Davina Mccall
Davina Mccall opens up about her Big Brother presenting days as the show takes a trip down memory lane
It’s been 20 years since Big Brother first landed on our screens, so what better way to celebrate than showing some of the most iconic episodes of the show? Original host Davina Mccall is teaming up with Rylan Clarkneal to present Big Brother: Best Shows Ever on E4 – and she sounds just as excited as we are!
“I hope it’s going to be a walk down memory lane and a little bit of nostalgia,” she says. “I think it will be nice to look back at something funny that was part of our lives in happy times.”
Davina admits she didn’t have to think twice when asked to get on board, saying she agreed to do the show before even knowing what it was about. Chatting about her fondness for BB, she adds, “I loved it so much. It’s one of those shows, if you invest in it, it gives back.”
Here, Davina, 52, lifts the lid on her favourite moments, working with Rylan and why she could never go into the house herself…
Hi Davina! What was your first reaction when you got the call about this show?
Well they said “Big Brother” and I just said “Yes!” I didn’t even know what it was. They asked if I wanted to know what it was and I said, “No, it’s fine, I’ll do it.” Stuff that
I do now is very sensible, so it will be nice to watch back some irreverent TV again.
What can we expect?
I think a lot of them will be bits that everyone will remember that we can’t not include. Trying to choose a favourite series is quite difficult because there were so many that played a special part in my life. One of my favourite moments was Mikey [Hughes] eating a Scotch bonnet chilli – I was in agony laughing. I had forgotten that Alison Hammond and Adele Roberts were Big Brother housemates, and now they are mega famous. It’s so good to be back!
Are you looking forward to working alongside Rylan?
He’s an absolute genius. He’s so passionate about Big Brother and that’s what I love about him. He’s a
Big Brother nerd. To be able to do it with him, remotely of course, is lovely.
What do you miss the most about presenting Big Brother?
Over the 11 years that I did, it developed and changed a lot. The first few years, I loved the anarchy and the fact we didn’t know what was going to happen or how it worked. Then in the next few series, people used to say, “The producers are fixing it,” but we never knew what was going to happen. I remember there was a task where my producer said that we were going to put them all in cardboard boxes. I asked, “Are you sure? That’s going to be the most boring bit of TV ever,” and he went, “Yes, we’re doing it.” It turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever seen. You just never knew what was going to work or be brilliant!
How would you describe the show?
At the beginning, it was very basic. I think it would be very interesting to show the first series again, to show how they did nothing. They sat around and only had chickens to look after and they just talked – there were hardly any tasks. How did anybody watch it? People just thought it was all alcohol, sex and rows, but the tasks that they did were so brilliantly done and thought out, so just remember it’s also a massive comedy.
What are some of your favourite quotes?
If ever my kids say, “Can you pick me up from the station?” I say, “I’M COMING TO GET YOU,” and slightly laugh to myself.
Who’s your favourite ever housemate?
That is a difficult question. But I would possibly say, because it meant so much to her, Nadia [Almada]. It was such a surprise. Nadia went in there having never been accepted for who she was.
Big Brother gave her an opportunity to be someone new – no past, no history and no judgement – people accepted her for who she was.
Could you ever go into the house?
Never! I think it’s an extremely difficult place to be – you’re in a melting pot. Being in lockdown, this is the best example of what it would feel like in that house. You must become good at conflict resolution as you’re all stuck together in a small space. I don’t think I’d be able to hack it!
What other projects have you got on at the moment?
I’m doing more Long Lost Family and hopefully The Masked Singer when we can. Obviously, my online fitness platform Own Your Goals has also been very busy, which is fantastic.