BBNaija: Five quick facts on the upcoming fifth edition

The organisers of Big Brother Naija, BBNaija have announced the preparation towards the fifth edition in 2020.

The reality TV show is unarguably one of the most popular content on Multichoice and DStv platforms across the African continent in the last decade.

The franchise – originally owned by Endemol – has toured Africa and left indelible marks in almost all the 54 countries on the continent.

The Big Brother franchise first gained popularity with the Big Brother Africa, which is now rested. It’s prominence in television content across Africa got to the zenith with the introduction of Big Brother Naija and Big Brother Mzansi.

Big Brother Naija – solely for Nigerians – has appealed to more Africans than any of the franchises with the rest of the African continent seeking for the season after season.

Here are the five quick facts about the BBNaija season 5 you should know:

DJ Cuppy expresses a desire to join the show

Nigerian Disk Jockey, Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola aka DJ Cuppy, has expressed her desire to take part in the fifth season of the Big Brother Naija reality TV show.

The DJ and singer made this known to her millions of fans and followers on social media. Cuppy took to her twitter page to express her interest to be part of the reality TV show. Although it isn’t clear if the female DJ will be auditioning to be a housemate or a guest, she has made her intention to be part of the show known. She wrote “#BBNaija is coming back? Maybe I will finally enter the house this season.” Cuppy won’t be the first Nigerian celeb to join the show as a housemate or a guest.

BBNaija 5 kicks off in July 2020

On Wednesday, May 21, MultiChoice Nigeria announced that the fifth season of BBNaija will premiere in July 2020. While the exact date is yet to be announced, The Nation gathered that it will be towards the end of the month of July. The previous editions had kicked off in the last week of the month. BBNaija season 1 kicked off on March 5 and ended on June 4, 2006. It was won by Katung Aduwak. BBNaija season 2 won by Efe Ejeba kicked off on January 22 and ended on April 9, 2017; BBNaija season 3 won by Miracle Igbokwe kicked off on January 28 and ended on April 22, 2018; BBNaija season 4 which presented the first female winner, Mercy Eke, kicked off on June 30 and ended on October 6, 2019.

Not more than 30 housemates will make it into the house

The fifth edition of the BBNaija will have no more than 30 housemates. Previous editions of the reality TV show have indicated that the housemates won’t exceed 30 at every edition. The season one had 14 housemates, season 2 had 14 housemates, season 3 had 20 housemates, and season 4 had 26 housemates.

The fifth edition will hold in Lagos amid COVID-19

Many fans and audiences of BBNaija are wondering how the show will hold amid a global pandemic but organisers are determined to make it work.

The Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe says the timing is important and viewers should worry less. “The timing of the show is also particularly important, given the dominance of the COVID-19 pandemic; auditions for the fifth edition will now hold online and viewers and stakeholders alike can rest assured knowing that global best practices, precautions, and preventive measures will be followed throughout the show, even as we guarantee the premium entertainment BBNaija is renowned for,” Ugbe says.

For all the editions of the rested Big Brother Africa, and Big brother Mzansi, the studio and house were situated in Linden, Johannesburg, South Africa. In the same vein, the second and third seasons of BBNaija were held at the same venue.

However, the first and fourth editions of BBNaija were held in Lagos, Nigeria. The Nation can authoritatively reveal that the fifth season of BBNaija will also hold in Lagos, Nigeria.

A new theme will take over social media

Every edition of the Big Brother Naija is announced with a theme. The themes of the BBNaija seasons have always resonated in some of the dramas that the audience looks forward to and the fifth edition won’t be different. Season 1 was themed ‘BBN,’ the season 2 was themed ‘See Gobe,’ while the theme for season 3 and 4 are ‘Double Wahala’ and ‘Pepper Dem’. The theme for the fifth edition is yet to be revealed, it is expected to denote adventure, excitement, and entertainment.