Celebrity Big Brother is back, with a new roster of famous (and not-so-famous) figures stuck together in the famous Big Brother House.
Among the competitors this year is singer Chesney Hawkes, best known for his track “The One and Only”, who last night (7 April) became the first star to enter the house.
The biggest name to feature is American actor Mickey Rourke, who was first rumoured to be competing on the series last week. Reality star and singer JoJo Siwa and TV host Trisha Goddard are also among this series’ stars.
Rourke has already been the cause of significant controversy, after the 72-year-old star of The Wrestler was deemed to have “grabbed” and “ogled” series presenter AJ Odudu upon first entering the house.
Odudu, whose professionalism was praised after the episode (as were the interventions of co-host Will Best), addressed the incident during the aftershow.
“[His tongue] literally was [hanging out],” she said. “I was like, ‘You can’t afford these feathers, Mickey, no!’”
The latest series of Celebrity Big Brother is the second to have aired since the reality show was rebooted by ITV in 2023.
The series continues at 9pm on ITV and ITVX.
Less than 15 minutes to go now!
Is anyone out there rooting for Michael Fabricant? Stranger things have happened… maybe.
Here he is, with that barnet of his…

Whoever wins will become part of a long lineage of Celebrity Big Brother winners. Here’s what became of the previous champs:
Who will win this year’s competition? My money’s on a rogue choice: Jojo Siwa, the young influencer whose ungodly dance moves turned her into a somewhat ironic cult figure over the past couple of years. Will she bust out the famous moves in the CBB house? We can only pray.

This whole Mickey Rourke malarky may come as no surprise to those of you who have watched Big Brother before, or indeed to anyone who may have picked up a newspaper between the years 2001 and 2018.
Here’s a look at some of the series’ past scandals:
I’m reliably informed that tonight’s episode will feature:
– Something called a “big prize room”
– A heart to heart between Danny Beard and Michael Fabricant
– Mickey Rourke and Trisha Goddard “getting to know each other” (that’s not a euphemism, that’s just what the press release says)
Only two hours to go!
Odudu responded to the incident with Rourke briefly during an interview with the aftershow series Late & Live.
Viewers have roundly praised the presenter for her handling of the moment, while others have called for Rourke’s exit from the show.
Read more here: