Big Brother is almost back for 2026, and this year viewers are getting even more time inside the house. The new series will run for an extended eight weeks, with AJ Odudu and Will Best returning as hosts and a brand-new companion show joining the schedule. ITV has not officially announced the exact launch date, but current reports point to Sunday, 13 September 2026, meaning we should be just weeks away from meeting this year’s Housemates. We are more than ready to see who walks through those doors.
The campaign for the new series is already well underway, with ITV releasing the first trailer and promising a house where “everything can change in the blink of an eye”. The biggest new announcement this week is Big Brother: The Group Chat, hosted by former Big Brother winner Kate Lawler and GK Barry, which will follow the main show Sunday to Thursday nights.
When Does Big Brother 2026 Start?
ITV has not formally confirmed the Big Brother 2026 launch date, but multiple reports currently point to Sunday, 13 September. Until ITV announces the schedule itself, that date should still be treated as expected rather than confirmed. Production information currently points towards a Thursday, 5 November finale, although ITV has not confirmed that date either. If the reported 13 September launch and 5 November finale prove correct, the series will run for almost eight full weeks.
The series will air on ITV2 and ITVX, with STV2 and STV Player available for viewers in Scotland. Big Brother usually airs every night apart from Saturdays, with the new eight-week run giving this year’s Housemates considerably longer in the experiment than in recent series.
What Is Changing for Big Brother 2026?
ITV is describing the new series as Big Brother’s biggest yet, with the house being “reimagined as a house of surprises”. Viewers have been promised unexpected twists, game-changing moments, ambitious tasks, high-stakes nominations and live evictions as a new group of strangers compete for the cash prize.
The first trailer arrived on 23 August with the warning: “If you think you know the game? Think again!” It also teased “a new house every week” and “fresh chaos daily”, so it sounds like Big Brother plans to keep both the Housemates and viewers guessing throughout the extended run.
AJ Odudu and Will Best will return to front the main show, having hosted Big Brother since ITV brought the format back in 2023. This year’s Housemates have not been announced, and as ever, we would expect ITV to keep the full cast under wraps until much closer to launch night.
What Is Big Brother: The Group Chat?
The biggest addition this year is Big Brother: The Group Chat, a new companion show hosted by Kate Lawler and GK Barry. It will air Sunday to Thursday immediately after Big Brother on ITV2, ITVX and YouTube, with episodes also released across major podcast platforms.
The show will cover the biggest moments from each night, with evicted Housemates, celebrity fans and special guests joining Kate and GK to discuss what is happening inside the house. Alliances, nominations, arguments, twists and whatever else Big Brother throws at the cast will all be up for discussion after the main episode.
For Lawler, the role brings things full circle more than two decades after she entered the house herself and won Big Brother Series 3 in 2002. “Big Brother has been a huge part of my life since I first stepped through those doors 24 years ago, so to now be returning in this role alongside the fantastic GK Barry feels like an exciting full-circle moment,” she said. GK Barry added: “I’ve been a massive Big Brother fan for years, so getting the chance to be part of the show in this way is genuinely a dream come true. And getting to do it alongside an iconic BB legend like Kate makes it even more exciting.”
How Long Will Big Brother 2026 Run For?
Big Brother 2026 will run for eight weeks, making it an extended edition of the ITV series. That gives the show much more time for relationships, rivalries and alliances to develop naturally inside the house.
For CultureCues, we are very ready to have Big Brother back. An eight-week series is great news because it gives us more time to actually get to know the Housemates before half of them disappear through the eviction doors. Kate Lawler returning to the Big Brother world alongside GK Barry also feels like a fun pairing for The Group Chat, especially with Kate having experienced the house herself. Now we just need the official launch date and, most importantly, this year’s Housemates… Big Brother is watching, and so are we!
Big Brother returns to ITV2 and ITVX this autumn.
Nikki Murray is a UK-based writer, screenwriter and founder & editor of CultureCues, covering film, television, music and pop culture. Her work focuses on storytelling and the moments shaping modern entertainment.