Celebrity Big Brother’s line-up is spectacular

Celebrity Big Brother has finally returned with what promises to be one of its best line-ups of all time.

Last night, 12 famous faces walked through the iconic double doors – some with more success than others.

The one and only Chesney Hawkes was the first, after somehow evading a Celebrity Big Brother stint for the last two decades, followed by the likes of EastEnders icon Patsy Palmer, Gen Z sensation Jojo Siwa, chat show host Trisha Goddard and Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard all following to cheers.

Celebrity Big Brother’s most-anticipated signing, Hollywood star and Oscar-nominee, Micky Rourke managed to make the public turn on during the walk from his car to the house, inappropriately grabbing AJ Odudu who, with the help of her co-host Will Best, had to forcibly shove him through the double doors and lock up behind him.

It was a car-crash, Rourke should immediately be removed from the house, regardless of his A-list celebrity status, and this Celebrity Big Brother will still be a resounding triumph.

ITV launched its first ever Celebrity Big Brother in 2024 and only really gave us two reasons to tune in – Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne.

After a surprisingly triumphant civilian series, strangely, the celebrity version didn’t manage to capture the same magic.

Louis was unashamedly destructive, a bigger bitch than anyone could have imagined, spilling so much tea it’s a wonder PG Tips didn’t experience a drought. He was uncomfortable to watch and a year on is everything that series Celebrity Big Brother will be remembered for.

What last year’s series really missed, and what so often gets overlooked, is a hero.

Too often producers get lured in by wanting to create a house full of drama they forget to give us anyone to root for.

David Potts eventually won that Celebrity Big Brother, and deservedly so. But he wasn’t exactly a hero – there was no real arc. I can’t remember anything he did other than be unapologetically himself, which is admirable, yes, but… a winner?

But ahead of this year’s series, we’re being promised some heroes peppered with some explosive characters bound to go down in the Big Brother history books, for better or worse.

Trisha Goddard is one of the most courageous and brilliant women in television, hence her historic career spanning almost 40 years on screen. She’s vastly more intelligent than the average CBB housemate, both intellectually and emotionally, and essentially built a career on breaking boundaries and showing unrivalled empathy.

Last night, she became the first ever Celebrity Big Brother contestant to receive palliative care while in the house after being diagnosed with terminal stage 4 breast cancer in 2022.

She’s stressed she doesn’t want anyone’s ‘pity’ but I think she’ll only get total admiration both inside and outside of the house, marking a historic moment in television as she proves you can go so much further than just live with cancer, you can absolutely thrive.

EastEnders legend Patsy Palmer is a bolshy firecracker and absolute Hunsnet icon who gained more respect than I knew was humanly possible after she hung up on Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard on Good Morning Britain after clocking the show describing her as ‘addict to wellness guru’.

And then there’s Chesney Hawkes, one of the most celebrated one-hit wonders, largely because he is so sincerely one of the nicest blokes in pop.

But at this stage, there’s already one clear front-runner to win.

Danny Beard is tipped to arrive as a late entry, and given the show’s history of ITV only crowning LGBTQ+ winners, I could easily see the Drag Race UK champion continuing the community’s winning streak.

Danny – real name Daniel Curtis – is one of the greatest voices in the LGBTQ+ community; kind and eloquent with a razor-sharp wit. They’re the rare breed of housemate who will likely be the wisest and funniest character all series – the two key ingredients for a Big Brother (celebrity or otherwise) winner.

They’re already hugely popular with the LGBTQ+ community, which evidently is an extremely strong force when it comes to the public vote, particularly in the final.

They’ve been a hugely important activist and will no doubt do their fans proud when they’re as brave and outspoken in the house as they are out of it.

And then the rumoured addition of Mickey Rourke is a complete game-changer — I can’t think of another Celebrity Big Brother housemate from any year who has had such an impressive brush with Hollywood going in the house.

According to reports, Goldie Hawn turned down a £1,000,000 fee to live with British Love Island stars, which isn’t at all surprising.

Then weeks after storming off The Masked Singer, Macy Gray dropped out of Celebrity Big Brother ‘last minute’.

Hopes of bringing in that major star power dwindled but Oscar-nominated comeback king Rourke is a genius signing, who could do with another shot at the spotlight but will be dripping with a calibre of stories we’ve never seen on any Celebrity Big Brother.

Hopefully he’ll share enough of them to be worth his rumoured £1,000,000 paycheck.

But arguably, the biggest surprise on the leaked line-up is former Dance Moms star turned popular celeb to throw into Room 101, Jojo Siwa.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with Jojo Siwa, for better or worse, the early days of this series I expect are going to be all about the LGBTQ+ pop star, now mainly famous for scissoring on stage in rhinestone leotards with performances that have gone viral for all the wrong reasons.

As much as she makes me wince, I feel for her. She is a nightmare on red carpets and should never be allowed on stage again, but beneath the garish outfits and relentless tongue-poking, she seems to have a good heart.

Of everyone in there she’ll be the most interesting to see what she’s like when the cameras aren’t rolling and she’s not ‘performing’.

Boris Johnson look-a-like Michael Fabricant will for sure be the first housemate evicted, if not for his outdated political beliefs then for his absolutely insane hair. The less said about him the better…

Elsewhere there’s the usual suspects who will coast along: Chis Hughes is quite rightly one of the most popular Love Island contestants ever and will almost definitely make it to the final; Corrie’s Jack P Shepherd will be at his best absolutely fine, as will the lovely Angelica Bell and Donna Preston.

Daley Thompson is a sporting hero for many but he’s not shy of controversy, described as ‘notoriously unwoke’, which is a red flag for me but will no doubt be welcomed by many others.

If everyone on this leaked lineup steps out of blacked-out cars and into the house on Monday night, we’re in for a spectacular Celebrity Big Brother.

Celebrity Big Brother airs at 9pm on ITV1.

This article was originally published on April 3, 2025

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