- ITV has reportedly delayed airing Celebrity Big Brother 2026 from spring to later in the year, raising concerns about the show’s future
- It’s said spin-off show Late and Live has been shelved due to declining performance and increased competition
- ITV assures fans of its commitment to Big Brother, citing strong ratings and plans to air both formats beyond 2025
Celebrity Big Brother 2026 has been wiped from ITV’s Spring schedule, just days after spin-off show Late and Live was axed.
The iconic reality TV show was expected to air in March and April, but the show has been moved to later in the year, which will spark some concern from fans about its future.
Bosses are said to have moved around the schedule with CBB shifting in favour of other programmes.
‘ITV has confirmed CBB and BB will both air in 2026, but it’s fair to say that news of it being shifted in the schedule for other programmes doesn’t exactly instil confidence,’ a source said.
They added to The Sun: ‘Fans will fear it demonstrates a lack of commitment from ITV.’
Despite concerns from super-fans, ITV still value the star-studded show – well as co-hosts Will Best and AJ Odudu – highly, going into 2026 following the conclusion of the recent civilian series.
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‘But ITV insist that they love AJ Odudu and Will Best and that BB remains a priority reality format because of solid ratings and impressive online streams,’ the insider added.
Meanwhile, ITV have publicly insisted they remain ‘committed’ to both Celebrity Big Brother and the civilian version ‘beyond 2025’.
A spokesperson for the channel told Metro: ‘We are committed to both Celebrity Big Brother and Big Brother beyond 2025, and scheduling for any new series will be confirmed in due course.
‘The show remains a priority reality format for us having recently hit 150 million streams on ITVX.’
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Earlier this week, it was reported Big Brother’s spin-off show Late and Live had been shelved.
An insider told The Sun: ‘Big Brother in general has struggled this year due to fierce competition from the likes of Celebrity Traitors. Late and Live has really struggled due to the main show not doing as well as hoped.’
It’s claimed that bosses ‘quietly told staff, many of whom are freelancers, not to expect the show to return’.
In the summer, Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director of Media & Entertainment, admitted the channel were looking at switching Celebrity Big Brother from ITV1 to ITV2 to attract more ‘niche’ celebrities as part of a change in approach.
Speaking at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, he 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.’
Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother will return to ITV in 2026.
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