Daily Mail: Big Brother is back to basics but fans accuse it of 'going woke'

Story from Daily Mail:

Big Brother has returned to British television following a five-year hiatus and show bosses wasted no time in setting the cat amongst the pigeons with the housemates.

The influential social experiment, in which strangers live together in a custom-built home for weeks without access to the outside world, in a bid to win a cash prize, has re-opened its doors.

New hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best kicked off the launch show on ITV, after the reality show was axed in 2018 by Channel 5, introducing a new batch of 16 contestants in front of a studio audience.

But as a barman, butcher and a Muslim make-up artist entered the house, fans accused the show of 'going woke'.

Just moments after her arrival, dancer Olivia, 23, was left sobbing after she was put up for eviction this Friday when her fellow housemates predicted she would be the most difficult to live with, and Jenkin, 25, has his suitcase blown up when he was voted as having the worst dress sense.

Opening the show, presenter Will said: 'The OG (original) is back and if you've never seen it before, get ready for the greatest reality show on earth, and like all famous faces it's had a 2023 glow-up ready for a brand new series.'

AJ, wearing a blue catsuit, added: 'Tonight sees the return of the most famous house in the UK, we've got a brand new house, shall we put some new housemates in it?

'At the end of it there will be one contestant standing and they will win £100,000.'

Jenkin, 25, from Bridgend in Wales was the first housemate to enter.

He said: 'I'm not the only gay in the village, I am the best one... I am the barman, cleaner, I am the bingo caller and 69 is my favourite number.'

He added: 'I can't help myself to be a bit of an instigator. I'll bring the drama.'

On why he applied for the show, he said: 'I was bored and I thought I'd do something different, give it a whirl.'

And on what he's looking forward to most by taking part, he said: 'I think meeting new people. I'm looking forward to it but I'm also dreading it as well because I’m like, "Oh, how is this gonna go..." but it will be fine.'

On why he's most likely to get nominated, he said: 'Just talking about people, I'm not gonna lie. I can't keep secrets, I really struggle.'

Make-up artist Farida, 50, from Wolverhampton, was the next to enter the house.

On why she applied to be a housemate, she said: 'I'm very proud of who I am and I feel like Asian women and Asian culture is underrepresented on TV.

'A lot of people think that wearing a headscarf might stop you from having opportunities, whereas for me, it's been completely the opposite. I embrace it with confidence and it's actually given me lots of opportunities.

'I want to let people know that us Muslims, we really aren't suppressed. I'm far from suppressed - I used to be a holiday rep!'

On what she's looking for from the experience, she continued: 'I'm looking forward to everything honestly, I'm just going to embrace it. I believe in living for the moment and I want to remember that I’m one of thousands of applicants who made it inside the house.'

And on why she may get booted from the house by her housemates, she said: 'People will nominate me because they feel intimidated by the fact that I've got potential to win this, it’s as simple as that.'

Butcher Tom, 21, from Somerset, followed Farida into the house, insisting he was 'funny and outgoing'.

Tom said he may be nominated for eviction because he could 'potentially offend some people,' adding: 'My mouth moves faster than my brain.'

When asked what he'd do with the prize money if he wins, he said: 'There’s a good couple of cars I want to buy. I’d probably put a good bit of it into savings for a house, and then probably spunk a trip to Ibiza or somewhere.'

The youngest contestant to enter the Big Brother house this year was next in, in the for of 18-year-old youth worker Hallie, who has never lived away from home before.

On why she applied, she said: 'Just the whole experience. I feel like Big Brother is the biggest social experiment and I want to be a part of it. It's about getting my face out there and just having fun, enjoying life. I'm only 18 so I didn't grow up watching it but as I got older, I would watch clips on YouTube and stuff, so I've been a fan. And yeah, just for fun, really?'

She said her friends would describe her as: 'I'm a bit of a diva and I speak my mind but I'm also a very lovely person. I'm a girl's girl, for sure. I'm honest, fun and, yeah, just brilliant.'

Trish, 33, from Luton, followed Hallie in next, with the mother saying on why she applied: 'I always wanted to apply back in the day, my friends would always be like, "I think you'd be good in there, you're quite mouthy!"

'When I saw it was coming back I thought it was the universe telling me something so I just went for it.

'Also because I want to humanise refugees and immigrants, especially in this political climate. I want people to see that behind the stats and figures, there are real humans. We are important simply because we exist, not only when we participate in capitalism. We matter because we are alive and breathing - no human is illegal!'

Customer Support Agent Yinrun, 25, from Harrogate, was next in the house.

On what she's excited for most, she said: 'I’m most excited about being surrounded by so many people from different walks of life. I don't think I will ever live in a house again with so many different kinds of people. I’m from China and I think it will help me be more immersed in British culture.'

And on if she won she show, she said: 'I want to move to a farm. That’s my final dream, I will live on a farm and have some chickens, grow my organic vegetables and have a puppy to run around. And I’ll have eggs from the chicken, it will be so wholesome. This is my dream.'

Lawyer Jordan, 25, from Scunthorpe was the next housemate to enter, with the contestant saying on why he applied: 'Well, I love the show. I was quite disillusioned with life so I suppose boredom made me apply to some extent. I honestly applied on a whim. I'm interested in the social experiments side of Big Brother. I don't really like the idea of living with people but I thought I might as well give it a try. And I wanted to challenge myself.'

On why he's most likely to get nominated, he explained: 'Being cantankerous and acting as if I don't want to be there even if I do in my heart. They might nominate me for being disengaged perhaps or not paying everyone an equal amount of attention. They may feel left out but I can't help that.'

Jordan was followed into the house by model Zak, 28, from Manchester.

On why he applied, he said: 'I feel like it's one of those shows where you can get your personality across and I've got one of those personalities I feel the world needs to see.

'My friends and family have always told me I should do TV and I never really wanted to do a dating show. I want to do a show where I could just be myself and get my personality out there and have a laugh with people.'

On what makes him interesting as a person, he said: 'I actually grew up in the jungle in Thailand. People automatically think I grew up in Manchester but when I tell them my life story they are quite surprised. When I was a kid I used to collect snakes and everything.'

Dental therapist Chanelle, 29, from Llanelli in Wales insisted she initially applied for the show as 'a joke' as she entered.

However, she's had a change of heart: 'Now that I'm going in, I'm doing it for myself, for the experience and to make friends for life. Something that was a joke has now materialised into real life!'

On what makes her interesting, she said: 'I would probably say the fact that I have a first class honours degree because I think often people will judge me by my blonde hair and are surprised. I’m quite book smart but I have no common sense so when I tell people I got first class honours, they're like, "Did you pay someone for that?"'

DJ Dylan, 39, from Coventry was next to enter the house.

The performer, who has had his leg amputated, said on what he's looking forward to the most: 'I always like meeting new people and having new hurdles to jump as an amputee. It's going to be an interesting journey to see if I can do whatever we’re asked without having any problems with staying on my leg for a certain amount of time and doing all the tasks. I’m excited for the challenge.'

Doctor Matty, 24, from the Isle of Man, was the next housemate to enter the house.

He said enjoys living freely, dancing under the moon and 'eating food from the bin' before he walked in the door.

Matty said: 'I want to experience everything before I die, and I just thought why not do something mad like this?

'I used to watch Big Brother when I was like, nine or 10 past my bedtime with my mom. I grew up in such a small place on the Isle of Man where I didn't really see many people who felt like me. I remember watching Big Brother and I could see myself in all these characters from a cross section of society, and I thought like, oh, maybe I would fit in there. So I just always wanted to apply.'

Security Officer Paul, 23, from Liverpool, and Henry, 25, a food writer, from the Cotswolds, were the next housemates to enter.

On how his friends would describe him, Paul said: 'Extroverted to say the least. A bit nuts but also the agony aunt, like I’ll sit and speak with them.'

And Henry said: 'I think they would say I'm particularly sociable and very chatty. I mean, I'll be honest, my parents would definitely say I’m a bit of a snob but I take it as a compliment. I think it means you've got high standards and good taste. They’d say I was quite a peculiar child.'

Banker and former Miss Universe beauty queen Noky, 26, from Derby, was next to enter the house.

On why she wanted to appear on the show, she said: 'I love challenges. I've had so many amazing times in my life, like going to Miss Universe as Miss Great Britain. I like to do something different and I think this is the next challenge I want to conquer.

'I want to show people what pageant girls are really like and disprove a lot of stereotypes around them.

'I also show what it's like being a woman who's worked in male- dominated fields. I want to show that women are capable of doing anything they want.'

Noky was followed by dancer Olivia, 23, from Glasgow, who said she's looking forward to living in a 'completely alternate universe' while in the house.

She said: 'It’s a totally surreal experience. I like to meet people, I’m quite a social being. I think just the overall experience of getting to disappear for a few weeks and take part in something that's so excluded from normal day to day life.'

On how her family would describe her, she said: 'Loud, confident, annoying. I'm the type of person who is up for anything. I'm the life and soul of the party. I’m that friend who people invite to things because at least I'll be fun. They know that they're guaranteed a good night if I'm there.'

The final housemate to enter was NHS Manager Kerry, 40, from Essex, with the contestant saying: 'I'm a bit of a force to be reckoned with. I'm a doer and I'm quite competitive.'

On why she applied, she said: 'I love the programme. It is, for me, the ultimate reality TV show ever. I've got multiple sclerosis and so the reason why I never applied before is because I always saw those whacking great big stairs to get into the house.

'It just felt a little bit unachievable because for the first three years of my illness I was in a wheelchair. When I saw it was coming back and searching for real people from all walks of life, I thought, this is my year.'

As the housemates entered, the first game began with a rendition of musical statues during the housewarming party.

Yinrun won the game with a prize of breakfast in bed, choosing fellow housemate Jenkin to cook and deliver it to her.

During the third game of the housewarming party, Olivia was chosen by Jenkin from, as the contestant he thought would be hardest to live with, telling her 'I don't think we've gelled.'

As her punishment, Big Brother announced that Olivia would be facing the first public eviction on Friday.

After the game of pass the parcel had ended, Olivia started crying in the garden to make-up artist Farida, saying: 'I was second last in and I felt like it was a bit unfair.'

Later in the diary room, Big Brother told Olivia that she can 'change her fate and win immunity' during a game the housemates will play in 24 hours where they rank themselves from most to least entertaining.

Talking about the game, she said Jenkin is 'obviously intimidated by me', but 'at least I don't have the worst dress sense so whatever'.

It comes after Kerry chose Jenkin as the housemate with 'the most questionable dress sense', which meant he would not receive his suitcase - before a video was shown of his suitcase being blown up.

He was later given a tub of 'essential' clothes in the diary room, and said he felt 'guilty about the Olivia thing', calling himself 'public enemy number one'.

Earlier in the night, Jenkin also lost a game of hide and seek and 'will not receive hot water for the next 24 hours'.

Big Brother announced: 'Jenkin it's cold showers for you'.'

During the housewarming games, Dylan was chosen as the housemate Paul would least like to share a bed with, before Big Brother announced he would not have a bed to sleep on that night as a punishment.

The influential social experiment show has opened its doors on ITV for the first time in five years after it was axed by Channel 5 in 2018 amid a ratings slump.

The launch episode saw a new cast of 'carefully selected housemates from all walks of life' arrive at the brand-new house in front of a studio audience.

A total of 30,000 people applied to take part in the show and just 16 were selected to enter the house.

The winner will scoop a whopping £100,000 when the series reaches its end.

Big Brother hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best reminded fans to be kind online to the new batch of contestants ahead of the series returning to British TV screens this week.

Ahead of the launch show on Sunday evening, 35-year-old Odudu said in a video posted in Instagram: 'Please do remember that all of our housemates are real people with their real lives.

'If you wouldn't say anything to them in person, please watch out what you say to them online.'

TV presenter Will, 38, said: 'We all just want to be fair and kind to everybody, and that way we can all enjoy this series together and we can support our housemates on the show and beyond.'

AJ added: 'Let's make this the most positive series yet and give all of the housemates the respect that you would wish for if you were a housemate too. Is that a deal?'

The new batch of housemates have received respect and inclusion training to set out the 'expectation for appropriate behaviour and language' before they take part in the show, ITV has said.

As part of the broadcaster's duty of care protocols, all housemates will be given the training to prepare them for life within the house - as well as undergoing psychological and medical assessments, background checks and a social media review.

Similar to recent series of ITV's Love Island, housemates and their family and friends have also been asked to not post any content about the show on their individual social media accounts while they are in the house.

It comes as broadcasters' duty of care policies have faced scrutiny following a number of controversies involving on-screen talent.

Big Brother has experienced its own fair share of controversy over the years including contestants being accused of making racist and sexist comments.

ITV has said the famous house 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.

AJ and Will 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.