CONFIRMED: Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother have been cancelled

The current series of Big Brother, which starts on Channel 5 on Friday night, will be the last

Channel 5 has confirmed that it will no longer broadcast Big Brother or its celebrity equivalent, Celebrity Big Brother, after the end of the new series of Big Brother, which starts tonight (14 September). Channel 5 confirmed the news in a statement on Friday, thanking the production company Endemol and the production team, the presenters of the show and the fans for their support over the last seven years. “The forthcoming series of Big Brother will be the last - of either celebrity or civilian versions - on Channel 5,” the statement read. “We’d like to thank Endemol and all of the production team who have worked tirelessly to make the show a success. “We’d also like to thank our brilliant presenters - Emma on Big Brother and Rylan from Bit on the Side - for their consummate professionalism, Marcus, the voice of Big Brother and all of the housemates who have created so many memorable moments. “Most importantly, we’d like to thank fans of the show for their support over the last seven years. We look forward to giving the final series a brilliant send-off.” https://twitter.com/channel5_tv/status/1040547403223523328 https://twitter.com/channel5_tv/status/1040547514183811072 https://twitter.com/channel5_tv/status/1040547611143544832 Channel 5 relaunched Big Brother in 2011 and both Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother have attracted some of the station’s biggest audience figures in the last seven years. The most recent series of Celebrity Big Brother was the source of some controversy, with Ofcom receiving 11,000 complaints from the British public over an incident involving contestants Roxanne Pallett and Ryan Thomas. Pallett had claimed that Thomas had "punched" her in the ribs "repeatedly" during a play fight scene on the show, a claim that Pallett subsequently apologised for after multiple claims from the public that she had mischaracterised the incident.