This year’s Celeb Big Brother will be the best – and most controversial – yet… and it might not be the stars you expect

IT was once a racy reality TV experiment where the contestants’ weekly clashes were compulsive viewing.

But after 25 years, was in danger of becoming an echo chamber of mind-numbing wokery.

Whether it was the civilian show or spin-off, in the Noughties millions of us would tune in night after night to revel in the inevitable bust-ups and meltdowns.

But in recent years it has lapsed, tragically, into a procession of snow-flakes whose only purpose seems to be ticking boxes and making us want to, er, blow our brains out.

So let’s rejoice in a fab four of golden oldies contesting the latest edition of , which kicks off on Monday on ITV1.

Take a bow, wildman Mickey Rourke, chat show queen Tricia Goddard, big-haired and even bigger-mouthed former Tory MP — and gloriously unwoke Olympic decathlon great Daley Thompson.

Let’s pray they make this the best CBB ever because, let’s be honest, this ageing format desperately needs a lifesaving shot in the arm.

With a combined age of 279, this quartet are long in the tooth, have been there and done it, and will hopefully not shy away from telling their millennial housemates all about it.

Forget the usual drone of youngsters exchanging gormless platitudes and rubbing one another’s back as they share their wafer-thin tales of supposed hardship and prejudice.

These oldies are likely to throw a grenade or four under any attempts at indulgent self-pity by who seem to barely know the first thing about life.

Imagine when TV chat show host Trisha bowls in and tells how she’s entered the house while undergoing monthly chemotherapy. At 67, the mum of two juggles her cancer treatment with being a mental-health activist and continuing to light up our screens.

Then there’s hellraiser Mickey, star of Eighties erotic thriller 9½ Weeks and 2008 grappler psycho-drama The Wrestler, whose off-screen life has been equally full-on with his endless car-crash , rounds of and gritty movie roles.

The 72-year-old twice-married Oscar nominee, who once came close to killing himself when his life hit rock bottom, has certainly made some bizarre statements over the years.

In 2022, he claimed he had been visited that year by US secret services after criticising .

Meanwhile takes things to a whole other level when it comes to speaking his mind. Now 66, the notoriously mischievous Olympian, who won decathlon gold in 1980 and 1984, has landed himself in hot water more than once.

, 66, caused controversy in the Eighties when he appeared to “out”; US Olympic sprint great Carl Lewis, by wearing a T-shirt that said: “Is the world’s 2nd greatest athlete gay?”;

And more trouble followed in 2012 when he joked about a misspelt tattoo, suggesting the person who’d done it “must have been Irish”;.

Grist to the mill

The real father of the CBB house, though, is likely to be 74-year-old Fabricant, whose hair, surprisingly, is not his most talked about characteristic — that’s reserved for some of his more controversial remarks.

He once berated an EU supporter across the chamber of the , yelling at him: “B****cks!”;

And addressing a female MP, about trains racing through his ­con-stituency’s station, he asked: “Does the honourable Lady under- stand that it is not much fun standing on a platform and a high-speed train sucks you off because of the turbulence?”;

Now, whether you approve or disapprove of this kind of carry-on, or the views of these stars, doesn’t really matter.

It’s all grist to the Big Bro mill.

What is really important is that the new CBB contestants haven’t all had the same cosseted 21st Century experiences of life leading them to subscribe to the hive mentality of and .

Crucially, what the show has done by including the older lot in this year’s line-up is to at last create some genuine diversity.

CBB began on before moving to — and ITV’s first attempt at it, last year, didn’t quite hit the mark — even though the housemates included 72-year-old pals and .

But they ended up looking like isolated old curmudgeons, surrounded by a sea of B-list twentysomethings on a show which was eventually won by camp reality TV star .

This year, however, ITV has struck a much better balance, rejecting the pretend diversity where viewers are presented with a gaggle of individ-uals who all look different while saying the same thing.

I’m talking about a genuine mix of people whose exchange of differing views might just bring back the magic of Big Brother when it launched on Channel 4 in the year 2000, the year before the first CBB.

For my fab four are not the only CBB lot who show promise this time round. Former actress , 52, could be a real belter, and Nineties pop favourite Chesney Hawkes, 67, a dark horse.

Flying the flag for the younger crowd will be gobby 21-year-old star , as well as 32-year-old drag queen Dannny Beard.

Which is great. We want people of all ages and backgrounds, reflecting the tapestry of British society.

It’s a world most of us live in and understand, not the tiny bubble of social media and TV types who usually get to cherry-pick reality TV contestants.

ITV might have breathed life into a format in danger of flatlining. Like so many shows that have withered as a result of wokery, it was in danger of losing the element that once made it so addictive.

Big Brother isn’t about diary rooms and jacuzzis. It isn’t about dormitory fumblings or evictions.

What it all boils down to is conflict — of which my fab four will provide plenty, and hopefully a little heart-warming resolution by the end.

Patsy Palmer

EASTENDERS legend, 52, is famed for playing Bianca Jackson in the soap. She returned to Albert Square last year but is set to leave this month.

Chesney Hawkes

THE One And Only singer, 53, has carved out a career in music and reality TV on the back of his 1991 No1 single and isn’t ashamed of it. Will be hitting the road on a UK tour this year.

Angellica Bell

BECAME a big name on CBBC from 2000 to 2006. Fans will be keen to see if the presenter, 49, spills all on her untimely exit from The Show in 2023.

Chris Hughes

AFTER appearing on in 2017, Chris, 32, has a large social media following. Briefly embarked on a music career alongside his reality TV co-star .

Danny Beard

DRAG queen Danny, aka Daniel Curtis, 32, made it to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2016 and went on to win TV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2022.

JoJo Siwa

THE US singer, 21, is known for her outspoken comments on TikTok where she has 45million followers. A vocal part of the LGBTQ+ community, having dated men and women.

Jack P. Shepherd

FIRST appeared on Corrie as David Platt, the son of Gail and Martin in 2000. Since then, the 37-year-old has been at the heart of some of the soap’s biggest storylines.

Donna Preston

WILL bring laughs, after appearing on comedy panel show Hey Tracey! lass Donna, 38, was also in 2016 crime caper The Brothers Grimsby.

Ella Rae Wise

THE Only Way Is Essex star Ella, 24, is apparently causing “meltdowns”; at home, worrying about being apart from her Towie boyfriend . She was thought to be having cold feet about doing CBB but still looks like she will hotfoot it into the TV house.