Big Brother's AJ and Will 'nervous' replacing iconic hosts on revamped show

02 October 2023 , 19:00

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Big Brother's AJ and Will 'nervous' replacing iconic hosts on revamped show

With its return looming, it's perhaps only natural for Big Brother hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best to feel nervous ahead of presenting a show with such an iconic history.

But during their chat with the Mirror, just days before the revamped series is set to start, both AJ and Will have revealed that their nerves have been eased by the support they have recieved from previous presenters - and by working with each other. Will who has worked with AJ on a previous show told us: "You know, I think doing any show is big, obviously there's going to be nerves attached, there's pressure attched. "

Big Brother hosts AJ and Will reveal pre-show nerves (ITV)

He added: "But I think one of the best things about doing this, is one, I'm just excited that Big Brother is coming back first of all. I've been a massive fan of the show over the years, so for the show to come back, for something you love to come back and then to actually get a chance to work on it, that immediately overides anything else. "

He then continued to say: "That is just incredibly exciting. And secondly, doing it with AJ definitely curbs those sort of nerves. Because when you're working with a mate, someone you really get on with, someone you find absolutely hilarious anyway, it very quickly stops becoming worky or scary, so I think yeah, once it starts I think we'll be absolutely fine."

As a former presenter on Big Brother's Bit On The Side back in 2013, you'd expect that AJ, 35, would be taking things in her stride - but that is certainly not the case as she has also revealed that she's feeling the pressure to maintain the standard of the previous hosts.

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She told us: "I absolutely echo everything that Will said. You know the pressure is on, it's a big show, it's everyone's baby. We all grew up watching it but then there's a whole new audience that we want to bring along on the ride as well. And also it's had previous presenters who both Will and I both love, adore and respect, they're the nation's sweethearts, and we want to do everyone proud. So yeah, while the pressure is on and that can be very daunting, it's definitely counter-balanced by the fact that I'm presenting alongside Will. He's really good at his job and I'll be in safe hands with him and vice versa, so I'm actually more excited than nervous for sure."

And luckily for the pair, they also have the added advantage of being supported by all of the previous presenters. AJ continued: "It's just so lovely to have all of the previous presenters be so supportive of me and Will. It's really good that we've got their seal of approval, they're willing us forward. It's a show that's been obviously so important to Davina, to Emma Willis to Rylan, to Brian Dowling. It's been important to so many of the previous presenters. They're encouraging."

But the star, who became a household name in 2013 after hosting alongside Rylan Clark and Emma Willis, says that she is determined to be herself and not attempt to imitate a previous host. She added: "I definitely want to be myself and Will wants to be himself, we're not trying to mimick or imitate previous presenters that have been before. But it's really nice when you have a lot of good will and positive energy on your side for sure."

Lucretia Munro