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November 13, 2007 12:00am
A RAFT of changes - from senior management down to programming - are set to deliver a much needed shake up to Channel Ten reality show Big Brother in 2008.
While securing 2DAY FM hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O to replace veteran brother mother Gretel Killeen may have been a coup for producers, the pair's demanding radio schedule has placed restrictions on their availability for the small screen.
Kyle and Jackie OAs a result, it is understood the BB Monday night nominations program will be scrapped from the programming schedule next year - leaving Sandilands and his sidekick to concentrate on the higher rating Sunday night eviction.
Sandilands' manager admitted her star charge would not quite fill Killeen's rather large shoes when he takes the BB reins next year.
"I do know that there will be a whole heap of changes, and Kyle will absolutely not be as heavily involved as Gretel was in the show,'' India Bent told Confidential.
Industry sources suggest BB narrator Mike Goldman's role will be more involved as the hyped hosts pull back.
"It's definitely going to be interesting times - one thing for sure is that the whole show will be turned on its head,'' Goldman said.
"A lot of the staff - not just Gretel - who have worked on the show for years have left, and from what I understand it will be completely different.''
A BB spokesman was staying tight-lipped yesterday, refusing to confirm or deny any rumours about the 2008 series.
In addition to Killeen's departure, Kris Noble has been replaced by Rory Callaghan as the director of BB production company Endemol Southern Star.
BB has long been Noble's baby, but the addition of Callaghan - the man who produced the first series of Channel Seven's ratings smash hit Dancing with the Stars is expected to add some splash to the tired reality fishbowl.
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A Herald Sun article from 7 Nov also confirms that the Late-Night ADULTS ONLY show will probably return to the TV line-up next season.
"Sandilands, BB's new co-host, has revealed Channel 10 is likely to resurrect its late-night adult-only show.
He said 10 should never have kow-towed to wowsers and taken the controversial adult-only show off air.
The weekly show - which featured antics deemed too rude for prime time - did not screen this year as producers bowed to political pressure to axe it after the infamous "turkey slapping" incident. "
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Here is a couple of quotes from the article about Gretel leaving the show and some things that Kyle and Jackie O want in the new show next year.
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Gretel Killeen has been dumped from Big Brother as Ten seeks to revamp the struggling show by introducing new hosts, radio duo Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O.
"Working on Big Brother has been an extraordinary, challenging and rewarding experience," Killeen said.
"I'm really proud of what we've achieved but I now have the seven-year itch and am busting to get on with a million new things, including my first feature film, which we're shooting in the new year."
After seven years, the show is in dire need of a change.
The 2007 series was criticised for its boring and predictable housemates, resulting in poor ratings and speculation the show might be axed.
But producers Endemol Southern Star have confirmed the show will return in 2008 in a "tighter, re-energised format".
Jackie O wants 'shake-up'
It will again be filmed at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.
"I would like to see them shake it up, especially with the contestants because I think everybody is sick of the same old contestants going in," Jackie O said.
"It actually gets really boring after a while.
"As a fan, I have always wanted a bigger variety of people in there and also to push the contestants more."
Her co-host has a similar view and speaks from experience.
Sandilands was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in 2002 and was a guest in the house for a weekend this year, although he had to leave early because he suffered from a migraine.
Sandilands wants 'grumpy old men'
"I want that conflict, that real sense of drama rather than that frat house drama that we've seen over the last few years," Sandilands, who is also a judge on Ten's Australian Idol, said.
"It is time that we mix it up a little bit.
"We will still have young, fun people in there but the whole house won't be full of 20-something losers.
"I would like the old grumpy man that hates loud noise and hates young people in there."
Both Sandilands and Jackie O praised Killeen on her hosting of the show, saying they were big fans of her TV style.
Ten will be hoping for a big boost in ratings with the revamped show.
Hank
