Favourites back on the box

THIS week has brought news that not one, but two of my favourite TV shows are making a comeback.

First up, Gladiators. And yes, we are ready.

I have so many memories of watching people take on the likes of Jet, Wolf and Lightning back in the 90s.

It’s being filmed in Sheffield and members of the public will be able to join the audience. So it’ll soon be time to grab your foam finger and go for it.

But the comeback that’s got us all talking is, of course, the return of Big Brother.

Yes the reality TV monster, which first appeared in 2000, is on its way back – to ITV this time. And I cannot wait to see what they do with it.

That famous theme tune still sends nostalgic endorphins through our veins.

I remember the early days of Big Brother when we’d get in from a night out, put on Channel 4 and watch the housemates SLEEP.

Imagine sitting there waiting for someone to get up for the loo or a drink of water, or just move in bed?

We’d never known anything like it. Watching random people in a house.

But Big Brother was at its best when it first started.

The formula was “put some people who have never met in a house together, make them do tasks to get food shopping and see how they get on”.

And it worked.

I know they have to change things to keep it interesting.

And so over the years they added twists and turns – late housemates arriving, double evictions and dividing housemates into different areas.

But it had lost something by the time it was axed in 2018.

I hope it doesn’t come back as a Love Island-type show – all abs, tans and white teeth.

Keep it simple I say.

Or if the bosses want to really change things up, what about a Scottish-only Big Brother?

They could recruit a bunch of people from all over the country – a Glaswegian, a Dundonian, a Fifer – and have them do haggis eating tasks or see who can eat the most pehs in two minutes.

I can just hear Sandra from round the corner in charge of the shopping list, telling everyone she needs full fat milk in her tea when everyone else wants semi-skimmed.

Imagine the banter after a couple of drinks, imagine the drama. Imagine!

Like true Scots we’d watch religiously, maybe cringing at times.

But a Scottish Big Brother could be packed full of the best housemates – the pal you meet in a pub toilet on a night out, the guy at the bus stop who gives you a nod first thing in the morning, and the lassie who said she loved your outfit.

Characters. Scottish folk. Legends.

A Scottish version of Big Brother would be a hoot!