Emma Willis insists she loves the reality TV battle between Celebrity Big Brother and Love Island as she prepares to host her ninth series of the reality show
TV presenter thinks both shows can co-exist as they are completely different shows
BIG BROTHER had some serious competition from Love Island this summer.
But host EMMA WILLIS believes the Channel 5 show will continue to co-exist alongside its ITV2 rival and reach its 20th anniversary.
The presenter is gearing up for the launch of her ninth series as host of Celebrity Big Brother tomorrow at 9pm.
In an exclusive interview, she said: “I don’t think there is any rivalry between the two shows, they are completely different. They can both exist alongside each other.
“Love Island is about couples looking for romance and Big Brother is about a group of people being taken out of their comfort zones, from different walks of life, and seeing how they cope living with each other.”
Love Island has only been going for three years, which compared to Big Brother — now in its 17th year across two channels — is relatively small fry.
Emma said of BB: “I hope it’s got legs. I’ve been obsessed with it since it began in 2000, but everything has a shelf life.
"Hopefully it will go for a little while longer. It would be nice for it to at least make 20 years.”
Emma is excited about the celebrity contestants for the new series, which include original Love Islander PAUL DANAN and Girls Aloud singer SARAH HARDING, but she’s hoping there are no divas in their midst.
She said: “In the normal Big Brother the contestants are fighting for a lot of money, but in Celebrity Big Brother I like it to be fun as all the housemates are being paid to be in there.
“The housemates who threaten to walk because the hot water is turned off are a bit annoying, as it’s not like anything seriously bad will happen to them. They just need to enjoy it and put on a good show.”
Let the fireworks begin.
- EMMA doesn’t let her kids — aged eight, five, and one — view her show. She said: “It has bad language in. They’re not allowed to watch it.”
READ ON FOR THE REST OF DAN WOOTTON'S BIZ TV COLUMN
Katie is hoping to adopt
KATIE PRICE already has five children from three dads - but she won’t let her biological clock stop her adding to her brood.
The former glamour model, below, who turns 40 next year, explained: “I will continue to live my life the way it is.
“Harvey’s 15 next month, Junior and Princess are hitting their teenage years soon.
“I’ll have more sprogs until the doctor says, ‘You can’t have any more.’ Then I’ll find a surrogate and then I’ll adopt.”
She laid bare her plans on Quest TV’s Katie Price: My Crazy Life last night.
Meanwhile, her hubby KIERAN HAYLER admitted: “I was bullied really bad at school.
“I didn’t stop wetting the bed till I was 14 years old because of it.”
Katie chimed in: “I thought it was 16?” Kieran hit back: “Well 14 or 16, it was something around there.”
Give him a break, Katie.
SOAPBOX
DURING his three years in the Dales, Lawrence White has been shot, beaten up, gassed and had several heart attacks. He’s had more lives than a cat.
MICK CARTER has had a bad few weeks, what with his mum and wife selling The Vic’s freehold without telling him.
But things get a whole lot worse for the EASTENDERS hardman during tonight’s episode – as his old rival Woody is unveiled as Whitney’s new fiance.
Mick can’t begin to get his head around how Whitney could have chosen the buff barman, but he has no choice but to deal with it.
He’s certainly got a touch of the green-eyed monster if I ever saw one.
Meanwhile, over on NEIGHBOURS, Terese Willis comes face-to-face with her disgraced brother Nick Petrides in a bid to explore alternative cancer treatments.