Celebrity Big Brother 2025 launch – LIVE: Chesney Hawkes and JoJo Siwa are first stars to enter house – UK Times

Gosh, she’s very enthusiastic, isn’t she?

In case you’re not familiar with JoJo’s oeuvre, the 21-year-old became famous as a youngster on US reality show Dance Moms (so she has plenty of experience living life in front of the cameras) and has since branched out into music.

I for one really did not need to know that Chesney Hawkes is “a bit of a nudist”. After imparting that haunting nugget of information, Hawkes was given a special mission by Big Brother: to introduce himself to his fellow housemates as “the one and only, Chesney Hawkes”. Inevitable, really…

Can we have a moment for AJ’s glittery, feathered catsuit please?

So consider this your 10 minute warning…

And while we’re reminiscing… had you somehow forgotten all about rumoured housemate Chris Hughes’ brief foray into the world of rap, alongside his Love Island co-star Kem Cetinay?

‘Little Bit Leave It’ was the biggest ITV reality show musical crossover since, checks notes, Joey Essex released ‘Reem’ off the back of a mildly successful catchphrase in 2011.

Sadly, Chris & Kem weren’t fated for musical greatness; after dropping this track, they never troubled the industry again. But the video remains a time capsule to a simpler time, when two likeable Love Islanders could generate enough public goodwill to merit a budget music video.

And as the launch show draws ever nearer, here’s a classic Celebrity Big Brother moment for your viewing pleasure: when Ann Widdecombe systematically failed to use a pair of hair straighteners.

It remains possibly the only time that the ex Tory MP has been a bit relatable.

Here’s a quick reminder of the stars who have reportedly signed up for the show. I’ve listed them alphabetically, because there’s no favouritism here (although by pure coincidence, this means that my personal favourite, CBBC icon Angellica Bell, is top of the list anyway…)

Angellica Bell – broadcaster and former CBBC host

Chesney Hawkes – singer, of ‘The One and Only’ fame

Chris Hughes – Love Island star, of “want me to rap, anyone, to lift the mood a bit?” fame

Daley Thompson –two-time Olympic decathlon gold medallist and world record breaker

Danny Beard – Scouse drag queen and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season four

Donna Preston – comedian and actor

Ella Rae Wise – The Only Way is Essex star

Jack P Shepherd – Coronation Street actor and on-screen son of Gail Platt

JoJo Siwa – Dance Moms star turned singer

Michael Fabricant – former Tory MP, the one with the hair

Mickey Rourke – Oscar nominated actor and former boxer

Patsy Palmer – EastEnders star

Trisha Goddard – chat show legend, of Trisha fame

In the words of Davina McCall, formerly of the Big Brother parish, fancy another one?

What could be more relaxing than lying back on a sun lounger surveying the gorgeous Astroturf around you, with a giant eye symbol lurking in the background to remind you that you’re being watched?

Ah, the Big Brother live stream. If you’re a TV viewer of a certain age (ie. a millennial like me) then those words probably summon up glorious memories of tuning into E4 when you should have been revising for exams, watching grainy, minute by minute dispatches from the BB house, hastily censored with the sound of artificial bird song whenever the contestants starting swearing (most of the time, then).

Things have, of course, moved on since then. Now, you can keep tabs on this year’s celebs by tuning in to the live stream on ITVX (or STV Player if you’re in Scotland) or heading to YouTube. Ah, modernity.

Over the next few weeks, Celebrity Big Brother will be taking over the primetime slot on weeknights, airing at 9pm on ITV.

After a break on Saturday nights, it’ll then return at the slightly later time of 10pm on Sunday, to make space for police drama Grace (because nothing, and I mean nothing, stops ITV from airing a dad-friendly detective show on a Sunday evening – I wouldn’t have it any other way…)