Celebrity Big Brother in secret behind the scenes shake-up as bosses AXE huge comeback surprise

CELEBRITY Big Brother bosses have had a major rethink ahead of its comeback and axed a planned surprise.

With the ITV reality series just days away from beginning, the lineup has nearly leaked in its entirety.

AJ Odudu and Will Best, Big Brother hosts. — Celebrity Big Brother bosses have had a change of plan behinds the scenesCredit: PA

Big Brother house interior. — The format was first revived by ITV in 2023 with a Celebrity series airing in March of last yearCredit: ITV

While US reality star and past CBB favourite Tiffany Pollard is among the new housemates, she wasn’t meant to be the only returnee.

But we can reveal signing multiple legends turned into a bit of a logistical and financial headache prompting them to change course.

A source said: “Bosses had planned to mark Big Brother’s huge milestone by bringing back former celebrity housemates for the new series.

“It was an ambitious plan by ITV and would have no doubt left fans stunned when they saw the iconic stars pull up on launch night.

“However, it became a logistical nightmare and proved too expensive so it was decided to scrap the idea altogether.

“Producers still have plenty of surprises in store for the new series and casting is complete with all of the famous faces now signed up.”

The eagerly anticipated series will return to ITV1 and ITVX on Monday April 7 at 9pm.

The star-studded version of the reality show returns with hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best.

The format was first revived by ITV in 2023 with a Celebrity series airing in March of last year.

It drew the highest ratings for a series of Celebrity Big Brother since 2015 thanks to star housemates including Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Fern Britton.

EXCL I was in the most explosive CBB ever – it was brilliant and horrendous, says Nadia Sawalha

Celebrity Big Brother will once again be followed each night by Celebrity Big Brother: Late & Live – giving viewers an additional hour of exclusive content.

And the Celebrity Big Brother: Live Stream will also return to screens, airing seven nights a week on ITVX and STV Player.

This year, ITV have made a major change to the Celebrity Big Brother house ahead of its new series.

We previously told how bosses were moving the TV house after two years at Garden Studios in Harlesden, West London.

And now we can reveal a fan-favourite feature of Celebrity Big Brother has been ditched for the new series.

The Mezzanine floor – which was introduced by ITV when it rebooted Big Bro in 2023 – has been scrapped.

Over the last two years it’s often been a safe space for housemates to complain and talk about each other, after the smoking area was pulled from screens.

An insider told The Sun: “ITV moving to a new location means the Big Brother house is getting a full revamp – starting from the top down.

Big Brother garden with colorful seating and eye-shaped wall feature. — Sunday night episodes will air at 10pmCredit: ITV

“The house layout is returning to a single story, just like when the show was based at Elstree Studios during its time on Channel 4 and C5.

Tiffany Pollard in a sequined gown and cape. — Tiffany Pollard is returning to the CCTV houseCredit: Art Streiber/E! Entertainment vi

“It’s exciting for fans who love the pre-series build-up and ITV are going all out especially with the new studio move.

“There’ll still be plenty of new spaces for housemates to gossip, and work on the house is due to begin imminently ahead of the new series.”

The show has also been rocked by a schedule shake-up, meaning that some episodes will now be screened even later.

The news has left supporters of the long-running reality format fuming after they blasted ITV‘s decision as a sure-fire way to ensure ratings will decrease on the show.

There has been confirmation that Sunday episodes will now be screened at 10pm.

Last year, the show broadcast six episodes a week from Sunday-Friday at 9pm on ITV1.

However, this year, all Sunday episodes will be broadcast at 10pm owing to ITV1’s commitment to showing new drama content on Sunday evening between 8pm and 10pm.