I’m a Big Brother expert – the show will never return to its heyday – and it’s because of the audience

THE once daddy of reality TV has lost its once sharp edge – despite a brilliant casting that would fit nicely into its early days.

Big Brother’s third incarnation on ITV launched to much fan-fare last year, before its celebrity sister series returned.

While the casting has been almost perfect, compared to Channel 5‘s attempt at flogging reality rejects at us that wouldn’t cut the celeb version, something feels missing.

The edge the programme once had is gone and I don’t think it’s coming back.

When people look back to the early years of the show – and a baby-faced Davina McCall – they describe it as being ahead of its time.

In 2002 Brian Dowling was declared the winner with 58% of the vote. Brian, who was a former air steward, was openly gay on the show – reportedly coming out to his parents just two days before appearing.

At 27, Nadia Almada became the first transgender woman to win Big Brother, leaving the TV abode after 71 days to roars of cheers from the crowd at Elstree Studios.

Two years later Pete Bennett scooped the £100,000 prize jackpot, after months of enthralling viewers with his eccentric ways but also schooling viewers in what living with Tourette syndrome actually looks like.

Flash forward 17 years, and the Big Brother 2023 house has a transgender woman, an immigrant from China and a Muslim woman who works as a hairdresser for the gypsy community.

This series, fans have watched two lesbians, a gypsy gay man, a refugee from Lebanon and a non-binary housemate take up residence.

What’s the significance? Absolutely nothing. Both series have a group of normal, common folk that resonate with the audience. Big Brother’s mission of holding a mirror up to society seems redundant now.

Despite being billed as the ultimate social experiment, the show sadly doesn’t feel like it anymore. The world appears to have move forward, leaving the once groundbreaking format behind.

I’m A Celebrity, Love Island, The Apprentice and The Traitors have all been born off the back of Big Brother and they’re just as watered down.

ITV’s reboot of the show has seen format tweaks that have contributed to the feel of the show changing. For instance, bosses have decided the public simply can’t handle seeing people smoke. Once were the days housemates would sit in a gigantic ashtray and gossip until their heart’s content. Now they’re forced into a segregated room off the garden to puff away, that never makes it to air.

Stricter duty of care protocols in the wake of tragic events while Big Brother was off air mean we’re unlikely to see a recreation of the infamous fight night from 2004, the late Jade Goody’s ranting and raving, Roxanne Pallett’s abuse accusations or security breaking up foul-mouthed bust-ups in the early hours.

While Big Brother has lost its edge, it certainly still has legs to fit into the current world

Alex DoyleSun TV Reporter

The show’s linear ratings are certainly miles away from their heyday, with just 465,000 tuned into last night’s episode, compared to several million in the past. Again, this is reflective on society these days and the shift in viewing figures.

However, ITV have a home run with their digital and social ratings. Big Brother’s new home on ITV2 – a channel aimed solely at 16-35-year-olds – has done its job in bringing them in. It’s been streamed an incredible 70million times on ITVX.

While Big Brother has lost its edge, it certainly still has legs to fit into the current world. Bosses need to look across the pond at their American counterparts and their obsession with game play. The show over there has thrived for 24 years straight. There’s a lesson to be learnt.

Strategy and deception has never been implemented in the UK and even the thought of a housemate playing a game is deemed a scandal. The success of The Traitors – a game built on lies and backstabbing – proves there’s hunger within public.

Big Brother has lost its edge, but it does have an appeal with its new savvy audience. It’s just not the version that is fondly remembered.