I HATE to say it, but the lineup for this year’s Celebrity Big Brother is underwhelming.
Chesney Hawkes may be a great get, Chris Hughes is recognisable enough, and we have a touch of Essex from TOWIE’s Ella Rae Wise.
I miss the glorious days of scantily clad housemates getting it on in the hot tub[/caption]
This year’s lineup is looking quite underwhelming[/caption]
Millions have seen Jack P. Shepherd and Patsy Palmer grow up in front of their eyes on their respective soaps.
I’ve worked with chat show legend Trisha Goddard on her TalkRadio show and I can confirm that she’s brilliant to work with.
There’s no doubt that bagging a Hollywood star like Mickey Rourke, 72, is also huge coup for the commercial network.
The other rumoured contestant is Tory boy Michael – Boris Johnson lookalike – Fabricant.
But I’m going to be honest, compared to previous lineups it’s giving more dowdy than glamour.
I remember the days when Tiffany Pollard slammed Gemma Collins for wanting her Louboutin heels back.
That same year we had Megan McKenna and all her natural beauty fumes in the diary room about how tired she was.
This was all in the midst of the blossoming relationship with Hollyoaks star Stephanie Davis and Jeremy McConnell.
I remember that year as I sat in the press conference task thinking that we had a legendary lineup.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
But that was simply the culmination of a number of series from Channel 5 with entertaining (and uber sexy) personalities.
Who can forget the thirteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2014? I know that the idea of that series lives rent free in my mind.
I remember going into the BBBOTS studio and personally discussing the sultry antics of all the housemates with hosts Emma Willis and Rylan Clark.
Dappy was the star name for the series, who aside from NDubz was best known for his infamous full frontal aubergine snap.
Celebrity Big Brother 2025 line-up
Celebrity Big Brother is back for a brand new series, with a whole host of stars set to live it up in the famous compound.
Here’s the FULL line-up of star housemates:
Trisha Goddard – Talk show host
Mickey Rourke – Hollywood actor
Donna Preston – comedian and TV star
JoJo Siwa – influencer and singer
Chris Hughes – Love Island hunk
Jack P. Shepherd – Coronation Street star
Patsy Palmer – EastEnders legend
Daley Thompson – Olympic athlete
Chesney Hawkes – 90s singer
Ella Rae Wise – Towie star
Michael Fabricant – former Tory politician
Angellica Bell – former CBBC presenter
Danny Beard – Drag queen and Britain’s Got Talent
Yes we had Jim Davison, but we also had Casey Batchelor and Jasmine Waltz battle it out over Blue singer Lee Ryan.
The Apprentice breakout star Luisa Zissman – who famously described herself as ‘Albert Einstein meets Jessica Rabbit’ – also featured that year.
I can tell you that there was far more hopping in the house than thinking about the theory of relativity.
The housemates were handcuffed together on opening night, Dappy wore a nappy as a punishment, and I remember Luisa and Jasmine snogging in the hot tub bath.
Compared to previous years, the 2025 lineup is sadly looking more snooze-fest than sexy.
There were plenty of other standout moments from other editions, like when Austin Armacost and James Hill stripped down for Sherrie Hewson‘s birthday.
Celebrity Big Brother 18 saw Aubrey O’Day, Marnie Simpson, Chloe Khan and Katie Waissel compete in one lineup!
Then there was the fact that Chloe Goodman, Cami-Li, Katie Price and Patsy Kensit also shared a house together?
2017’s All Stars Vs New Stars series saw Chloe Ferry, Nicola McLean, Bianca Gascoigne and Jessica Cunningham all come together.
Who has won Celebrity Big Brother?
THE first Celebrity Big Brother aired in March 2001 on Channel 4.
Roll on 23 years and a switch to Channel 5 in 2011, CBB is now into its 23rd season and is being hosted for the first time by ITV.
Here’s who has won the coveted title so far:
Season 1 (2001): Comedian Jack Dee beat actress Claire Sweeney despite walking out of the house and evading security for about an hour. The series was also more memorable for Vanessa Feltz telling Big Brother to “f*** off” after chalking “incarcerated”, “ambushed” and “restricted” on the table.
Season 2 (2002): Take That favourite Mark Owen triumphed over TV host Les Dennis. The latter won over the sympathy of the audience after his marriage breakdown with his wife Amanda Holden.
Season 3 (2005): Maraca shaking Bez walked out the winner ahead of Blazin’ Squad‘s Kenzie. The Happy Mondays star scooped the £50,000 and went on a 10-hour bender, blowing the cash.
Season 4 (2006): This was the season when Big Brother mixed things up – by sending in a non-celebrity from the fictional band Kandy Floss. However, Chantelle Houghton won over viewers and housemates alike and was crowned the winner. During her time in the house she found love with Ordinary Boys singer Preston. There was also added drama when George Galloway pretended to be Rula Lenska‘s pet cat.
Season 5 (2007): Actress Shilpa Shetty won after being caught up in a racism bullying row with former BB contestant Jade Goody, model Danielle Lloyd, and S Club‘s Jo O’Meara.
Season 6 (2009): Ulrika Jonsson beat Terry Christian, but controversy came in the form of rapper Coolio who was slammed by viewers as misogynistic, however, he finished in third spot.
Season 7 (2010): Alex Reid beat Dane Bowers and Vinnie Jones with a huge 65% of the vote. Alex married Katie Price one month later.
Season 8 (2011): In the first series to air on Channel 5, Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star Paddy Doherty was the unexpected winner, beating singer Kerry Katona.
Season 9 (2012): Loose Women star Denise Welch triumphed over X Factor contestant Frankie Cocozza, after stripping off while drunk and jumping into the hot tub topless.
Season 10 (2012): Comedian Julian Clary got the nod in the vote over Coleen Nolan.
Season 11 (2013): The X Factor’s Rylan Clark beat couple Heidi Montag
& Spencer Pratt, who was competing as “one entity” and known as Speidi.
Season 12 (2013): Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby beat 5ive singer Abz Love
Season 13 (2014): Jim Davidson won after a blazing row with Linda Nolan. N-dubz Dappy took the second spot.
Season 14 (2014): Gary Busey – who chose to roam around the CBB house naked – beatboxer Audley Harrison.
Season 15 (2015): Katie Price won the battle of the Katies as she saw off controversial Katie Hopkins in the final. The biggest talking point was American blogger Perez Hilton‘s raging row with Calum Best, but the series also saw two early ejections of Jeremy Jackson and Ken Morley.
Season 16 (2015): Apprentice star James Hill beat model Austin Armacost. Tila Tequila was evicted on just the second day after she was found to have posted support for Adolf Hitler on social media.
Season 17 (2016): Geordie Shore’s Scotty T won after sharing a kiss with fellow housemate Tiffany Pollard. Stephanie Davis was runner-up.
Season 18 (2016): Stephen Bear won the show despite a huge row with radio star James Whale. Ricky Norwood placed second but this season saw Christopher Biggins ejected from the house after making an anti-Semitic joke.
Season 19 (2017): Coleen Nolan entered the CBB house for a second time – and this time came out the winner beating Jedward. During her second stint, she had a massive showdown with horse star John McCririck.
Season 20 (2017): It was the battle of the reality show singers in the final, with Popstars: The Rivals winner and Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding beating The X Factor’s Amelia Lily.
Season 21 (2018): Courtney Act, otherwise known as Shane Jenek, won with politician Ann Widdecombe as runner-up.
Season 22 (2018): Winning Dancing On Ice in 2024, was not Ryan Thomas‘s first reality show title. He won the CBB title in 2018, after a shocking “run-in” with Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallet, who falsely accused him of punching her. Actress Kirstie Alley came second.
Other sexy names over the Channel 5 years include Gabby Allen, Courtney Stodden, Charlotte Crosby, Stephanie Pratt, and amongst others.
The point is, there is a long history of multiple beauties to walk through the hallowed sliding entrance doors and made it extra exciting for viewers to watch as the chemistry fizzed.
Compared to previous years, the 2025 lineup is sadly looking more snooze-fest than sexy thanks to the lack of single celebs.
If ITV continues this way, the viewers could drop down to the size of Chesney’s famous hit, the one and only.
We have seen a fair share of beautiful bombshells over the years such as Aubrey O’Day in 2016[/caption]
Stephanie Davis and Jeremy McConnell had us hooked with their antics[/caption]
Luisa Zissman and Jasmine Waltz showed off some legendary behaviour[/caption]
ITV could be in trouble if they don’t cast more bombshells[/caption]
