[Matt]

This January Big Brother will be a very different affair - and not just because it will be Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack. It will also be a Davina-less affair (fear not, she’ll return in the summer). Instead, Dermot O’Leary will present the eviction shows, as well as his own baby, Big Brother’s Little Brother. But it’s not all good news for fans of the presenter with the boy-next-door good looks and the cheeky-chappie demeanour. Because - brace yourselves - this series will also mark Dermot’s Big Brother swansong. After seven years at the helm of his beloved BBLB, it’s time to move on to pastures new, and possibly less full of ridiculous polystyrene outfits.
Here, the irrepressible and irreverent Irishman reveals why he’s leaving, looks back on his favourite BB moments and housemates, and fails to convince anyone that he won’t cry on his last show.

I can’t believe I’ve got to ask you this, Dermot. Why are you leaving Big Brother?
Bloody hell! Thanks a lot for starting with a nice easy one! I’m leaving because last summer, it was absolutely brutal, to be honest. I loved working on both The X Factor and Big Brother’s Little Brother, but I had literally three days off in the whole summer. And I think both the shows suffered a little bit as a result. And I’m not going to do Big Brother for ever, so I thought it was time to make that choice now. I thought that I could have my cake and eat it, and really I couldn’t.

You’ve alluded to the fact that the show will be a little different this time around. What’s the concept of Celebrity Hijack?
There’s two fundamental differences to this show. Firstly the celebrities will actually be Big Brother, which is really good fun. And secondly, rather than doing auditions, we went out and deliberately cast people to be in the house. Very gifted people, so young scientists, young athletes, young acrobats, young Mensa members or whatever. And hopefully it’ll lead to a really fun experience.

How long will each celebrity’s stint as Big Brother last?
That’s up to them, really, but I don’t think it’ll be longer than a day or two.

Who are the celebs involved?
I can honestly tell you I haven’t got a clue. Nobody ever tells me, because I’m hopeless at keeping secrets.

Would you like an opportunity to do it? To actually become Big Brother?
[Shouting] Oh my God! I didn’t even think about that! That would be an amazing idea, I’d love that.

They should let you do that at the end of the series, as a farewell treat.
That would be absolutely brilliant!

The only problem is, wouldn’t you be too nice?
Oh, I don’t know about that…

Is there a dark side lurking there…?
I reckon there’d be a dark side once I got into the chair and was talking to the Diary Room, I tell you that much.

And will BBLB still be going on during the series?
Oh yeah, yeah, we’re still doing BBLB. I wouldn’t have done it if that wasn’t going to be part of it. It’s a lovely way to sign off, really.

Can we expect the usual plethora of absurd outfits?
Yep! Without a shadow of a doubt. In fact, this is my last series, so the more absurd the better.

What have been your favourite outfits over the years?
It’s not exactly an outfit, but I love all the green screen stuff we do, where we superimpose my mouth on the housemates’ faces. And this year I loved the George Galloway leotard, and I liked wearing the Kylie outfit this year. And I liked the time travel machine and I liked my kangaroo outfit this year as well.

Are you ever tempted to take any of them home as a special treat for your girlfriend?
[Laughs] No. I think there’s a reason we’ve been going out for five years. I don’t think she’d have stuck around for that!

On BBLB, who have been your best celebrity guests?
My favourite’s probably Mathew Horne, who I loved and struck up a friendship with off the back of it. He ended up presenting Big Mouth as well, with James Corden, his co-star in Gavin and Stacey. They were brilliant, and are doing Big Mouth again this series. That’ll be lovely to see both of them. Kathy Burke coming on the show was fantastic, and a dream come true. Ditto Bob Mortimer.

And the worst guest ever would surely have to be…
[Interrupting] Alicia Duvall?

Exactly!
She was amazing. It was actually one of my all-time favourite episodes. She was just so unspeakably bad.

Have you had any really awful moments or tough interviews?
Dennis Rodman was an idiot when he came on. He was swearing, and he’d been in a lap dancing club all night. He was a really big disappointment for me, because I’d really been looking forward to interviewing him. He’s the only major disappointment we’ve had. And obviously Jade was one of the toughest interviews I’ve had to do, but I was glad I did it.

What has Big Brother meant to you, over the years?
It hasn’t really sunk in yet that I’m leaving. It probably won’t do until it’s on in the summer, and I’m not involved with it. It’s been my whole life for the last seven years. I haven’t had a summer for seven years! With that, and Celebrity Big Brother, and the preparation time, you end up spending five or six months involved in it every year. It’s been the defining show of my career, I suppose. You can’t help but be so proud of a show that you presented from day one, that started out in a little broom cupboard and grew to be a daily show on Channel 4, and has a cult following that has stayed with it. I’m very, very proud of it, and I’ll miss it a great deal. And also it’s a show that allowed me to grow up on telly as well. It’s given me all this amazing experience. Four months of the year, presenting a live show six-days-a-week, you’re never going to get an apprenticeship like that again. I’ve no doubt that I wouldn’t be as comfortable doing X Factor if I hadn’t been having all the experience of Big Brother.


What have you got planned for your final night?
I’ve not even thought about it yet. I’m on X Factor duty at the moment. What I want to do is throw a party for everyone that’s worked on Little Brother over the years. I’d love to host that, I think it would be great fun.

Do you think we’ll see you cry on air on the last programme? I’m betting ‘yes’…
I really, really hope not. I think I’ll be all right as long as some idiot doesn’t do a ‘Best of…’ moments. Then I’ll be blubbing before I know it.

[KKBL]

i hope they do a best bits VT for Dermot.