Channel 5 boss Ben Frow has said he’s “planning for a year without ‘Big Brother’”, during an interview at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
For the past year, the future of the reality show has been called into question, after Ben said that unless he sees the show adapt and improve, he’ll axe it once its contract is up at the end of this year.
Speaking in Edinburgh, it was clear Ben had little cause to change his mind, revealing that he’s still planning to not bring the reality juggernaut back in 2019.
He said: “I have planned for a year without ‘Big Brother’. But never say never. The contract runs out at Christmas.”
It’s not known whether this also includes the show’s ‘Celebrity’ edition, which is currently in the middle of its last contracted series with Channel 5.
There’s also one more series of the regular series of ‘Big Brother’ still to come on Channel 5, which kicks off next month.
One week in, the present series of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ has been as controversial as ever, with almost 1000 people complaining to Ofcom when “Human Ken Doll” Rodrigo Alves was not removed from the house after using the N-word twice during a conversation on his first night in the house.
People have also taken issue with one of the show’s border control-themed tasks, which mocked Donald Trump’s proposed wall along the Mexican border.
‘CBB’ also made headlines when it was revealed that adult film star Stormy Daniels - best known for her ongoing legal dispute with President Trump - had pulled out of the show at the eleventh hour.
Speaking about Stormy’s decision not to enter the house, Ben noted: “We built a whole week around Stormy. I flew someone out to accompany her here. She disappeared on us.
“I was bloody furious actually, we built the White House and the whole goddamn thing around her.”
‘Big Brother’ initially aired in the UK for 11 series on Channel 4, before it was picked up by Channel 5 in 2011 when its original home decided not to renew its contract.
The upcoming series will be the eighth to air on Channel 5, while this is 15th series of ‘CBB’ on the channel.