Big Brother Australia has tried a bunch of different things since it first launched in 2001. As well as format changes and network shifts, there have been a handful of spinoffs and two celebrity seasons.
With this year’s season done and dusted and the show’s seventeenth season confirmed for 2026, it’s got me thinking: is it time for an all-winners season of Big Brother?
How would it work?
Hear me out. RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 implemented an all-winners format back in 2022 with eight former champions battling it out for the title of Queen of All Queens.
The season is widely considered one of the best and was celebrated for not only its all-star cast but also the chaotic good energy.
When it comes to an all-winners season of Big Brother, every contestant would be considered a fan favourite, given the fact that the public literally voted for them to win their season.
There are also more than enough housemates to choose from now that Coco Beeby has been added to the hall of fame. If you consider 2023 winners Tay and Ari Wilcoxson and 2005 champs Greg and David Mathew (aka The Logans) as individual players, then there are 17 people to choose from.
The Channel 10 seasons of Big Brother have historically had an average of 17 housemates, so this works perfectly. Heck, you could even add Big Brother Celebrity winner Dylan Lewis and Big Brother VIP champ Luke Toki into the mix as intruders.
Who would do it?
In an ideal world, every former Big Brother winner would say yes to another go at the social experiment. Think about it: having OG champs Ben Williams, Trevor Butler and Terri Munro mixing with new-era players Marley Biyendolo and Coco would be incredible TV.
Two-time winner Reggie Sorensen told PEDESTRIAN.TV that she would say yes to an all-winners season in a heartbeat.
“Hell yeah, I absolutely love Big Brother!” she said. “It would be good if they did a worldwide winners season. I don’t know how many Aussie winners would go back again, but I’d love to see all of them come back.”
2012 winner Benjamin Norris agrees he’s not sure everyone else would sign up, but he would “absolutely consider it”.
“The push and pull of going back into Big Brother is a bit like an addiction; you never fully shake the itch to go back. I’d do it for the experience, the nostalgia and the chaos,” he told P.TV. “I’m very close with Reggie and stepping back into the house with a dear friend would be such a wild full-circle moment for our friendship.
“But I’m also realistic about how a second run on the show could go and sometimes when you throw everything back in the washing machine, it doesn’t all come out so white. Your legacy gets tested.”
2007 winner Aleisha Cowcher admitted she is also hesitant about a second season, mainly because of how much the show has changed since her first stint.
“There’s a part of me that’s like, wow, it was such an experience. I loved it,” she told P.TV. “And then there’s a part of me now that goes like, when I went on, there was no social media. I signed my life away and I was literally there for a good time, so I could say whatever I wanted.
“But I probably would do it, because it’s one of those things that not everyone in their life gets to experience and it’s so amazing and fun and I’m a mum and I own a business, so I’d love a little bit of fun in my life. But I would have to really process it.
“It would be iconic.”
2020 winner Chad Hurst is also ready to put his hand up and told P.TV he’s keen to give it another crack.
“I reckon I could still pull the no sleep, no food and the anxiety off again,” he joked.
Meanwhile, 2006 champ Jamie Brooksby told P.TV he’d be especially keen to return to Big Brother as he felt “unworthy as a winner”.
“I think all said and done, I would say hell yes,” he said. “While life has moved on from all of us, I think we all brought something different back in the day and I’d be open to proving again to myself that I deserved to be there after all.”
Other iconic ideas
If Channel 10 isn’t keen on an all-winners season, I have other ideas to present in a Shark Tank-style boardroom.
What about a season made up entirely of housemates voted out first? Sure, it would technically be a house full of the least popular people on their season, but it would be fun to see them given another chance.
Or if only half of the winners say yes to returning, you can add the runner-ups to the mix, like Sara-Marie Fedele, Layla Subritsky and Chrissie Swan. Because yes, Chrissie Swan got her start on Big Brother.
Benjamin agrees it would be the “perfect sweet spot” having a winners vs fan favourites season, especially considering the only other season with returning players was when Channel 7 was producing its challenge-focused version of Big Brother.
“You still get the prestige of past champions, but you also give runners-up and iconic housemates the redemption arc they deserve, too,” he said. “Suddenly it becomes explosive television with real unfinished business.”
So, have I convinced you yet? Channel 10, I’ll be awaiting my producer credit.
The post Hear Me Out: It’s About Time Big Brother Does An All-Winners Season appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
