Big Brother will return to its original home on the Gold Coast later this year.
Production company EndemolShine Australia all but confirmed the upcoming reboot will return to the location where the show was famously produced during its Network 10 run from 2001-2008 after putting out a call for local post-production staff.
‘Endemol Shine Australia is looking for Queensland-based post production crew available to work on-site for the return of Big Brother,’ read the post.
While no filming location was specified, the posts suggest that a new home could be built up North, after filming the latest three seasons in Sydney before the series was canned by Seven in 2014.
The series will return to screens in early November and is expected to wrap in the first half of December.
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Big Brother will return to its original home on the Gold Coast later this year. Pictured host: Melissa Tracina
Production company EndemolShine Australia all but confirmed the upcoming reboot will return to the location where the show was famously produced during its Network 10 run from 2001-2008. Pictured: The original Big Brother house
The abandoned Gold Coast house was deliberately lit on fire in June 2019.
Four children aged between 11 and 15 were later charged with arson after it was set ablaze.
Two nine-year-olds who were also arrested were released after assisting police with inquiries.
After the show was axed in 2014, the unoccupied set was left to rot for five years.
A new house was built in 2020 in Manly for when Channel Seven picked up the series before it was eventually relocated to Sydney Olympic Park in 2021 after being served an eviction notice by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The eviction notice was issued due to concerns for local wildlife.
The reality show will be back at its original home at Ten next year, with the network vowing to bring the Australian franchise into line with its winning format.
A brand new crop of housemates will be live-streamed 24/7 as the series returns with a fresh new host Melissa Tracina in 2025.
While no filming location was specified, the posts suggests that a new home could be built up North, after filming the latest three seasons in Sydney before the series was canned by Seven in 2014
Tracina is planning to revamp the series after taking the hosting reigns from Gold Logie winner Sonia Kruger.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Tracina revealed Aussie viewers will finally have access to the game in real time.
‘What’s so good about this is the livestream element,’ she said.
‘So you don’t have to worry about getting a bad edit, or being the “season villain”, because viewers can log in at any time and see what the [housemates] are up to.’
The beloved reality show, which sees housemates compete to stay in the house to win prize money, found roaring success on Channel Ten in the early 2000s.
Since then, the show has changed networks several times – first going over to Channel Nine before a revamped version at Channel Seven.
Big Brother has continued to enjoy healthy viewership numbers with its cross-platform livestream cameras in the US and UK.
Across the three weekly airings of the American franchise on CBS, streaming, and the show’s 24/7 live feed on Paramount+, viewers racked up 8.3 billion minutes of viewing time.
In June 2019, the abandoned Big Brother house burnt down after it was deliberately lit on fire
The set had been destroyed with graffiti, windows smashed, and some walls have been torn down
Tracina is planning to revamp the series after taking the hosting reigns from Gold Logie winner Sonia Kruger
That put the long-running reality TV series on par with major streaming hits like new seasons of Bridgerton, Stranger Things, and Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon in 2022.
Big Brother Australia was axed from Channel 7’s 2024 schedule after scoring its lowest-rated season yet.
The show got bumped from its original 7.30 time slot to a later time after just one week on-air and concluded its 15th season with just 152,000 overnight viewers in the five capital cities – a huge drop from when the show relaunched in 2020 with 853,000 viewers.
Fans were left unimpressed with last season’s rebrand, which was focused on fostering romance among sexy, single cast-mates.
Many felt Seven’s reboot had more in common with rival Love Island than Big Brother, with one writing on social media at the time: ‘Bring back the days of regular people on here. Why would I want to vote for any of these people?!’
‘So sad to see what was once a great show absolutely ruined,’ another lamented.
‘I found out I got the job pretty quickly before the news came out,’ Tracina told Daily Mail.
‘I grew up watching it. When it came out in 2001, I was there.’
Many felt the last two seasons season had more in common with Love Island than Big Brother, with one writing on social media at the time: ‘Bring back the days of regular people on here. Why would I want to vote for any of these people?!’
Reggie Sorenson (Bird) won the third and fourteenth seasons of Big Brother Australia in 2003 and 2022
Prior to this gig, she was known for her role as ‘culture correspondent’ for Ten’s comedy panel show The Cheap Seats.
‘This is so huge to me. It’s also just the fans that love it, it’s a juggernaut of a show,’ she added.
‘It means so much to so many Australians, so I feel the pressure of doing the best job that I can.’
Big Brother is known for being one of the only reality TV competitions that not only happens in real-time as it airs, but that allows viewers access to an unedited look at what’s happening in the house.
By hosting live feeds, fans are able to watch the game unfold naturally instead of following storylines set forth and edited by production.
