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‘Big Brother’ UK 2016 Spoilers: Will Summer Series Combine Regular House Guests with Celebrity Players?

By Cia Young
Published on: 17:59 PST, May 9, 2016

The seventeenth season of the United Kingdom’s version of Big Brother is set to air in June, which, like the United States show, typically features regular people entering a majestic house for the summer. Rumors have surfaced, however, that Big Brother UK 17 may mix things up a bit to make the game even more exciting by putting the famous in with the common man.

Traditionally, the UK airs three Big Brother series a year, with two abbreviated celebrity editions – one near the beginning of the year in winter, and one near the holiday season in the fall – and a traditional Big Brother during the summer. The two celebrity shows are short and typically last about a month each, while the Big Brother series that begins around June is similar in length to the US and Canadian versions of the show.

Nonetheless, the Evening Standard reports, “…there could be a huge new twist set for the show that would change up the entire format – combining Big Brother with the Celebrity edition.”

Additionally, the Big Brother UK 17 house may be like no other seen before, with two different living quarters created for the two groups.

The Evening Standard writes, “The plans indicate that the celebrities would live in a separate area of the house, and would meet up with the other contestants during the series.”

Celebs Now reports that if this takes place, the upcoming Big Brother could be extremely controversial. The report says,

A Channel Five insider tells [Celebs] Now: ‘We’re planning on really mixing up the regular series this time by chucking in a load of celebs too and splitting the house up. The producers have been approaching people from Gogglebox, TOWIE, and Ex On The Beach and have some great names lined up… There has been some behind the scenes conflict as to whether the celebrities will be getting paid as regular housemates won’t have any kind of fee. Some are happy to appear for free to raise their profile, but some are being quite demanding.'”

According to Celebs Now, this mix has taken place in the UK version of Big Brother before, as in 2007, Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack aired, while in 2010, the UK’s Ultimate Big Brother featured “memorable contestants from Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother.” Celebs Now further reports that these series were created to “boost ratings.”

Additionally, some reports not only indicate that cast mates will reside in two different areas of the house based on status, but they state there is talk that there will actually be two Big Brother UK 17 houses.

Telly Mix reported back in February that a planning application was sent to Hersmere Borough Council in January that requested the current house be almost doubled in size.

According to Telly Mix, the plans for the house, based at Elstree studios, included a “…brand new outdoor garden featuring a circular pool, almost as big as the current one,” along with an internal house expansion of 500 square meters, which equals about 5382 square feet. Telly Mix notes the plans also state the new structure will be two stories high and is referred to as the “second house.”

Metro has reported on some of the rumored celebrities that could enter the revamped Big Brother UK 17 house along with regular cast mates, and most appear to be reality show stars or individuals whose claim to fame is viral social media posts. They range from Ben Innes, a man who, according to Metro, snapped a photo of himself with a man who was threatening to blow up a plane, to Gogglebox (similar in the US to Bravo’s The People’s Couch) stars Stephen and Chris.

Of course all of this is rumor and innuendo and nothing can truly be confirmed until Big Brother UK returns in the next month or so. Will you be watching?

[Photo by Aleksandar Mijatovic/Shutterstock Images]

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