UPDATE: |We were in Celebrity Big Brother audience and these off-camera things surprised us News

They revealed everything from having to eat Haribo sweets to AJ and Will’s behaviour behind the scenes

With the latest series of Celebrity Big Brother having launched earlier this month, viewers are invested in this year’s celebrities taking on the original social experiment.

Celebrity Big Brother first aired in 2001 as a one-time spin-off series to the original Big Brother UK. Last year, Celebrity Big Brother made its return to UK television with ITV reviving the original version in 2023.

Last year’s celeb series drew in the show’s highest rating since 2015 thanks to big names such as Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Fern Britton entering the house.

This series has been nothing short of drama already, with Hollywood star Mickey Rourke booted from the house in the first few days after his “homophobic” comments to JoJo Siwa, inappropriate words to Ella Rae Wise, and aggressive behaviour towards Chris Hughes.

Ben Nayler, 26, and 37-year-old Richard Welch sat in the live audience for the Late & Live spin off show that airs after the main event on weeknights.

Speaking on behalf of Best New Bingo Sites, they gave an insight into the reality of being an audience member during the popular ITV show.

Ben shared: “I think the first thing that surprised us when we arrived at Versa Studios was how much it felt like we were in the middle of an industrial park. It didn’t look like much from the outside, but sure enough, that’s where the Big Brother house is.”

They were given guidance on what to wear before showing up, which included: “bright colours – because it’s such a colourful show, they didn’t want people sitting there in all black or white. We were also told not to wear any branded clothing, but there were no restrictions on footwear.”

Richard revealed: “I remember one guy in particular, he was wearing a stripy top with something written on the front. After everyone was seated, the crew looked at us on the cameras and decided who didn’t quite stand out enough. That guy ended up being asked to go change.”

In-between scenes where they weren’t filming, the audience were treated to comedy performances from Sikisa. Ben shared: “We were going for about two hours before going live, and she was a big part of making sure the crowd stayed hyped.”

To keep up the energy in the audience between takes, they were given “a can of 12% wine and some Haribo sweets to perk everyone up.”

AJ Odudu and Will Best returned again this year to host the show, and recalling how they were off-camera, Rich confessed: “When it came to the presenters and celebrity panel, you could speak to AJ and Will, but it was mainly Will who engaged with the crowd.

“AJ didn’t really interact with the audience off-camera, whereas Will made more of an effort, asking questions, showing appreciation for us being there, and getting our thoughts on things like who we wanted to win.”

He continued: “The celebrity panel, though, were a bit more off-limits. They weren’t really mingling or speaking to anyone in the audience.

“Most of the time, they were busy getting their makeup done or chatting with producers, audience managers, and other members of the crew. If you really wanted to, you could shout out a question to them, but they weren’t exactly stopping to have conversations with the crowd.”

In terms of which celebrity housemate appears to be the audiences favourite currently, Ben revealed the crowd was “divided”. He added: “When they asked the audience who they thought would win, there wasn’t a clear consensus. Everyone had different opinions. Some people were big fans of Chris, others couldn’t stand Ella. A few thought Daley was pretty non-existent, while others were convinced Chesney had it in the bag.”

One of the most surprising and interesting part of being an audience member was “realising just how much attention the producers pay to how the audience looks. You kind of assume people just file in and sit wherever they like, but that’s not the case at all. Everyone is placed very deliberately”.

When asked what advice they’d give to someone going for the first time, Ben replied: “I’d just tell people to expect it’ll be a few hours with limited toilet breaks and limited refreshments. But it is good fun.

“We had a few drinks beforehand which helped keep us going -but it’s definitely not for someone who just wants an hour on TV. There’s a lot more to it than that.”