James Jordan: ‘The Celebrity Big Brother housemates have their heads up Sharon Osbourne’s backside!’

After six years off-air, Big Brother fans have flocked to ITV in their millions to support the comeback of the iconic celebrity hit series since its revival on March 4th. With this year’s series featuring the likes of Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne, Fern Britton, and Gary Goldsmith, there’s been no shortage of drama, fallouts, and hilarious moments as it continues to be the top talking point of the nation every night.

As we enter week two in the Big Brother house and with the second round of eliminations on the horizon, celebrity ballroom dancer and former housemate, James Jordan, who appeared on the series in 2014 and again in 2017, speaks exclusively to Betfred to share his early impressions on this year's housemates, sends words of wisdom to fellow Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin, places his predictions on who will win, and makes the stark warning that Sharon Osbourne’s exit will strike a massive shift up within the house.

How proud are you to see fellow Strictly Come Dancing co-star, Nikita Kuzmin, on the show? Do you have a message you want to send him, and what advice would you give him to succeed in the Big Brother house?

“It’s great seeing Nikita taking part in this year’s series, and I wish him well. I love Big Brother; it’s such a great opportunity, and I’ve had the pleasure of taking part in the show twice, but find it hard to give advice on how to succeed in the house as it’s one of those shows where you can’t enter expecting to win.

“So, if anything, my first piece of advice would be to just enjoy it. There’s no right or wrong way to play the game, but what I will say is that in every series, you have your bold personalities that enter and play such a character for the first week or two, and slowly, their masks start to slip, and their true selves will start to shine, which is what we’re starting to see with this year’s housemates right now.

“However, Nikita just seems like such a lovely and genuine guy, so I find it hard to imagine anyone hating or gaining a strong dislike towards him; I think it's impossible not to like him. What I've learned during my time in the house is that everyone really values someone who is genuine, so while Nikita may not be stirring the pot like Ekin-Su, Sharon, and Louis are, I’m sure his gentle nature will be sitting well with his fellow housemates and viewers at home. So my advice to Nikita will be to just keep being you. If he keeps going as he is, I have no doubt he will go far.”

Lauren Simon doesn’t appear to be having the best start to the series as she faces eviction for the second week in a row. Do you think she has struggled to settle into the Big Brother house, and is it too late for Lauren to turn her reputation around amongst her fellow housemates and fans? And how does it feel when you believe that all the housemates don’t like you?

“It’s such a shame because I’m actually really enjoying watching Lauren, and would be sad if her time comes to an end so soon. I think she has to remember that some of these nominations are not personal at all; there have been some really lame reasons behind some of the nominations so far in this series.

“That being said, do I think I would get on with Lauren if I was in the house with her? Probably not. Do I agree with everything she has said and done during her time in the Big Brother house? Of course not. But do I find her entertaining and fun to watch? Absolutely. The house needs a variety of personalities, and the show would be boring if everyone was super outspoken like her or more reserved like Nikita, for example. She currently brings so much of the entertainment and drama to the show, and I don’t think it’s her time to go just yet.”

What was your reaction to Sharon and Louis’ name-dropping session where they were quick to speak down on James Corden, Anna Wintour, and Ellen DeGeneres? Do you believe this conversation was natural, or do you believe this was orchestrated by the producers? And to what extent do the producers go to orchestrate the drama?

“I can only speak about my own experience and can’t vouch that things are the same now, as I’m aware that Sharon allegedly underwent media training prior to the show, so things may have changed.

“But the two times that I went into the Big Brother house, I was probably a bit of a loudmouth, while I wouldn’t go out of my way to cause arguments or create drama, I wouldn’t shy away and voice my opinion if needs be, and the producers kept their distance and wouldn’t interfere unless it was an emergency.

“For example, they would never tell you to go and have a conversation with this person or encourage you to have certain conversations about set topics, and all the interactions, arguments, and conversations on the shows I was featured in were truly authentic, and I genuinely believe that the chat Louis, Sharon, and Gary had was completely natural, too.

“I laughed so hard when Sharon called Anna the ‘C’ word, but I can see how that conversation can come across as harsh. Again, I can only speak from my own experience, but I met Louis once when filming an episode of Celebrity Catchphrase, and he was so lovely, so much fun, and an overall great man, and people need to remember that this is a show that is filmed around the clock; there’s 24 hours worth of footage, and we only see an hour each night, so sometimes the context and that build-up to these conversations are cut out entirely.

“I remember one time in the house where I referred to myself as the ‘Brad Pitt of dance,’ and I was slated online and called cringe from the press; however, what viewers failed to see was the context before and after those comments were made.”

When former This Morning presenter Fern Britton entered the Big Brother house, fans were left wondering if she would speak out about her time working alongside Phillip Schofield. While Fern is yet to discuss their working relationship in detail, due to how outspoken Louis and Sharon have been so far, do you think the pair have set that expectation amongst fans so high that viewers of the show will now be disappointed if they don’t get the full scope?

“In previous episodes, we have witnessed Fern touch upon the subject. While she’s not spoken in great detail, I think she’s sent a clear message that she doesn’t like Schofield. We all love the gossip, the drama, myself included, but you have to remember, this is ITV we’re talking about, and I wouldn’t expect to hear more on the matter than what has already been aired.

“While I can’t say for certain about what procedures have been put in place by ITV, or if there have been contracts and agreements signed prior to the show, although, I can imagine that they [ITV] are treading around the subject very lightly and being cautious about what they air.

“This is a show that is filmed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and if we’ve seen snippets of Fern touching upon the subject, it’s likely that the housemates have already had this discussion in great detail. The producers aren’t silly and will be aware this will be a great driving factor to the show; they will want to give the viewers what they want without causing extra trouble behind the scenes, so they will be trying to find that happy medium to keep all parties happy. There’s likely so many unseen clips, so only time will tell if we get to hear more on the matter.

“While I’ve only ever met Fern once, I can tell that she is an absolute sweetheart and probably wouldn’t want to say anything too mean or upsetting, especially when it has the potential to be aired to millions of viewers.”

If Louis Walsh survives eviction this week, and once his dear friend Sharon departs, do you believe he will struggle in the show without his partner-in-crime, or do you believe he will still be on a sour note with Sharon after she decided not to save him from eviction?

“I don’t think he will struggle, but with Sharon set to exit tonight, what I do think we can expect to see is a totally different side to Louis as there’s no doubting that having Sharon around will have been like a massive safety blanket for him, and it will be interesting to see how he acts when he’s left to fend for himself.

“To be honest, I think the entire house will see an entire shift with Sharon leaving. I don’t understand why, but most housemates have put Sharon on this pedestal and treated her like royalty since she’s entered the house. I respect her entirely, but every time I’ve entered the house, regardless of who I’ve been surrounded with, I’ve treated everyone as my equal as no one is better than anyone else. However, this year we have seen most of the housemates scared to speak up to Sharon and quite frankly had their heads up her backside. With Sharon leaving, I think it will allow for some of the quieter housemates’ to show their personalities.

“I’m also seriously disappointed in Sharon after choosing to save Zeze over Louis last night; she’s completely thrown him under the bus. If I was in Sharon’s position, I would always stay loyal to my friends, no matter who it would upset. I understand that she wanted to appear fair and diplomatic, but I think everyone would have understood why if she were to choose Louis, especially with their friendship being so established. I would be upset if I were Louis right now.”

Fern Britton, Louis Walsh and Lauren Simon are all at risk of elimination tonight, which of these stars do you think is most at risk of being eliminated?

“I’m really not looking forward to tonight’s eviction as all the people you don’t want to be up for eviction, but it always seems to be that the prominent figures are first to face elimination. I also think Sharon’s reason for nominating Fern was very weak. I can’t decide between the three who will go, but I know that it’s certainly going to be a close call!”

Finally, who do you think is most likely to win and why?

“It’s difficult to say so early on, especially with so many great people in this year’s series. However, if I had to make a prediction based on past experience, I would say that it’s going to be one of the less outspoken housemates, like Colson Smith for example, he just seems so incredibly lovely and I can see the public backing him to go all the way. While we’ve not seen a great deal of Colson yet, just wait as I’m sure he will have his time to shine soon.”