ITV ‘working on Big Brother drama series’ alongside new reboot

ITV is reportedly working on a Big Brother based drama series.

The channel previously announced it was bringing the iconic reality series back to UK TV screens in 2023.

Now it’s claimed channel bosses are looking at a new drama that would tell the story of how Big Brother was created and first launched back in 2000.

A source told The Sun newspaper that Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes could pen the script, which would focus on TV producer Ruth Wrigley who worked on the original series.

“The drama is likely to be in a similar vein to ITV hit Quiz which looked at Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” the insider told the publication of the project. “The Big Brother drama will similarly zone in on the career of Ruth who was instrumental in making it one of the nation’s biggest obsessions.

“Her story is particularly interesting as she had to fight huge misogyny to become one of ­Britain’s biggest exec producers.”

ITV declined to comment on the reports.

Big Brother will return to ITV2 in 2023, five years after it last aired in the UK. Applications for the brand new series took place earlier this year.

It was recently reported that ITV bosses are planning to build a brand new Big Brother house for the series. The show’s original house was demolished in 2019 leaving nothing but a concrete wasteland.

Meanwhile host for the reboot are now confirmed.

AJ Odudu and Will Best will present both the main show and a spin-off airing each evening.

AJ previously co-hosted spin-off show Big Brother’s Bit on the Side in 2013 but didn’t return for any further series.

Big Brother first launched in the UK in 2000 on Channel 4. It moved to Channel 5 in 2011 where it last aired in 2018.