 on ITV2 on streaming platform ITVX.
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