AJ Odudu is the perfect Big Brother revival host-Shaun Kitchener-Entertainment – Metro

‘Big Brother house, this is AJ. You are live on ITV2, please do not swear’. Yep. Feels about right! (Picture: Mike Marsland/WireImage)

Bringing back a beloved show like Big Brother must be a daunting task for bosses – especially as every decision is bound to be picked apart by the fervent fanbase.

But it looks like they got at least one decision right: their choice of main presenter.

It’s been announced that along with Will Best, AJ Odudu will be fronting the revival.

‘Big Brother house, this is AJ. You are live on ITV2, please do not swear’. Yep. Feels about right!

As a long-term Big Brother obsessive – who loved it when Davina McCall used to get over-excited on a live show, or when Emma Willis would put a difficult evictee through their paces – I can’t imagine a better presenter than AJ.

Since her endearing turn on Strictly Come Dancing, AJ has quickly ascended to national treasure status; and her warm, amiable nature will make her the perfect successor to Davina, Brian Dowling, and Emma.

Anyone who watched the second season of The Bridge: Race To A Fortune on Channel 4 – with all its tasks, twists and surprise exits – will know she’d be right at home in the reality genre.

AJ has quickly ascended to national treasure status (Picture: BBC/Guy Levy)

Her stint on The Big Breakfast’s revival showed she can carry a live broadcast, and – as if we needed more proof – that she’s fun (Picture: Nicolas Walker/Channel 4 Television)

In that high-pressure environment, she perfectly pitched the right emotional tone for any given moment, cheerleading the contestants one minute and dropping twists and bombshells the next.

She also seemed genuinely excited herself by what was happening, making it easy for us as viewers to feel the same.

What’s more, her stint on The Big Breakfast’s revival showed she can carry a live broadcast, and – as if we needed more proof – that she’s fun.

That instantly iconic moment in which she told Rita Ora her alleged furry apple was in fact a peach? Exquisite!

Having fun with celebs is obviously different to interviewing evictees, but she’s got form there, too: she’s hosted the Married At First Sight sister show MAFS: Afters and gone down a treat, steering the conversations with ease.

And as we saw when she delivered the Eurovision points for the UK back in May 2022, she’s CAMP! Her ‘hell-oh-oh!’ still lives rent-free in my mind.

Of course, what makes her a perfect Big Brother host is the fact she has unfinished business with it: back in 2013, when she was still relatively unknown, she joined Rylan Clark-Neal to front Big Brother’s Bit On The Side.

As we saw when she delivered the Eurovision points for the UK back in May, she’s CAMP! (Picture: BBC)

It didn’t work out: some people claimed she was too inexperienced to steer that chaotic spin-off as smoothly as, say, Dermot O’Leary before her; and although Rylan was kept on until the show’s axe in 2018, AJ quietly departed.

At the time, Channel 5 said it was a mutual decision – but she later told Fabulous: ‘There are so many highs and lows working in TV. I learnt that the hard way when my contract for Big Brother’s Bit On The Side wasn’t renewed. Nobody gave me a reason, so I felt rotten.’

Ten years later, she’s grown exponentially as a presenter and this is a golden opportunity for her to return and prove herself as one of the country’s best hosts.

One person who will undoubtedly support her is Emma Willis. She said at the time of AJ’s BBBOTS exit: ‘I’ve no doubt in my mind we’ll be seeing her somewhere cool very soon because she’s great.’ 

And, nearly a decade on, not only has that ‘somewhere cool’ already involved a couple of reunions with Emma herself (they collaborated on Emma and AJ Get to Work; and AJ’s also fronted backstage coverage for The Voice – which Emma presents), but now it – somewhat ironically – will involve Big Brother.

There were many great names put forward as potential hosts – Roman Kemp, Mo Gilligan, Vick Hope, Alison Hammond and Emily Atack – but AJ Odudu is just the perfect fit. Right person, right time.

There are a lot of questions over how the new-look Big Brother will operate in 2023, and whether or not it will be a success – but with her at the helm, we fans will at least have one less thing to be nervous about. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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