Cancel your evening plans for the foreseeable because Celebrity Big Brother is back for a second series this month, fronted by Will Best and a no-doubt latex catsuit-clad AJ Odudu.
And though neither AJ, 37, nor Will, 40, knew the official CBB line-up when Closer sat down for a chat with them, we were able to ask about certain big names who are rumoured to be housemates when the show launches next week.
How much fun do you guys have working together on CBB?
Will: We have all the fun!
AJ: We really do. We’re ready to go! And this year, we’ve got a brand-new location which we can’t wait for people to see.
W: And new celebs…
AJ: We don’t know who’s going in yet either, so the anticipation is really building.
There’s a rumour that Davina McCall might be going in as a housemate. How do you think she’d do?
W: I’d love to see that. She’d win! She’d be amazing because she’s the nicest person in the world, as well as funny and great and awesome.
AJ: Maybe she’d do a cameo? I’d quite enjoy seeing Davina McCall enter the house and just say, ‘Fancy another one?’ Why not? Who knows? The rumour mill is churning! You do want household names to go in so the public has got someone from every single area to back initially. But then, the beautiful thing about CBB is that it doesn’t matter how many mansions they’ve got or what sort of entourage they try to turn up with, once they become housemates they’re locked into that social experiment. All their guards come down and we get to see the true celeb behind the acting, presenting or comedy persona.
Jack P Shepherd’s name has come up a few times as well…
W: He’d be great. He came on Late And Live last year to talk about his Coronation Street co-star and pal Colson Smith, and was absolutely hilarious.
AJ: He was savage!
W: He’d be good because he has no filter. At least one soap star seems essential because it’s good to see people that you feel you know. You feel like you know a soap star, because you know their character, and it’s always good to see how different or similar to their character they are.
Most of the filming of CBB happens in the evening, what do you get up to during the day?
AJ: We’re in that studio all day! We have a script read through, then we block out all of the camera positions, then we watch the show, then a lawyer will look at the show, then the show will change, and so on and so on. And it takes a lot longer than you think to get into some of my outfits!
I’ve always got five people with a giant bottle of talc ready to get me into a catsuit. We get glammed up together, actually – it’s like a classic night out in Blackburn town centre back in the day!
W: I have my one pre-show beer – my tradition. But I never get a break from the show because by the beginning of week two, I’m dreaming about the housemates every night. I get no time off – it’s constant.
Good dreams or nightmares?
W: They’re just very dreamy dreams. It’s weird stuff. There are people I know in there, I’m in there, all the housemates are in there.
So you weren’t sitting in a hot tub with Louis Walsh or anything like that?
W: That’s been a dream of mine since before he even went into the house!
Celebrity Big Brother 2025 starts Monday 7 April at 9pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.