THE boss of ITV says the channel is “in a battle” with the show’s production company over the cost of bringing it back – and if the Celebrity spin-off returns, it won’t go on ITV1.
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director of Media & Entertainment, said they wanted to air both versions of the show which have been big hits for them, particularly on their streaming service, ITVX.
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But talking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, he was asked about the future of the programme, and revealed it might not be that easy.
Earlier this year, Big Brother caused a huge buzz when it movie star Mickey Rourke made a controversial entrance, and exit, on the celeb version.
The series was eventually won by Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd, and kick-started the whirlwind romance of fellow housemates Chris Hughes and Jojo Siwa.
Kevin said: “Celebrity Big Brother we’re looking at. We’re thinking NOT on the main channel, that’s the answer.
“It’s so difficult now to book big celebrities, famous people, which is what we need on the main channel.
“Whereas you can go more interesting and niche on ITV2.”
He added: “We’re in a battle with Endemol about the price.”
But he also sounded a note of confidence insisting it was a ratings winner and he personally loved the show.
Kevin said: “It does really well for us on ITVX. It’s a really important, crucial show. I love it and it does a tremendous job for us so, yes, it’s coming back.”
He also responded to Channel 4 boss Ian Katz saying that their rivals – like ITV – weren’t taking risks and were instead “falling back on old ideas” for their programming.
This felt particularly pertinent given that Big Brother was a show taken on by ITV, even though C4 had abandoned it years ago.
Kevin pointed out that two of C4’s biggest show were also “imports” which had been developed on other channels.
He said: “I don’t know what he’s on about – they do have Bake Off and Taskmaster.”
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