This Morning host Dermot O'Leary has opened up about the upcoming Big Brother reboot, admitting it needs to be very different from Love Island to work.
He said it needs to be "less of a popularity contest" and go back to how it was in the early days as "more of a social experiment".
Dermot, who hosted Big Brother's Little Brother from 2001 to 2008, said he's sure the new series will be a hit with viewers.
"You got very good people working on it", he told Metro, noting that he believes a lot of Channel 4 staff migrated to ITV in recent years.
He said there are clear differences he would expect to see from the reboot, including more diversity, and hinting that it needs to stay away from the influencer culture for it to keep far enough away from Love Island.
"It's got to be a bit different, but at the same time, for me, I think it needs to have enough clear blue water between it and Love Island.
Related: Big Brother's Davina McCall addresses whether she will return for reboot
"I do think it needs to be very diverse. I think it needs to be diverse in the people that are in the house, diverse in its thought.
"I think it needs to have a lot of separation between Love Island and less of a popularity contest and more of a social experiment with a popularity contest chucked in. But I'm excited, I'm really looking forward to seeing it."
Former host Rylan Clark has expressed interest in being part of the reboot series, but also echoed Dermot's thoughts regarding housemates and the setup of the show in a series of tweets following the announcement.
"Praying for normal housemates from all walks [of life], live evictions, no outside contact, public vote, adopt a small part of gameplay from overseas territories, some form of live feed [and] Big Brother to always be in charge".
Love Island airs on ITV2 and is available via catch up on ITV Hub and Britbox.
Tasha is a freelance writer for with a particular interest in the representation of women in film and TV. After graduating with a Literature degree then journalism qualifications with News Associates a few years further back than she’d like to admit, Tasha began her freelance career. She’s worked as a writer, editor and commissioning editor for a number of publications including Digital Spy. She is also a theatre critic. LinkedIn
