For the first time since 2011, the celebrity edition aired before the main series with Big Brother 19 launching after the final in September 2018.

[3] Emma Willis returned as host of the series, while Rylan Clark-Neal continued to present Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side.

[4] On 14 September 2018, it was confirmed that this was the final series of Celebrity Big Brother to air on Channel 5 after their decision to axe the show.

[7] The official logo was released on 18 July 2018 (18 years after the first episode of Big Brother aired on Channel 4) and featured an eye consisting of neon lights including lightning bolts coming out of a stormy background.

Paul Osborne, executive producer of Big Brother 7, returned to overlook the new series as creative director.

The technical layout of the building has also undergone a revamp since the previous series, and the entry staircase has been closed-off for the first time since Channel 5 took over the Big Brother format, in order to "keep the outside out" according to the creative director Paul Osbourne.

In the garden, the snug has been replaced by a "pool room", a plush pink haven where the housemates can relax on padded loungers.

[11][12] In the months prior to the live launch, there was wide speculation that adult film star Stormy Daniels would enter the house.

[16] On the 17 August edition of Bit on the Side, Clark-Neal explained that just five hours before the first live show, Daniels said she only wanted to appear on launch night and then leave.

[20] Chloe Ayling is an English glamour model, best known for her abduction in Italy in 2017 by an individual claiming to be a member of a criminal organisation called the Black Death Group.

[22] Dan Osborne is an English reality television personality, best known for starring in the ITVBe semi-reality programme The Only Way Is Essex from the eighth series in 2013.

[28] Kirstie Alley was an American Emmy Award and Golden Globe winning actress, known for her role as Rebecca Howe in NBC sitcom Cheers between 1987 and 1993.

[32] From 1992, Leeson made unauthorised speculative trades, where his actions led directly to the 1995 collapse of Barings Bank, for which he was sentenced to prison.

Earlier in the year, he appeared as a guest in the fifteenth Italian series of Big Brother, Grande Fratello.

[35] Roxanne Pallett is a British actress and singer, known for playing Jo Sugden in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale between 2005 and 2008.

She participated on the fourth series of Dancing on Ice (with former housemates Melinda Messenger, Jeremy Edwards and Coleen Nolan) in 2009 and placed sixth.

On Day 17, Roxanne voluntarily left the house after making a false allegation of physical abuse against fellow housemate Ryan Thomas.

[36] Ryan Thomas is a British actor, known for playing Jason Grimshaw in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street between 2000 and 2016.

[37] Since then he has appeared as Rafael Humphreys in Australian soap opera Neighbours, and took part in Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls in 2017.

Following this, 21 Emmerdale cast members criticised Roxanne for her behaviour, with Charley Webb branding her as "outrageous",[44] as well as Sammy Winward tweeting that it was "a long time coming".

[45] Kelvin Fletcher, who played her on-screen husband Andy Sugden in the soap said that the incident was "calculated and manipulative beyond belief" whilst also showing support for Ryan.

[46][47] Within four days, Ofcom received over 25,000 complaints, making this the most complained incident regarding any Big Brother show since the race row in 2007.