Celebrity Big Brother got underway live on ITV1 on Monday, 7 April, which meant viewers were offered their first glimpse of the latest superstars under surveillance.
As the likes of Chesney Hawkes, Trisha Goddard, Patsy Palmer, Daley Thompson and Mickey Rourke descended on the iconic property – find out the full cast list here – there were a number of standout moments across the 90-minute launch programme hosted by Will Best and AJ Odudu.
Let’s dig in, shall we?
Big Brother hands out secret missions
As the first housemate of the series, ‘The One and Only’ singer Hawkes was greeted with an immediate secret mission from Big Brother. Talk about being put in the deep end.
For the next four entrants, he had to introduce himself as ‘The One and Only’ as a way of accruing points towards future prizes. He didn’t disappoint either, adding a solid 400 points to the scoreboard.
Sir Michael Fabricant got the rougher end of the deal soon after; needing to high-five the next three celebrities following him through the CBB door, while exclaiming ‘Groovy baby!’ right in their faces.
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With 11 housemates ticked off and just Oscar-nominee Rourke waiting to join them, the group were later tasked with getting him to join them in a conga line as quickly as possible, earning more points in the process.
Over the course of the premiere, they totalled 2,400 points which they’ll be able to use on luxuries such as family phonecalls and sleepovers in a double bed.
Best did warn that the Prize Room may not actually be what it seems though, with “special powers” potentially up for grabs.
Goddard is there to spread a message
“I have Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. It’s part of my new normal,” former talkshow host Goddard informed the cameras before heading into her next TV adventure.
“I’m going into the Big Brother house to show that you can’t be so scared of dying that you become frightened of living.”
Upon meeting Best and Odudu above the adoring crowd, she then reiterated her defiant message: “3.4 million people living with cancer and 6 million people with chronic illness – we cannot be so scared of dying that we become scared of living.”
Meanwhile, she and Hawkes later realised that they’d attended the same primary school as kids. Small world.
Fabricant booed on entry to the house
Sir Michael Fabricant, who claimed that he was the first-ever MP to come out as bisexual, endured the most notable unveiling on the night.
Stepping out of the black Mercedes, the Conservative Party figure met a mass of boos and cheers from the surrounding crowd, with the former most audible whilst he tried to speak to Best and Odudu.
Things didn’t get any less awkward for him either, what with that cringeworthy high-fiving task.
Thompson has a cheeky swipe at the show
Talking to decorated decathlete Thompson before he went to meet his new housemates, Odudu asked: “You’ve won gold medals, you’ve broken world records, how would a CBB win rank in your list of achievements?”
“I think it’d be right up there,” he replied, much to the astonishment of the two presenters. But there was a sting in the tail to come, as the 66-year-old cheekily added: “I think it’d be right up there with my… GCSEs.”
He followed that up with a much more honest comment. “I think it’s gonna be really good fun, because I think that it’s an opportunity to not do any work for 23 days and then you get a chance to mix with some people that you’ve never met and you might even make some friends,” the star smiled.
Rourke sought advice from Ray Winstone before signing on
In his introductory VT, the self-confessed short-fused Rourke revealed that he had “no clue about Big Brother” before being approached to appear in the celebrity version.
“I thought Big Brother was the government,” he said.
“I talked to my close mate Ray Winstone. He goes, ‘Just be yourself and go and have fun.’ And I like the people in the UK. It’s the mentality and the culture, the food; shepherd’s pie. Oh I love it here.”
The two actors starred together in a 2010 crime thriller titled 13 alongside Jason Statham, Sam Riley and 50 Cent.
Celebrity Big Brother airs on ITV1 and ITVX, with the first live eviction scheduled for Friday, 11 April.
