ITV confirms launch date for Big Brother revival

The reality series returns to UK screens after five years off-air.

The much-anticipated reboot of reality TV show Big Brother will hit screens on October 8, ITV has confirmed.

The reality series will air every night on ITVX following its revival by the broadcaster five years after it was axed by Channel 5 amid a ratings slump.

Big Brother: The Launch will see a new cast of “carefully selected housemates from all walks of life” arrive at the brand-new house in front of a live studio audience.

ITV said the famous house featuring a “contemporary new look” will see the return of tasks, nominations and live evictions with the voting public playing a “crucial role” through the series – before voting for the winner of the show.

The revival will see TV stars AJ Odudu and Will Best follow in the footsteps of former Big Brother presenters Davina McCall, Emma Willis and Brian Dowling, who all presented the popular programme during its 18-year reign on British TV.

Odudu and Best will host Big Brother: Late & Live each night in front of a live studio audience after the show has aired, which will feature the evictees first live interview, as well as celebrity guest commentary and weekly nomination results.

Big Brother: Live Stream also makes its return to screens, showing footage from the all-new house into the small hours every night on ITVX after Big Brother: Late & Live.

The social experiment programme, which sees housemates live together in a custom-built home for weeks without access to the outside world in a bid to win a cash prize, started in 2000 on Channel 4 before Channel 5 took over in 2011.

Big Brother: The Launch will air on ITV1, ITV2 and ITVX in a “disruptive multi-channel and streaming takeover”, while the remainder of the series will be broadcast nightly on ITV2 and ITVX, excluding Saturdays.