Big Brother: Late & Live reportedly axed by ITV after two series due to poor viewing figures
Bog Brother: Late & Live, the companion show to the main ITV reality series, has reportedly been axed by ITV.
Big Brother: Late & Live normally follows every episode of the rebooted Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother series, featuring a host of ex-housemates, celebrity guests and a live audience discussing the events in the previous episode. The companion show was introduced in 2023, when ITV rebooted the reality franchise.
However, according to The Sun, the series is said to have been given the chop by ITV bosses, who were unable to justify its return due to the show’s poor viewing figures. A source told the newspaper: “Big Brother in general has struggled this year due to fierce competition from the likes of Celebrity Traitors.
“Late and Live has really struggled due to the main show not doing as well as hoped. Over the past few weeks whispers have been rife that the show would be axed and then during the final week it was an open topic on the studio floor. Bosses have quietly told staff, many of whom are freelancers, not to expect the show to return.”
Big Brother presenters AJ Odudu and Will Best alternated presenting duties on Late & Live, while both taking helm of the live eviction episodes of the main show. While Late & Live has reportedly been given the chop, ITV remains committed to the main big Brother series, which recently hit 150 million streams on ITVX.
The source added: “It’s a shame but no show lasts forever. ITV still loves Will and AJ and think they are the right people to host the main show. Big Brother remains a priority for ITV even without Late and Live.”
Ahead of the next series of Big Brother, which is expect next autumn, Celebrity Big Brother will return in spring 2026. Speaking about the upcoming celebrity series at the Edinburgh TV Festival earlier this year, ITV controller Kevin Lygo sparked rumours that the celebrity edition could be moving from ITV1 to being fully broadcast on ITV2.
He said: “Celebrity Big Brother we're looking at. We're thinking not on the main channel, that's the answer. It's so difficult now to book big celebrities, famous people, which is what we need on the main channel. Whereas you can go more interesting and niche on ITV2.”
Lygo added: “It does really well for us on ITVX. It's a really important, crucial show. I love it and it does a tremendous job for us so, yes, it's coming back.”
Big Brother 2025 wrapped up last week, with 60-year-old Richard Storry being crowned the winner by viewers. His win marked Big Brother history, becoming the oldest housemate to ever win the show.
Speaking about the future of Big Brother, a spokesperson for ITV said: “We will confirm plans for Big Brother's forthcoming series in due course.”