The real reason Sonia Kruger isn't hosting Big Brother 2025

After Channel 10 dropped the surprise news last week that Big Brother would be returning to the network in 2025 after four years at Channel Seven, an inside source has told Yahoo Lifestyle the reason behind the hiring of new host Mel Tracina, saying other big names thrown around for the hosting gig were never actually considered.

With Sonia Kruger hosting the Channel Seven series and Gretel Killeen the famous face behind the successful '00s series of Big Brother, the industry insider said that Sonia and Gretel were "never considered" for the 2025 reboot.

"Network 10 wanted someone fresh that felt similar to the network hiring Gretel back in 2001," they told Yahoo Lifestyle. "Gretel wasn't unknown by any means, but it was Big Brother Australia that made her a household name.

"Mel is hoping to bring something unique to the format but her sense of humour, support of women and not being afraid to take men to task will echo a lot of what Gretel Killeen did with the format."

Sonia Kruger 'wasn't keen' for Big Brother reboot

Sonia Kruger's next move has been highly speculated upon recently, after reports Channel Nine had their eyes on poaching the star from Seven to host The Golden Bachelor.

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The insider says Sonia wasn't keen on continuing her Big Brother journey with another network.

"Longtime fans were ready for a change and in some ways Sonia Kruger's era never really saw her challenging the housemates on their bad behaviour the way Gretel did," they said. "Sonia wasn’t really that keen on continuing and Gretel would have wanted a huge paycheque to be back on Big Brother Australia."

An industry source has said that neither of the women knew the show was coming back but were "happy with the news."

What do we know about Big Brother 2025?

Channel 10 recently hosted their Upfronts, announcing the return of Big Brother to their platform after its run on Channel Seven for the past four years. However, TV Tonight reported that a legal letter was sent by Channel Seven to production company Endemol Shine Australia after it was included in the announcement, as Channel Seven still has a "hold back" on the format until mid-2025.

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A hold back prevents negotiations commencing with another broadcaster, until the finish date of the hold back. "You can’t start production in the middle. You can’t be casting, you can’t be announcing hosts. You can’t be announcing deals," a production insider told TV Tonight.

Big Brother Australia first premiered on Channel 10 in 2001 and ran for nine seasons (including a celebrity version) until 2008 when it went on a four-year hiatus. It was then picked up by Channel Nine who aired three seasons, before moving to Channel Seven in 2020.

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