Dermot O'Leary: 'Big Brother' reboot needs to be different to 'Love Island' by getting back to basics

Dermot O'Leary has explained how he thinks the Big Brother reboot needs to mark itself out as different to Love Island - by getting back to its roots as a social experiment.

The TV presenter's early career included hosting spin-off show Big Brother's Little Brother on Channel 4, before the reality TV show moved to Channel 5 and was eventually cancelled in 2018.

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Now, it has been announced that Big Brother is set for a comeback at ITV2 in 2023, the channel that broadcasts hit dating series Love Island, but O'Leary said he thought there would need to be a clear difference between the two shows.

O'Leary, who hosts This Morning on Fridays at ITV, told Metro: "It’s got to be a bit different, but at the same time, for me, I think it needs to have enough clear blue water between it and Love Island.

"I do think it needs to be very diverse. I think it needs to be diverse in the people that are in the house, diverse in its thought. I think it needs to have a lot of separation between Love Island and less of a popularity contest and more of a social experiment with a popularity contest chucked in.

"But I’m excited, I’m really looking forward to seeing it."

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Big Brother was originally billed as a social experiment when it launched in 2000, largely leaving housemates to their own devices and observing how they got on with each other as a group, as well as how they sorted out arguments.

However, in its later series, it was criticised for casting contestants who were set on finding fame and meddling too much in events with constant twists and challenges.

O'Leary said that he thought there had been an "innocence" about the show for its first six or seven series, in the days before social media.

Another of O'Leary's former shows, The X Factor, is also expected to make a return, with rumours that the ITV singing contest could re-emerge on Channel 5 in the near future.

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