TALKING POINTS | Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Traitors, Race Across the World and Heartstopper
- Elliot Gonzalez
- 4 hours ago
- 6 min read
Here's what's got me talking this week...
It's that time of the week again where I take a look back at the last 7 days to see what has got me talking the most.
From Celebrity Big Brother to Heartstopper and more, here are my 4 telly talking points of the week...
1
JACK P. SHEPHERD
winning Celebrity Big Brother
On Friday night, 1.6m of us tuned in to the live final of Celebrity Big Brother on ITV1, which saw Corrie favourite and tea lover, Jack P. Shepherd claim victory against Danny Beard, JoJo Siwa, Donna Preston, Chesney Hawkes and Chris Hughes, winning with 37% of the overall vote. Just two per cent behind favourite Danny Beard.
Was Jack the favourite to win? No. For many he did just sit in a house for three weeks drinking two-teabag cups of tea. But that became entertaining the more it went on and not just that, but he loved a wind-up, formed a nice bond with Chris and the longer he stayed in there, the more he began to open up.
Not as much as others of course, but it was clearly enough to win over the viewers at home. He's a self-confessed superfan of the show, and we know from Colson Smith finishing third last year, that the Corrie fans do not mess around when it comes to voting.
Whenever I'm asked what my favourite TV show is, my answer is always Big Brother. It's the original social experiment and as a reality television obsessive, one I've been watching religiously for 25 years.
From its beginnings on Channel 4, its move to Channel 5 and its most recent era on ITV, I've stuck with the format through its ups and downs and it's safe to say that over the past three weeks I have been glued to Celebrity Big Brother, glued to Late & Live and glued to the live feed until the early hours.
So what made this series so brilliant? The cast were genuinely entertaining, from different backgrounds and of different ages. Always the best formula for a group of housemates. Even controversial big bucks booking Mickey Rourke, who was rightly ejected early on, felt reminiscent of the show's golden era.
The house itself, now in a brand new studio, was so much better that the 2023/24 version. It was smaller inside. There was no second level. And whilst in keeping with the look and feel fo the civilian one, felt much more like the Big Brother house as it was in Elstree.
And I'm not quite sure what happened to Late & Live this year, but for superfans, it became unmissable. Something about the slight studio tweak worked. Both AJ and Will looked as if they were really enjoying themselves and something we've been screaming out for... actual exclusives that make the show worth watching.
The biggest change production made was to have the eviction interviews returning to the main show and outside the house (they were very lucky with the weather). This is despite ITV when announcing the series said that Late & Live would still be the only place to watch the celebrity evictees first live interview.
So what changed? Either they finally listened to the pleas from fans and did the right thing. Or (and this is more likely) the logistics of getting from the main house to the Late & Live studio meant logistically it just wasn't possible. Either way, I'm grateful. I'm also grateful for those shots we had of the housemates heading to the Late & Live studio on the golf buggy - more of that please!
With a brilliant celebrity version already under the show's belt, in its 25th year, the countdown to this autumn and a new civilian series is already on and with the applications asking for an availability of "up to eight weeks", again ITV has listened and are giving us a longer series!
2
CELEBRITY TRAITORS
line-up spotted ahead of filming
Since the aforementioned Big Brother, few reality show formats have captured the public's love and attention in the same way. The most recent to do so is The Traitors, which sees a group of strangers play the ultimate game of detection, backstabbing and trust, in the hope of winning up to £120,000.
Following three hugely successful series, it's no surprise that a celebrity version is on the way. Since it was announced back in August 2024, speculation has been rife as to who might have signed up to play the game.
Surely the likes of Sir Stephen Fry wouldn't actually be taking part? Well, after dodging the question in many an interview it seems that yes, THE Stephen Fry will be entering the Traitors castle as he's just one of a number of famous faces to have landed in the Scottish Highlands ahead of filming.
Alongside Sir Stephen Fry and host Claudia Winkleman, other celebrities who have been spotted include Alan Carr, Celia Imrie, Charlotte Church, Clare Balding, David Olusoga, Jonathan Ross, Paloma Faith and Tom Daley.
And with so many sightings confirming the rumoured line-up, it seems as though those next to arrive will be Cat Burns, Joe Marler, Joe Wilkinson, Kate Garraway, Lucy Beaumont, Mark Bonnar, Niko Omilana, Ruth Codd and Tameka Empson.
I was a bit dubious about the need for a celebrity version of a show that works so brilliantly because they're regular people, but with the calibre of names as high as this, and a format that's so strong and unpredictable, it's bound to be unmissable television this autumn on BBC One.
3
RACE ACROSS THE WORLD'S
triumphant ratings return
This week saw Race Across the World return to BBC One for its fifth series and this time the epic race began at The Great Wall of China as five teams began their 14,000km journey across three of Asia’s most diverse nations, China, Nepal and India to reach the finish line in Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.
The hit series returned with 3.2m viewers, 200k up on the series four opener, and 500k on the start of series three, making it the largest launch for the series, and just 400k behind the 3.6m who tuned in to the start of the second series of Celebrity Race Across the World back in August.
It was also the most-watched show at 9pm, comfortably beating the final episode of 5 drama The Feud and Celebrity Big Brother on ITV1.
Once again, Studio Lambert, who produce the series, have nailed the casting, This time around there's siblings Elizabeth and Letitia and Brian and Melvyn, teenage couple Fin and Sioned, mother and son Caroline and Tom and former married couple, Yin and Gaz whose dynamic on this trip I'm already loving.
Racing across vast distances without smartphones or bank cards, and armed only with cash equating to the cost of flying the route, each pairing will be pushed to their absolute limits, with only one able to claim victory over the others and win the cash prize of £20,000.
4
HEARTSTOPPER
confirming its final chapter
After much recent speculation that Heartstopper will not be returning to Netflix following three successful series, the news was confirmed that the TV series is over. But it will return one last time as a feature film, adapted by Alice Osmeman from her upcoming sixth and final Heartstopper graphic novel.
It'll start filming this year, with Kit Connor and Joe Locke both confirmed to return as Nick and Charlie's journes is wrapped up.
After series three, the couple are inseparable. But, with Nick preparing to leave for university and Charlie finding new independence at school, the reality of a long-distance relationship begins to weigh on them. Doubts take hold, and their relationship faces its biggest challenge yet.
Meanwhile, Nick and Charlie’s friends are also navigating the ups and downs of love and friendship, confronting the bittersweet challenges of growing up and moving on.
The Heartstopper film will explore how inevitable milestones affect the maturing characters. Can first loves really last forever?
Speaking about the news, Alice Oseman said "I am completely overjoyed that we will get to tell the end of the Heartstopper story. I’m so grateful to everyone who has worked hard to make this possible and to the incredible fans of Heartstopper for your patience and passion. I cannot wait to bring this story to a magical conclusion."
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