ITV's second stab at Celebrity Big Brother is right around the corner, with bosses confirming Monday 7 April 2025 as the launch date and the NAMES being thrown around social media and gossip sites (not the high-brown, sophisticated ones like heatworld, obviously) are truly wild.
At this rate, virtually every British reality star going is currently backing their bags for a month-long stint in the CBB house, but it's looking like Love Island's Chris Hughes, MAFS UK's Ella Morgan and TOWIE's Ella Rae Wise are sure-fires. We've also heard that The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' Lisa Rinna might be going in, which honestly, might break us.
We foresee iconic memes and TikToks for the next ten years...
One name we somehow completely missed in our sleuthing, but apparently CBB bosses had their eye on, was none other that Big Brother legend turned national treasure, Alison Hammond.
The TV presenter, of course, found fame on Big Brother way back in 2002, and while she was evicted second, it's safe to say it all worked out for the telly queen in the end; so much so, that apparently ITV bosses wanted her back for a CBB stint over two decades later – but she turned them down.
Speaking to Gaby Roslin on her Magic Radio show, Alison revealed that she had recently been asked to return to the Big Brother house but declined the offer. The Great British Bake Off star told Gaby that although 'she was so grateful' to the show, she wouldn't do it again because she's 'done it'.
Yes, but you could also say that Scott van-der-Sluis has done Love Island – we still wouldn't mind seeing him strut back into the villa for a fourth time.
Alison told Magic, '[I was on Big Brother] 23-ish years ago now. It's 2002, so work it out. I was the second person to be evicted. It's unbelievable when you look back – that chain of events was so correct for me.
'If I'd won it, I don' think my life would've gone in the same direction. I'm just grateful to Big Brother.'
When asked if she would ever consider doing it again, Alison dropped a bombshell, 'I've just got asked and I said, no. Yeah, they asked me and I said, no, I wouldn't do it again. I just think, I've done it, haven't I?'
While the official cast list is being kept under lock and key by ITV big wigs (for now), the following names have also being doing the rounds in the press: footballer Kyle Walker's wife, Annie Kilner, Coronation Street's Jack P. Shepherd, Eastenders' James Bye, CBBC legend Angellica Bell, Danny Jones' wife Georgia Horsley, Drag Race UK's Danny Beard, former Strictly pro Giovanni Pernice, Strictly's Wynne Evans, former Tory MP Sir Michael Fabricant and singer Chesney Hawkes.
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Ben Pulsford is a digital writer for Bauer Media, writing for both Closer online and heatworld. When he's not getting paid to gossip about Big Brother, Love Island, and The Real Housewives of Cheshire, he's storming the London LGBTQ+ scene as drag queen, Beary Poppins. Both Ben and Beary are awaiting an invite to join The Real Housewives of Cheshire for series 18. The budget's not there, but the drama is 💅