Black Phillip, who docks a white face mask, black bowler hat and dark suit, will hold the “night(mare) market” at York Castle Museum from 7pm to 11pm on Saturday, October 24.

He has invited people to wander around a “horror version of Kirkgate”, the museum’s Victorian street, to “support some extremely talented creative people”.

And Black Phillip promised that, despite the “horror” element, the event will be safe.

“We’ve got the Yorkshire Ghostbusters coming to make sure it’s safe (I’m not even making this up – they are actually going to be there!),” they said.

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The market at York Castle Museum will follow the success of Black Phillip’s previous markets in York, most recently held at the Impossible bar in St Helen’s Square in April.

A unique range of traders will be at the York Castle Museum market selling gothic themed produce, which have previously ranged from witchcraft items and taxidermy to décor and drawings.

Tickets for the market are £5 and available from Eventbrite.

It’s a remote stretch of Channel coastline which had a role in 20th century history so fabled that it still attracts groups of tourists daily.

Utah Beach was one of the key battlefields for the tens of thousands of allied troops who braved the German machine guns to storm their way into Normandy and begin the liberation of Europe from the Nazis on the morning of 6th June, 1944 – D-Day.

This week, some 82 years and 92 days on from that legendary invasion, a reverse journey occurred which afforded an altogether less glorious glimpse of the Great Britain of today: a boat launched from Utah Beach and made its way to the same stretch of Solent coast that so many of those D-Day heroes had embarked from.

But instead of sailing into machine gun fire and exploding grenades, it arrived into the full glare of the UK’s 21st century culture wars, in which rising public indignation about the seemingly unstoppable tide of small boat migrants have tipped some into apparent mimicry of the very Nazis their great grandfathers fought so bitterly against.

At around 3.30am BST last Sunday, a so-called super dinghy, overloaded with an estimated 130 migrant passengers, embarked from the famous D-Day beach some 25 miles south east of Cherbourg, the port beloved of middle-class British holidaymakers heading to cultured Normandy or serene Brittany.

The vessel – thought to have been imported by people smugglers from China and assembled in Germany – had made it just four miles out to sea, and was still in the relative shelter of the Bay of the Seine, when it was intercepted by four French boats, marine traffic records show.

Some 82 years ago at 6.30am American troops from the US 4th Infantry Division began landing at Utah Beach to begin the most significant military operation of World War II

On that momentous day which changed the course of history, 20,000 US troops and 1,700 vehicles landed on Utah Beach. By the end of the first day, they had advanced four miles inland

But instead of forcing it to turn back, the French boats, as their rules of engagement insist they must, merely shadowed the 34ft inflatable’s movement for some ten hours, while alerting the UK authorities it was precariously heading their way.

Two RNLI boats were then dispatched from Bembridge and Yarmouth, the lifeboat stations on the east and west ends respectively of the Isle of Wight and, for good measure, a rescue helicopter joined them too.

Somewhere towards the midway point of the 95 mile stretch of sea between Utah Beach and the South coast of England, the RNLI boats took over escort duty from their French counterparts – and then the decision was then taken to ‘rescue’ the migrant passengers by getting them off the unstable dinghy and onto those two lifeboats.

Those not wearing one already were given lifejackets and all were helped to transfer safely.

The RNLI teams, travelling unusually slowly as their boats were so overloaded, while in contact with Border Force, then radioed ahead to seek clearance to bring them ashore. However the commercial ports of both Portsmouth and Southampton declined their request, insisting that they lacked the facilities required to process such a party.

Eventually, at around 5pm on Sunday afternoon, the migrants reached the UK coast and were brought ashore at Eastney Landing, a public slipway close to the ferry port area of Portsmouth.

But by this time news of the operation was circulating locally. And, by unhappy coincidence, Portsmouth – until now not directly involved in the small boats saga because of its sheer distances from the French coast – also happened to be the base for a new player in this arena, a hard-right protest group that styles itself ‘Patriot Platform’.

Its leader, ‘Danny Tommo’, real name Daniel Thomas, grew up in the area.

The balaclava-masked anti immigration group had just the previous day brought the port of Dover to a standstill in an intimidating ‘stop the boats’ protest. And here was a live incident on their doorstep that they could respond to rapidly.

The arriving migrants were therefore greeted with fury by protesters, some even wading into the sea for dramatic effect, in scenes of intimidation which shocked the country.

And if third choice landing point Eastney was thought the best bet in an emergency for bringing the migrants ashore, it had one distinct flaw: there is only a single road in and out which was quickly blocked.

A tense stand off then ensued which went on until the early hours of Monday morning.

It was only safe for the migrants to finally be moved out, on coaches, to begin the inevitable process of claiming asylum in Britain, almost 12 hours after they had arrived.

The group of over 100 undocumented mostly adult-male migrants had successfully completed the furthest ever recorded small boat Channel crossing.

The attempt had clearly taken both the French and the British authorities by surprise – just as, one might reflect, the D-Day landings had once surprised Hitler.

In the eight years since small boats began crossing the Channel, almost all have embarked from the area closest to mainland Britain, the stretch of coast around Calais and Dunkirk.

So why did this famous but remote beach, which is more than three times further from Britain than Calais, come to be part of the small boats saga – and will it happen again?

When the Daily Mail visited the peninsula in Normandy this week we discovered that while Sunday’s crossing may have been the first from the area it looks unlikely to be the last.

Many of those involved in Sunday’s audacious crossing are thought to have spent the days or weeks leading up to it at a camp which, like its notorious forbear in Calais, is nicknamed ‘The Jungle’.

Tucked away in a forest behind a school and sports centre in a suburb overlooking the port of Cherbourg, the encampment is some 30 miles from Utah Beach.

An Afghanistan flag hangs from a tree welcoming new arrivals while discarded shopping trolleys and a broken portable toilet cabin comprise an entrance to a clearing in which around 15 tents have been erected over wooden pallets to keep them dry from below.

Surrounding trees are hung with drying clothes. Litter is strewn across the camp, at the far end of which is a makeshift kitchen.

Clothes and other items belonging to other residents are strewn across some of the tents. There is no space to bring bags on the dinghies laid on by the gangsters so those who try to cross the Channel must leave almost everything behind – which accounts for much of the debris.

Fast forward to the early hours of Sunday morning and a rather different journey was taking place; a mega dinghy carrying 140 migrants was taking the opposite route heading for Britain

Once the 34ft long vessel had travelled roughly four miles from the beach, it was intercepted by four French boats and supported on the ten hour journey to reach Portsmouth. Anti migration protesters gathered on the south coast for their arrival – and some waded in to the water try to disrupt the arrival as migrants were brought in on RNLI boats

At 5pm on Sunday, the migrants reached the UK coast and were brought ashore at Eastney Landing, a public slipway close to the ferry port area of Portsmouth. The single road approaching the slipway was blocked by hundreds of protesters until 3am on Monday

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A tense stand-off lasted for 10 hours as riot police held the activists back and the migrants waited until they could be taking to an asylum processing centre in Kent 

One resident told the Daily Mail: ‘The people here change. Most move every few weeks or months.

‘They want to come to England. They only stay here for a bit and dream of the UK.’

Another said: ‘We want to be able to take the boat, leave Cherbourg and get to England. We have family on the other side’.

A third Afghan had a very specific plan – he wants to join friends in Stratford, East London. He told the Daily Mail: ‘I will come in a van. I like to drink alcohol.’

Another said he had lived in the camp for two months now while working out a crossing plan.

The Cherbourg camp has existed in one form or another for around a decade – dating back to the period before small boats when stowing away on freight vehicles was the most popular means of getting into Britain.

Because streams of lorries pass through the city and onto boats operated by Brittany Ferries which travel directly from Cherbourg to Portsmouth or Poole, it was a useful base then.

But in recent years the erection of a four metre high barrier with barbed wire across the city’s port, combined with enhanced security checks, have made it much harder to succeed this way.

Many still try, of course. Just last year a party of 16, which included a pregnant woman and several children, had to be rescued after locking themselves inside a Britain-bound refrigerated trailer in the port, after raising the alarm that they were in danger of freezing to death.

But the vast majority in recent years now opt to cross the Channel by dinghy – including an unspecified number of men thought to have embarked from here last weekend.

To get from the Jungle camp to Utah beach, the group was almost certainly shuttled to the launch point by the people smugglers, as the area behind Utah beach is practically inaccessible on foot as it’s crisscrossed by busy roads.

The party from the Normandy Jungle would have been met on Utah by other groups brought in by road from camps further east in the direction of Calais at around midnight on Saturday evening.

The appeal to people smugglers of the much longer and more dangerous Normandy-Solent route is simple: profit.

As the Daily Mail reported last month the people smuggling gangs charge around £2,000 each from desperate migrants to get them across the Channel meaning their gross income from Sunday’s boat alone would have been over £250,000.

And overheads are minimal – we found a Chinese-made vessel identical to the one used available for sale online for just £1,416.52 – while the ‘crew’ are typically one or two young men who are given a few hours of tuition and a free berth in exchange for taking command of a dinghy.

The one thing that can interrupt this money-making machine is the French police.

Because while we in Britain continue to have a perception of ineptitude – based on recurring images of gendarmes refusing to intervene when migrants are boarding boats in clearly shallow water – they have become much better at disrupting the people smugglers before they get to the water’s edge.

Under pressure from our government – who are paying £660million a year to incentivise them – the French have introduced new tactics based on sophisticated surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

These have managed to disrupt some of the regular launch sites around Calais and Dunkirk.

Supply chains have also been interrupted with boats and engines making their way through Turkey and the Balkans intercepted along with operations within the EU.

This is why new PM Andy Burnham has been able to claim that the government’s small boat strategy is ‘working’ – the overall numbers crossing have fallen since last year’s peak.

But with tens of thousands of pounds hanging in the balance for each planned operation, the cost of failure to the gangmasters because of police interception is enormous.

It’s likely therefore that the Utah Beach crossing is representative of a wider shift in tactics from migrant smugglers, who are increasingly eyeing routes further west.

When one of the new mega-dinghies set off from Dieppe, in eastern Normandy, in August, it was, at the time, the furthest west a major crossing had been recorded embarking from.

Now, less than a month later the Utah Beach boat moved that dial another 100 miles.

And French authorities are expecting even more dinghies to make the longer and hence more dangerous voyage from Normandy to England’s South Coast in the coming weeks.

A senior Interior Ministry source based in the Calais area told the Daily Mail: ‘The geographical focus of the people smugglers is definitely changing.

‘They are finding it much harder to get boats launched in the Pas de Calais, and so are moving west, across to Normandy.

‘We expect far more of the mega-dinghies to appear here in the coming weeks and months. The success on Sunday proved the voyage can be done.’

Donna Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, agreed that the success of last weekend’s crossing raises concerns that the Normandy to Portsmouth route could become a ‘destination of choice for people traffickers’.

A spokesman for France’s Maritime Prefecture also admitted that because the shortest point of travel to England, towards Dover from Calais was becoming less viable, ‘unusual routes,’ including ones from Normandy, were likely to be attempted.

Despite no casualties on the Sunday crossing, it is a highly dangerous route, passing through the Raz Blanchard or Alderney Race, a strait that runs between Alderney and Cap de la Hague which sees some of Europe’s strongest currents.

Outside the town of Ouistreham, a quaint seaside town, east of Cherbourg towards Le Havre. lies an encampment made up mostly of Sudanese men next to the canal.

Eight tents, table-top football, portable toilets, cooking equipment and chairs, serve as home to around 20 men. 

This week, the Daily Mail visited Normandy and found the migrant encampment closest to Utah beach – near Cherbourg 30 miles away. Tucked away in a forest behind a school and sports centre an Afghanistan flag hands above a makeshift tent

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This area has been unofficially named, like its notorious forbear in Calais, ‘The Jungle’ by local residents. Many of those involved in Sunday’s audacious crossing are thought to have spent the days or weeks leading up to it at the camp

The camp near Cherbourg has been here for around ten years and people stay for a short period of time as they plan their next move, with many aiming to reach the UK 

Outside the town of Ouistreham, a quaint seaside town, east of Cherbourg towards Le Havre. lies an encampment made up mostly of Sudanese men next to the canal

In Ouistreham, eight tents, table-top football, portable toilets, cooking equipment and chairs, serve as home to around 20 men working out their next move 

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Again the camp used to be popular with those hoping to stowaway in lorries. But now that method has been largely shut down the current inhabitants are hoping to cross by boat.

One resident said he travelled to Ouistreham from Calais to rest after breaking his pelvis while trying to board a truck heading towards England.

Now he is considering his options. He told us most residents are trying to get to Britain.

Just a 15 minute walk away from the camp, Union flags flutter in the wind on Sword Beach, one of the sites where British soldiers landed on D-Day.

Meanwhile, on Utah Beach itself, there is almost no trace of last week’s operation. A discarded toothbrush, tablets and a piece of jewellery was all that remained on the beach from the spot, known locally as Redoubt Breach, from which they left.

A local dog walker told us they have not seen a single police officer in the vicinity of Utah Beach in 30 years.

This may soon change.

They are also meeting the expecting standard in a number of areas

A nursery has implemented strategies and training after Ofsted raised concerns about how staff support children’s behaviour. The education watchdog carried out an inspection at the Jigsaw Nursery in Huntington on July 15.

The nursery was rated as expected standard in four areas, which were: achievement; children’s welfare and wellbeing; curriculum and teaching; and inclusion. However, Ofsted rated the nursery as needing attention in two areas: behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines, and leadership and governance.

Inspectors raised concerns about how staff support children’s behaviour. The report said: “There are occasional inconsistencies in how staff support children’s behaviour. Leaders do not always ensure that staff use effective approaches to understand and respond to children’s needs, which can result in children becoming distressed, particularly during transitions.

“For example, some children become upset during mealtimes, and staff do not consistently support them to understand what is happening next, which affects their understanding of daily routines and why these are important. At times, staff use physical intervention to prompt children to prepare for mealtimes, such as lifting them without warning.

“This can cause children to become unsettled and does not support them to develop an understanding of expectations or promote positive behaviour.”

For leadership and governance, inspectors said leaders “do not demonstrate a secure understanding of the importance of providing ongoing professional development opportunities for staff”. The report added: “For example, there is a limited focus on targeted training to enhance staff knowledge and skills in key areas.

“As a result, staff are not consistently supported to develop their knowledge and understanding in certain areas. This leads to inconsistencies in the quality of staff and child interactions, and the support that children receive, having an overall impact on their development and wellbeing. Consequently, children’s emotional needs are not consistently met, which impacts their sense of security and wellbeing.”

A spokesperson for Jigsaw Nursery, said they are “very proud” of their team for their “dedication and hard work in achieving this outcome”. They added: “We understand the feedback and next steps provided, and have already implemented strategies and training in guidance with the OFSTED outcomes. We want to say a huge Thank you to all of our families at Jigsaw Nursery, for their amazing support and the trust they have in us.”

During the inspection, inspectors said children show curiosity when exploring their environment. The report said: “They enjoy the play opportunities that are given to them and typically play well alongside each other. Older children enjoy playing together in small groups and engaging in conversations while doing so.”

When reviewing what it’s like to be a child at this nursery, inspectors said: “Children arrive at a friendly and welcoming setting, where most settle in well. Children who attend the setting form secure relationships from the start. Babies and young children form close bonds with staff, and often seek reassurance from them, helping them to feel confident and secure to express themselves.

“Older children are happy and enjoy exploring their environment while playing collaboratively together.” At the time of the inspection, the age range of children was between one and four-years-old, with a total of 36 places.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix after McLaren’s Lando Norris lost out because of the bad timing of a virtual safety car.

Norris was leading comfortably from pole position when the VSC was called on lap 15. The timing was terrible for the world champion – he had already passed the pit exit when the VSC was called.

That meant Antonelli and Verstappen were able to pit under the VSC, saving time, while the caution period ended before Norris could make it around to the pits again.

He did then come in but, to make matters worse, the stop was slow and he rejoined in fifth place.

Norris was able to recover only to third around this track where overtaking is next to impossible.

Antonelli’s eighth win in 14 races this year puts an even tighter stranglehold on the championship for the Italian.

He is now 81 points ahead of team-mate George Russell, who finished fifth after a difficult race on a confusing strategy, and 101 clear of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who retired early on with brake failure.

“It’s good to win but it doesn’t feel as good because Lando deserved to win,” Antonelli said.

Norris said: “We’ll take it on the chin. There could be more wins this year.”

The key stories of the maiden race on the new Madring were:

Norris knew that holding on to the lead would be tough from pole but he robustly defended from Antonelli into the first corner.

The Mercedes driver cut the chicanes at Turns One and Two, and again at Turns Five and Six, each time getting into the lead, each time having to give it back.

After that, Norris set about building a lead and looked to be in control of the race as he extended his lead progressively, moving 5.6 seconds clear 10 laps in, and 6.2 when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopped at Turn 20 with brake failure.

The VSC was called, but Norris had already reached the pit straight, while Antonelli and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen had not and could come in.

Norris came in the next time around, but the VSC ended a couple of corners before he reached the entry to the pits, allowing the cars still on track to get back up to racing speed – a stop under a safety car saves a driver about 10 seconds over one under green-flag conditions.

To make matters worse, McLaren’s mechanics had trouble with both the right-hand side wheels, and the stop took seven seconds rather than the usual two.

Norris came out in fifth place, 6.3secs behind Russell, and his hopes of winning were gone.

At the front, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had been running fourth before the VSC, stayed out, having started the race on hard tyres rather than the mediums chosen by Antonelli and Norris and the softs Verstappen had.

Leclerc stayed out, and led the race with Antonelli close behind but the gap fluctuating as the Mercedes driver managed his tyres.

Ferrari kept Leclerc out as long as possible, hoping for a second safety car to enable him to make his own cheap stop.

But one never came, and Leclerc had to pit eventually, on lap 48 with nine to go. He resumed in fourth behind Antonelli, Verstappen and Norris.

Norris had closed all his deficit to Verstappen by the final stages and was running right on the Dutchman’s tail in the closing laps, but was unable to pass.

The closest he came was with two laps to go as Verstappen stumbled over some lapped cars, but despite a mistake at Turn Five, the Dutchman was able to hold on.

Officials briefly looked at an incident with two laps to go when he cut a chicane while fighting to stay ahead of Norris, who complained Verstappen should give the place up. But no action was taken.

Donald Trump today said he ‘loved’ making Right-wing British politicians angry with his support for Irish reunification. 

Kemi Badenoch led condemnation of remarks made by the president in a meeting with Micheál Martin in Dublin yesterday, during a two-day politics and golf visit to the republic.

Flanking the Taoiseach Trump, 80, said reunification of Ireland and Northern Ireland will ‘happen eventually’ and would be a ‘great thing’. 

Asked today about the diplomatic row sparked by his comments while he watched a golf tournament in Doonbeg today the president said: ‘I loved them.’

Further asked about the backlash to his intervention, he said: ‘I have always loved the people of Ireland and it just seems to me that you have Northern Ireland and you have Ireland and it would seem to me that one of the naturals of all time is put them together.’

He went on: ‘Many people agree. I made what I considered to be a fairly routine comment, I have had so much support on that.’

It is the latest gaffe by a US leader under whom the special relationship with the UK has reached its lowest ever ebb. 

Northern Irish politicians and those on the Right of UK politics lined up to criticise him last night. 

The backlash was led by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and even close ally Nigel Farage said he disagreed with the president. 

Asked what he thought the Prime Minister made of his comments in support of a united Ireland, the US president said: ‘I’ve spoken to him. I think he’s a very nice guy. He tends to be on the liberal side, unfortunately.’

He said he would ‘love to see a unified Ireland’ during a meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin in Dublin on Saturday

When asked about the diplomatic row sparked by his comments while he watched a golf tournament in County Clare today the president said: ‘I loved them.’

Conservative leader Mrs Badenoch accused him of ‘shooting from the hip as usual’, adding: ‘This sort of loose talk about the future of democratic countries is deeply unhelpful and creates unnecessary tension.’

And her shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat told broadcasters: 

‘I suppose I knew he was a republican, I didn’t know he was that kind of a republican.’

And even Nigel Farage distanced himself from his close ally, saying: ‘Northern Ireland is a proud and integral part of the United Kingdom. The people of Northern Ireland neither want a referendum, nor unification. I disagree with President Trump.’

And it emboldened supporters of reunification. Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna said: ‘In the last hour Donald Trump has announced that he is in favour of a united Ireland. It turns out that he isn’t as orange as he looks.’

The President spoke while sitting alongside the Taoiseach at the Farmleigh Estate. Asked about uniting the island, Mr Trump said: ‘I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I’ll tell you I would love to see a unified Ireland.’

He continued: ‘I think it would be a great feather in everybody’s cap if that happened. It’s going to happen eventually. 

‘You know how I see it, it’s going to happen eventually; it may as well happen now… I think it would be a fantastic thing. 

‘Now the UK will have something to say about it, obviously, but I think it would be a great thing.’ 

Mr Trump also warned today that any conflict over the Falkland Islands between the UK and Argentina would be a ‘disaster’, but said that he would be able to ‘settle it’.

This morning Communities Secretary Angela Rayner refused to get drawn into the row, telling Sky News: ‘Donald Trump is Donald Trump and the president will say and speak his mind as he sees it. 

‘But look, we’re really serious about the Good Friday Agreement. We’re very proud of our history.’

The President’s comments about a united Ireland were met with criticism from unionist leaders in Northern Ireland.

The Taoiseach and Mr Trump shake hands as they meet each other at Farmleigh House, Dublin this morning

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President Trump waves at Dublin Airport before stepping into a waiting motorcade

Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson posted on X: ‘President Trump knows better than most that elections matter.

‘Northern Ireland’s constitutional future will be decided by the people of Northern Ireland, not by commentary in London, Dublin or Washington.

‘Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom because that is the settled democratic will of its people.

‘I am confident NI will continue to choose the UK and the security it offers. As unionists, we are not interested in the destruction of our country by joining with the Irish Republic.’

Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said Mr Trump ‘is not the first US president to meddle in the affairs which don’t concern him’.

He added: ‘Northern Ireland is not a pawn in Trump’s fall-out with the UK. Our constitutional future does not depend on him or any other foreign dignitary.’

Former SDLP leader and MP for Foyle Colum Eastwood, an open critic of the US president, shared a clip of Mr Trump’s remarks on social media, adding: ‘Always liked him.’

Trump is expected to present the trophy to the winner of the Irish Open later today at the golf resort in County Clare in south west Ireland.

Donald Trump’s armoured golf buggy, nicknamed Golf Force One, (left) is parked outside the Trump International golf course in Doonbeg

Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Taoiseach Micheál Martin were in attendance for the final day of play at the Trump International golf resort as the president again blurred the lines between his professional and private interests.

Around 4,000 Irish and US security personnel were involved in the weekend-long security operation, with anti-drone technology among the measures deployed. 

The An Garda Síochána is liaising with the Defence Forces and US Secret Service in a security effort said to be costing Ireland €20million euros (£17million).

Roads were closed and police checkpoints installed near the course as around 30 people protested the visit in the nearby Doonbeg village. 

Trump may choose to travel in his armour-plated golf buggy, nicknamed Golf Force One, which was seen parked on the premises. 

AJ Odudu and Will Best will return as hosts as a new group of housemates move into the redesigned Big Brother house.

On the opening night, viewers will see this year’s contestants enter the house for the first time.

What is the schedule for Big Brother 2026?

Big Brother returns tonight on ITV2 at 9pm, with new episodes airing from Sunday to Thursday at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

This means there will be five main-show episodes each week.

ITV has confirmed the 2026 run will be longer than previous editions shown on the channel.

Reports suggest the finale could be on Thursday, November 5, although ITV has not officially confirmed that date.

A new companion programme will also be shown after each main episode.

Big Brother: The Group Chat will air from Sunday to Thursday immediately after Big Brother on ITV2, ITVX and YouTube.

Former Big Brother winner Kate Lawler and GK Barry will host the programme.

It will include discussion about events in the house, as well as interviews with evicted housemates, celebrity fans and guests.

Before the series begins, content creators The Bov Boys, who include Angryginge, will move into the house for a 24-hour livestreamed “dry run”.

The exercise will offer an early look at the redesigned building before the official launch. It is also described as a first for the programme.

Who are the housemates in Big Brother 2026?

The full list of housemates has not been revealed.

Viewers will find out who is taking part during the launch programme, as the contestants enter the house for the first time.

Big Brother has, however, released a first look at the new house for this year’s series.

First pictures show dark maroon-red, blue, green and wood tones across the rooms.

The Diary Room chair will again use the programme’s eye logo shape.

Further details about the contestants, including their names and backgrounds, are expected as the launch takes place.

The series will include tasks, nominations, evictions and events involving the housemates.

The 2026 series follows three main ITV editions shown in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The programme originally aired on Channel 4, and later Channel 5, before ITV Studios reached a deal with Banijay, which owns the rights, to revive it in 2023 after five years away.

When is Celebrity Big Brother returning?

Celebrity Big Brother was shelved for 2026 and is now unlikely to return in 2027, according to a report in The Sun.

The celebrity programme had two series after the ITV revival, in 2024 and 2025, with David Potts winning the first, while Jack P Shepherd won the second.

Reports said the celebrity version could return in 2027, but this is now in doubt.

The Sun reported that staff working behind the scenes were “already operating on the basis that it won’t be coming back”.

An ITV spokesperson said previously: “Big Brother returns to ITVX and ITV2 later this year.

“No decisions have been made for 2027 as yet.”

Reports have linked the decision about Celebrity Big Brother to difficulties signing celebrities.

The Sun said stars were increasingly seeking places on The Celebrity Traitors, creating competition for programmes that depend on celebrity contestants.

ITV is also expected to find contestants for I’m A Celebrity and its reported spin-off, The Wild Frontier, which may air in early 2027.

For now, viewers can watch the main Big Brother series from tonight, with episodes running five nights a week until the end of the run.

Will you be watching the new series of Big Brother? Let us know in the comments.