Big Brother 2026 Start Date Confirmed as ITV Reveals Extended Eight Week Series

Big Brother is officially heading back to ITV2, with the 2026 launch date now confirmed and viewers getting an extended stay inside Britain’s most famous reality TV house.

The new series launches on Sunday 13 September at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX, with AJ Odudu and Will Best returning to host. A completely new group of Housemates will enter the house and begin competing for the cash prize, with the winner ultimately decided by the public.

This year’s series will run for eight weeks, giving viewers considerably longer to follow the friendships, fallouts, alliances and rivalries that develop between the Housemates.

ITV is also promising some major changes inside the house. The 2026 series is being billed as a “house of surprises”, with new twists, ambitious tasks, important nominations and live evictions waiting for the contestants.

The first trailer has already teased a series where the game could change at any moment, suggesting Big Brother has plenty planned to keep both viewers and Housemates guessing.

Big Brother: The Group Chat joins ITV

There is another major addition to the 2026 series, with Big Brother: The Group Chat launching as a new companion programme.

Former Big Brother winner Kate Lawler will host alongside GK Barry, with the show airing immediately after Big Brother from Sunday to Thursday on ITV2, ITVX and YouTube. Episodes will also be available through major podcast platforms.

The Group Chat will look back at events inside the house, bringing in evicted Housemates, celebrity fans and special guests to discuss the relationships, nominations, arguments and biggest talking points from the series.

For Kate, it marks a return to the programme that made her famous after she entered the house and won Big Brother 3 in 2002. More than two decades later, she will now be watching the new generation of Housemates from the other side.

With an eight week run, a new companion show and AJ and Will back at the helm, Big Brother is preparing for one of its biggest ITV series yet. The next major reveal will be the Housemates themselves and finding out exactly who will be walking through those doors on launch night.

Big Brother returns Sunday 13 September at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX. Keep checking SoapLandTV for the latest TV, reality and entertainment news.