[Nicky91]

Big Brother is being tipped for a potential return to screens this year.

The reality series ran for 19 series from 2000 up until it was axed by Channel 5 in 2018.

With the current global health crisis forcing many other shows to be cancelled - including ITV2's Love Island - could Big Brother be back to fill the gap in schedules?

The show's format would appear to work well with the current restrictions: Potential housemates could be quarantined before entering the house where they'd only come into contact with one another.

Remote cameras and producers communicating only via the voice of Big Brother mean that filming could adhere to any social distancing restrictions.

Bookies have slashed the odds on the comeback from 14/1 to just 2/1 on a new series airing this summer, according to mybettingsites.co.uk.

A mybettingsites.co.uk spokesperson said: “Love Island is very much reality TV’s hottest property but as this season’s summer series have been cancelled, there are whispers of a Big Brother comeback and the odds suggest it may just happen.”

“The Big Brother format with a number of people stuck in a house together very much lend itself to the current situation of self-distancing, as long as all contestants are tested before entering the house, which should be very straight forward.”

While there's no official word on a Big Brother revival yet, reports earlier this year claimed that Channel 4 had been in 'secret talks' to bring the format back.

Big Brother first launched on Channel 4 in 2000 before moving to Channel 5 in 2011 where it last aired in autumn 2018.

Meanwhile former BBUK host Emma Willis said she'd love to see a celebratory series in 2020 - 20 years since Big Brother's UK debut.

“If they did anything, I’d be devastated not to be involved in it," she said in an interview in 2019. “It’s been a huge part of my life, both working on it and watching it."

Emma told The Sun newspaper: “It needs an anniversary, a big birthday. To never do it again would be a terrible shame.

“It has to find its feet and be celebratory and fun.”

https://tellymix.co.uk/reality-tv/bi...cellation.html