[Denver]

CELEBRITY Big Brother could be coming to TV3, thanks to former reality star Anna Nolan.

The Irish Sun can reveal that the now Head of Development at Coco Television has acquired the rights to Big Brother in Ireland and it’s tipped to air on TV3.

Singing Traveller Kelly Mongan, TV star Grainne Seoige, as well as axed Xpose presenters Lisa Cannon and Aisling O’Loughlin are said to be in the running for a place in a scaled-down version of the hit show.

A TV insider said: “Big Brother has never been done in Ireland but Irish broadcasters are now so risk averse to new programme ideas, it’s a safe show and could provide content for all three TV3 channels.”

The station is said to be keen to air an Irish Celebrity Big Brother to counter the success of RTE’s Dancing With the Stars. New TV3 boss Bill Malone had planned to steal viewers from RTE with a range of big budget shows.

However, TV3 was caught unawares by the success of rollercoaster Dancing With The Stars on RTE.

Malone told the Irish Sun: “Dancing With The Stars is a great show but TV3 is also a broadcaster of scale. We did Cheltenham this year. We have the Six Nations next year. Nothing is off limits.”

Cost has been the main reason Big Brother hasn’t been on Irish screens before. However, a TV3 version of Celebrity Big Brother could cut costs by converting a house.

An industry expert said: “Big Brother can be done cheaply. The first version of Big Brother in Holland in 1999 had the contestants in huts.”

Voice of Ireland runner-up Kelly Mongan is said to be a very strong contender for Irish Big Brother as TV3’s Malone is keen his shows are inclusive and thinks Travellers make great TV.

Watch out as well for an ’80s rocker or a well-known musician. An insider said: “Finbar Furey would be brilliant for a sing—song if he brought his banjo.”

TV3 already owns the rights to air the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother in Ireland whose last series with Jedward drew audiences of 100,000 to station 3e.

Anna Nolan and TV3 did not respond for comment.

https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/t...-for-hit-show/