Big Brother returned to ITV2 on Sunday night, however one housemate’s stint on the show will be shorter than most, because they are only staying for a week.
A house ‘mole’ is being placed into the house for a week in a bid to ’cause havoc’ for the remaining contestants who are all vying to win.
Within minutes of arriving in the house, the 2026 cast were told that there was a mole amongst them, who will be doing their best to go undetected.
They were told the mole – who the public know is YouTuber Tays – would nominate three people for eviction in the next episode of the show.
The dramatic live launch saw returning hosts AJ Odudu, 38, and Will Best, 41, introduce the 16 contestants who would be battling it out for the £100,000 prize.
The line-up includes a bunch of typically kooky hopefuls including a radio presenter, a ‘stay at home daughter’, and a 53-year-old content creator.
Here we take a closer look at the new contestants…
The full Big Brother cast has been revealed in the first episode of the show
Charlotte has been desperate to apply for the show ever since it rebooted on ITV and she finally took her chance once she turned 18 – and it has paid off
Name: Charlotte
Age: 18
From: Oxford
Occupation: Student
Charlotte has been desperate to apply for the show ever since it rebooted on ITV and she finally took her chance once she turned 18 – and it has paid off.
She said she can be ‘very stubborn’ and worries she can come across as a bit ‘stuck up and arrogant’, which she thinks may get her into trouble in the house.
Charlotte, who is a quadruple amputee, said: ‘Obviously, as a quadruple amputee, people are surprised at anything I do, even normal things like cooking, doing my makeup, getting dressed, stuff like that.
‘And obviously they’re going to be watching me 24 hours a day so they’re going to see me do all those things.
‘They’re probably going to be surprised at the most normal things for me, those are going to be the most shocking for everybody watching.’
Pauline has spent the past few years caring for her mother and sadly lost her father in March
Name: Pauline
Age: 31
From: Essex
Occupation: Carer
Pauline has spent the past few years caring for her mother and sadly lost her father in March.
She decided to take the opportunity to appear on the show because it’s something she would have wanted to do if the world was ending tomorrow.
Before her time as a carer, Pauline worked as a private investigator but can’t go into detail because it’s classified.
When asked what she’d get nominated for, Pauline said: ‘To be honest, I actually was not thinking that I’d be nominated but if I was, maybe my directness. I’m a very straight shooter, I’m going to say how it is because I don’t feel like telling people lies to soothe them.’
Tays is ready to cause ‘havoc’ in the house as the resident mole
Name: Tays
Age: 23
From: Manchester
Occupation: Streamer & Content Creator
Tays is ready to cause ‘havoc’ in the house as the resident mole.
He will appear for a week and admitted he doesn’t think he would be able to handle the entire eight week stint.
Speaking about the plan ahead, he said: ‘I think I’ll feel bad at times keeping the secret, but I think I’ll get into the competitive mode and get the job done.’
Harry said he is looking forward to a break from ‘real life’ and is looking to lean into being more ‘zen’ because he fears people may find him intense
Name: Harry
Age: 30
From: Croydon
Occupation: Online Fitness Coach
Harry said he is looking forward to a break from ‘real life’ and is looking to lean into being more ‘zen’ because he fears people may find him intense.
He said: ‘I guess at the very start, people might want to relax and chill. And I love my own space. But then I also come alive at like 1am. I’ll be up like a night owl. And I think that sort of thing might annoy people just because I’m so used to living on my own and doing my own thing; I like my own space.
‘But then when it’s my time I will come out. I like wouldn’t say I dictate the mood, but when I want to be alone, I will be alone. And when I want to see people, I will.’
Rochelle revealed she has ended up on the show after applying as a ‘joke’
Name: Rochelle
Age: 57
From: Essex
Occupation: Housewife
Rochelle revealed she has ended up on the show after applying as a ‘joke’.
Despite ending up in the house by accident, Rochelle admitted she is looking forward to the break from her husband – after 33 years of marriage.
She said: ‘I left home and was married, and this is the first time ever that I’m actually going to be not having him there or anyone with me.
‘And I’m quite looking forward to it. It’s just going to be an experience, you know, no one is going to be with me, which he’s stressing out about.’
Johanne has insisted her only strategy is to be ‘unapologetically herself’
Name: Johanne
Age: 44
From: Salford (originally Los Angeles)
Occupation: Online Marketing
Johanne has insisted her only strategy is to be ‘unapologetically herself’.
She revealed she is most likely to get nominated for ‘addressing the elephant in the room’, suggesting she won’t be afraid of confrontation.
When asked what she would do with the winnings, Johanne said: ‘I would start an alopecia line of hair care. I suffer from alopecia. It’s something that happened to me when I was in my 30s.
So, I would love to do that. I don’t feel like there’s really a market or brand that caters to those people as far as making really funky headpieces and stuff like that. And so, I would love to do that.’
Millie has promised to ‘bring the house character’ due to her loud and spontaneous personality
Name: Millie
Age: 19
From: Paisley
Occupation: Bartender
Millie, who is mum to a two-year-old son, has promised to ‘bring the house character’ due to her loud and spontaneous personality.
But she thinks she may rub others up the wrong way because she has a tendency to be lazy and unafraid to speak her mind.
When asked what will surprise people, she said: ‘People take one look at me and go, ‘oh my gosh, she’s such a girly girl. She’s so ditsy’.
But they’re so, so wrong. I’m very, very creative. I play a lot of musical instruments. I’m really good at painting.
‘As much as I am so loud and obnoxious, I also like a lot of downtime.’
Frankie revealed he will be spending a lot of screen time in the hot tub and ‘can’t wait for all the single mums to fancy him’
Name: Frankie
Age: 23
From: London
Occupation: Marketing Manager
Frankie revealed he will be spending a lot of screen time in the hot tub and ‘can’t wait for all the single mums to fancy him’.
When asked what will surprise people, he unsurprisingly said: ‘I haven’t got talent that will surprise anyone. But I’m extremely handsome. There you go.’
Answering what he’d do with the money, he said: ‘Most of the money will go to my nan. I will be getting my own house. I’ve been living with my nan for the last six or seven years. She’s looked after me. So, I’ll definitely be giving some money to my nan. I’ll be looking to mortgage my own house and also travelling around the world.’
Omar has promised to bring an energy that people ‘haven’t seen on mainstream TV before’
Name: Omar
Age: 21
From: London
Occupation: Jewelry Seller
Omar has promised to bring an energy that people ‘haven’t seen on mainstream TV before’.
When he was asked ‘tell us one thing about you think will surprise people the most,’ he said: ‘I don’t fit the prejudice that people have in their minds when they first see me. I’m not what I look like.’
Samuel, who professed he’s never had a partner, is looking forward to ‘building bonds with genuine people’
Name: Samuel
Age: 21
From: Slough
Occupation: Administrative Apprentice
Samuel, who professed he’s never had a partner, is looking forward to ‘building bonds with genuine people’.
When asked what people may struggle with, he said: ‘I think people might not appreciate my complete honesty. I can also sometimes leave a bit of a mess behind me. Sometimes if people interrupt my sleep (I like lots of sleep) I can get quite grumpy – so people might think I get a bit annoying when I’m grumpy.
Chelsey says she has two sides to her, a serious social worker side and that she was a really good listener and a good friend
Name: Chelsey
Age: 29
From: Manchester
Occupation: Social worker
Chelsey says she has two sides to her, a serious social worker side and that she was a really good listener and a good friend.
Sharing a bit about her past experiences, she said: ‘I feel like when people meet me they think “oh, look at her she’s come from a big house with all this money.”
‘But I haven’t. I fled to live in a women’s refuge and grew up in there for a few years with my sister and my mum. It’s been quite difficult, but it’s made me the person I am today. I had a social worker myself when I was younger which inspired me to become a social worker.
Yasmin said: ‘People think because I’ve got three degrees I’m really smart. I have no common sense – common sense isn’t very common to me
Name: Yasmin
Age: 29
From: Manchester
Occupation: Teacher
Yasmin said: ‘People think because I’ve got three degrees I’m really smart. I have no common sense – common sense isn’t very common to me.
What would you do with the money if you won? ‘My mum has six children – she was a single mum. So I would 100 per cent love to help my mum and actually make us financially secure and financially free.’
Lynx said he is unconventional and doesn’t really like to stick to like what others would assume that he’d enjoy. He wants to show that you can just be you
Name: Lynx
Age: 24
From: London
Occupation: Property Developer
Lynx said he is unconventional and doesn’t really like to stick to like what others would assume that he’d enjoy. He wants to show that you can just be you.
He said: ‘I think that i I just stay true to me, I’ll be fine. If I go in with some form of strategy, like a real like game plan, I’ll just get caught up. I’m not too good at lying. I’m just going to go in and do me and hopefully that’s good enough.’
Rob plans to bring lots of energy and ‘jazz hands’ to the house this series
Name: Rob
Age: 25
From: Bideford
Occupation: Radio Presenter
Rob said: ‘I think I’ll bring energy. I’ll bring lots of jazz hands. I’m just in it for a fun time. At the end of the day, I just love bringing the good vibes and hopefully if I can spread some joy among everyone.’
Sharing his surprising fact, he said: ‘Once as part of carnival I jumped off Ilfracombe Pier dressed as an elf with a cardboard Santa sleigh. We all jumped into the water dressed as elves.’
Rhianna has lived a ‘privileged’ life which included being protected by her own bodyguards, but she is going it alone in the Big Brother house
Name: Rhianna
Age: 21
From: Chelsea
Occupation: Stay-At-Home Daughter
Rhianna has lived a ‘privileged’ life which included being protected by her own bodyguards, but she is going it alone in the Big Brother house.
She admitted she isn’t clever enough to go in there with a strategy and is hoping to win the money to be able to stand on her own two feet,
Tell us one thing about yourself that you think will surprise people the most: ‘I think I have a resting bitch face and that makes me look a certain way but I’m actually really emotional.
No-one has really seen my vulnerable side, even in past relationships. I think that will surprise some people.
What would you do with the money if you won? ‘If I were to win all that money, first of all I would be so proud of myself – my whole life I’ve been living under my parents’ money. With all of that money, I would use a bit of it to buy some bags – not only for me but also for my friends who believed in me.
‘And then I would also put a good amount of it away – I know that money doesn’t grow on trees and I’ve learnt that. I would save a good amount of it in a safe place.’
Philip said: ‘There will never be a dull moment when I’m there. I’ll always put a smile on everyone’s faces’
Name: Philip
Age: 53
From: Liverpool
Occupation: Content Creator
Philip said: ‘There will never be a dull moment when I’m there. I’ll always put a smile on everyone’s faces. If I see anyone unhappy, no matter what, I’ll be there for them – whether I like them or not. You’re better being a friend to me than an enemy.
‘I’m a very good friend, but I’m a very bad enemy.’
