Gemma Collins’s star turn on Celebrity Big Brother in 2016 gave the show some of its most quotable moments – from her screaming “I’m claustrophobic, Darren!” at presenter Darren Day to the TOWIE star sobbing over her “frazzled” hair in the diary room.
Despite the reality star having an evidently tough time on the show, she may be returning to it later this week as Big Brother 2026’s new celebrity housemate.
The 45-year-old, who rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, came in seventh place on the celebrity spin-off in 2016, when it previously aired on Channel 5.
It has now been reported that Collins will be entering the Big Brother house as a guest on Friday (9 October) after being in talks with the ITV2 show to join.
“The stage is set for Gemma and all being well, she’ll be arriving on Friday,” a source told The Sun on Wednesday (7 October).
“Gemma has a lot going on in her work and personal life so there’s still time for changes but above all else Gemma is an intelligent, savvy businesswoman and loves her fans, and knows it would mean a lot to the fandom.”
Both ITV and Collins’ representative declined to comment.
Collins originally competed on Celebrity Big Brother alongside the likes of Tiffany Pollard, Danniella Westbrook, David Gest and Nancy Dell’Olio. The series was eventually won by Geordie Shore star Scotty T.
It’s often considered to be one of the most chaotic series of the show there’s ever been, thanks to Collins’s various meltdowns and one particularly memorable moment when Pollard mistakenly thought Angie Bowie was telling her that Gest had died in the house, when she was actually talking about the recent death of her ex-husband, singer David Bowie.
In the current series of Big Brother, 16 contestants entered the ITV show on launch night, with a selection of guests introduced over the first three weeks.
The first guest was content creator Michael “Tays” Taylor, who went undercover as a fake housemate for the first week. He was shortly followed by former Celebrity Big Brother stars Jedward: John and Edward Grimes.
The singing pair lasted two days and set a number of challenges for the housemates during that time.
So far in the competition, three contestants have been evicted and one, Charlotte Nott, chose to quit. The quadruple amputee from Oxford decided to quit less than two weeks after entering the house, citing the “relentless drama, challenges and just mental exhaustion” as her reason for leaving.
If Collins does enter the Big Brother house, it’ll be the third reality show she’ll have done this year. The Essex girl competed on I’m A Celebrity...South Africa, which aired in April, and currently stars in her own Sky reality show Gemma Collins: Everything. All At Once.
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