ITV ready to bring back Bro
BIG Brother was last night being tipped to return to screens on ITV.
The network is the bookies’ favourite to be the new home of the reality show.
Channel 5 bosses have confirmed they are axing both BB and its celeb spin-off after seven years.
Paddy Power is offering odds of 4/6 that ITV will snap up the programme as early as next year.
A spokesman said: “With Channel 5 ready to evict CBB, we rate ITV as the most likely channel to take the show on.”
ITV is already home to shows including TOWIE, Love Island and The Real Housewives Of Cheshire.
Your in-the-know Daily Star Sunday revealed back in January that BB was set to be axed by Channel 5.
After we broke the news, the production company Endemol denied it. But on Friday it was confirmed its run on the TV channel will end after the current series.
Ratings for both BB and CBB have fallen in recent years.
The live launch of the new series failed to top a million viewers on Friday.
But host Emma Willis, 42, has remained defiant. Speaking about the axe, she said: “This should be a positive thing because we should just f***ing show everybody how great it is.
“And we should love it and embrace it and give it the send-off it deserves.”
Meanwhile, the new series was thrown into chaos yesterday when contestant Ellis Hillon, 19, was axed after bosses discovered she had made offensive social media posts.
Reports have said she used a racist term online four years ago.
A BB spokesman said: “As a result of our investigation, Ellis has been removed from the house.”