"Caroline needed the Emma Willis treatment": Big Brother UK fans miss the former host after explosive eviction

Viewers of Big Brother UK have voiced a strong sentiment: when controversial housemate Caroline Monk exited after a dramatic double eviction, fans felt the moment required the sharp questioning style of former host Emma Willis.

While the current hosts, AJ Odudu and Will Best, have taken the helm for the show’s move to ITV2, the reaction on social media underscored a nostalgic yearning for Willis’s return and her signature interviewing approach.

Big Brother UK: A moment fans believe was missing Emma Willis

The live eviction of Caroline followed a particularly raucous week on Big Brother UK.

After the live audience booed her as she exited the compound, she appeared on the spin-off series Big Brother: Late & Live.

Many viewers believed the exit interview did not match the intensity of the circumstances, and immediately turned to X (formerly Twitter) to call for Emma Willis to take over.

“When the world needed Emma Willis, she didn’t show up,” a fan wrote.

“Needed an Emma Willis interview for Caroline if we’re honest #BBUK,” another commented.

“Caroline needed the Emma Willis treatment in this interview,” a viewer reacted.

“I wish Emma Willis was interviewing Caroline. She’d call her out on her bull***t waaaay more #BBUK,” another netizen commented.

“Oh how I wish caroline was due to face an emma willis interview tonight,” an X user reacted.

These posts reflect a collective impression that Caroline’s segment lacked the probing depth that many fans had come to expect from Emma Willis’s era on Big Brother UK.

Willis originally hosted the show during its run on Channel 5 from 2013 to 2018. She explained in 2022 that she would not return for the show’s ITV2 revival:

“I think with every new era of Big Brother, I think there should be a new host,” she told Radio Times. “I loved my time on the show, and I very much kind of said goodbye to it back then because we thought it was over. I don’t tend to go back. I like to move forward.”

The contrast between Big Brother UK’s current presentation and the perceived gravitas of past seasons appears to have fuelled the reactions.

Some viewers, while acknowledging that AJ Odudu and Will Best are well-liked, still felt a void in this high-drama moment. One wrote:

“I love AJ telling Nancy to pull up her dress a bit. Women looking out for women.”

“ar AJ being our fav girls girl warning Nancy that her own girls are hanging out and proud #BBUK.”

The double eviction leaves eight housemates still in the running: Cameron Kinch, Elsa Rae, Emily Hewertson, Jenny Baird, Marcus John, Tate Reynolds, Teja Dalphy, and Richard Storry.

Earlier in the week, Sam Ashby had been eliminated in a back-door eviction—also drawing viewer criticism. With the finale approaching, the stakes are high for Big Brother UK.

Still, the moment that really resonated on social media was Caroline’s exit and the post-eviction interview.

Many fans used the hashtag #BBUK to express regret that the show didn’t bring back Emma Willis’s style of host-led accountability.

Some even suggested that ITV2 return to the era when Big Brother on Channel 5 was fronted by Willis.

The renewed intensity of the show’s drama appears to have reignited interest in how the exit interview is conducted.

Whether or not the producers of Big Brother UK heed this call remains to be seen.

But the outcry highlights how strongly some viewers feel about the role of the host in shaping the show’s tone—and how much weight they assign to that moment when a controversial housemate leaves. As one user said:

“Caroline needed the Emma Willis treatment in this interview.”

If future evictions mirror this level of drama, Big Brother UK may face further pressure to revisit the legacy of its former hosts and the interviewing standard they set.

Stay tuned for more updates.