Davina McCall admits she was rejected from hosting new Big Brother after ITV move

Three years after Big Brother was revived and moved to ITV, legendary host Davina McCall has revealed she had put herself forward to host the show but was turned down

Davina McCall has revealed she had reached out to ITV to host the revived version of Big Brother. But in a shocking twist, she was allegedly rejected by bosses who wanted a breath of fresh air.

The Masked Singer judge, 58, shot to international fame when she fronted the reality TV titan on its original run for Channel 4 from 2000 to 2010. She became a household name who was forever linked with the show at its peak.

After Channel 4 sold the rights of the show to Channel 5, Davina left the show. But now, she admitted she was interested in making a comeback when the show was revived in 2023.

Speaking on the Business Growth Secrets podcast earlier this month, Davina told host Adam Scott: “I’ve got a secret to tell you actually. When they started Big Brother on ITV, I put myself forward to present it and they went they went with new presenters.

“But I was like, ‘Look, can I please just be pre-titles and just go “Fancy another one?”‘ But they didn’t want me to do that, and I was like: ‘F***.'”

Davina later admitted that she still has really fond memories of the show, but admitted the programme itself has completely changed. “I love that show so much, it was in my DNA and, interestingly, it’s changed now and it will never be what it was at the beginning, because people know what it is,” she explained.

“They know what to expect, they know what’s going to happen after,” Davina added. “They always kind of semi-know they are being watched.

“Whereas people at the beginning, it really was an extraordinary human experiment. It was incredible at the time.”

Instead of Davina McCall returning to host the show, ITV instead opted for a pair of fresh faces − giving the role to AJ Odudu and Will Best. At the time, Davina posted an update, saying she had “fomo”, but she backed their decision saying it was “quite a good idea”.

But Big Brother fans have fumed at the possibility of having the original host of the show making a comeback. One user fumed: “Diabolical decision from [Big Brother] there.”

A second penned: “Part of me can’t believe ITV passed on Davina McCall, but another part thinks she may have had a lucky escape. As disappointing as it sounds, at least she’s not tied to the much softer, watered-down version of the show we ended up with.”

While a third added: “As much as AJ and Will have grown on me and I like them as a duo, Davina would have been (and still would be) the best host for BBUK. She *is* Big Brother. I understand ITV needed their own stamp on the new era, but Davina and maybe even Emma [Willis] as a duo.”

The Daily Star has reached out to ITV for comment.

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