Sonia Kruger dishes on Big Brother’s ‘sexy’ makeover

Returning for its 15th season on air with a hot new dating show twist, Sonia Kruger reveals how the 15 “sexy singles” left even the Gold Logie winner herself feeling “seriously unattractive” by comparison.

The latest season of Big Brother will feature 15 “sexy singles” instead of the usual mixed bag of contestants from all walks of life. Picture: Supplied

Placing itself somewhere between a social experiment and a reality dating show, the new season of Big Brother Australia has a few surprises – a house full of single contestants, happy to find love (or lust) on their journey to win the grand prize money, new physical challenges and in-house evictions. It’s a recipe for decidedly watchable television. As host Sonia Kruger tells The Binge Guide, “There’s something in all of us that likes to see how other people live in a house with strangers.”

“What a house! Everybody is so good looking,” Jake exclaims with palpable excitement as he meets his fellow housemates for the first time.

He’s not wrong. This year, the Seven Network has spiced up the 22-year-old format of Big Brother Australia by casting 15 “sexy singles” instead of the usual mixed bag of contestants from all walks of life.

And so, this time around, the Sydney location is filled with young people sporting the sort of glossy hair extensions, spray tans and rippling muscles that you would usually find at a casting call for reality dating show Love Island.

Sonia Kruger on the cover of The Binge Guide.

It wasn’t just the 25-year-old carpenter who was left flustered by first impressions of the new household. Host Sonia Kruger jokes that the class of 2023 has left her feeling “seriously unattractive” by comparison.

“When the first person got out of the car and came up the catwalk I was like, gosh! I had felt pretty good up until that point, and then I felt really drab,” Kruger tells The Binge Guide with a laugh. (And that’s no mean feat, given that she never scrimps on the glam.) “They’re seriously hot, and the weird thing was on the [first] night, it actually started pouring with rain. I looked more and more like a drowned rat, but they just got hotter.”

Another big development this year for Kruger is that this marks her first season of hosting the show as a Gold Logie winner. Although, to hear her tell it, joining that exclusive club hasn’t translated into a better parking space, or a bigger ego.

Perks come in more mundane ways, she explains: “I ordered a cleaning product online the other day and when it arrived, I opened the box, and inside was a note from the supplier saying, ‘Congratulations for your Logie win!’ So the best part about it is you get people you don’t know, from all walks of life, congratulating you.”

Since Big Brother first aired on Network 10 in 2001, the show has screened on three different networks, had four different hosts – including Kruger – and welcomed more than 280 different housemates, the oldest of which was 65 and the youngest just 18.

Since Big Brother first aired on Network 10 in 2001, the show has screened on three different networks, had four different hosts – including Kruger.

The format itself has also changed to include more physical challenges, and contestants are no longer evicted on live TV by viewer votes, but rather by their fellow housemates in votes tallied on pre-recorded episodes. “As with every TV show, you have to keep evolving,” Kruger explains of this year’s shake-up. “You need to keep things fresh for the audience.”

The same could be said for the contestants. The people who choose to go on Big Brother today are very different – and a lot more savvy about reality TV – than those first housemates who walked into the Gold Coast compound in 2001 not knowing whether anyone would watch the show, only to find themselves celebrities (albeit short-lived ones) upon their exit.

Changes aside, Kruger believes the basic premise of Big Brother is people watching people. “There’s definitely something in all of us that likes to see how other people live and how they conduct themselves in a house with other strangers.”

Would she have ever considered auditioning for the show herself?

“At 21 I probably would have,” Kruger admits. “But would I do it now? Probably not. I value my privacy a bit more. And sharing the bathroom? No. I can barely share the bathroom with my own family.”

Instead, Kruger is happy to be able to once again preside over the shenanigans in the house and then go home to her own bed. She says hosting the show – which she has now done for eight seasons – requires her to take on a multitude of roles.

Sometimes she plays umpire, overseeing physical challenges. On eviction nights she feels a bit like a prosecutor, probing housemates about any dubious behaviour. And there are times she’s a counsellor, with sage advice and a shoulder to cry on.

This year, however, Kruger adds another string to her Big Brother bow and plays matchmaker. “There is a little bit of that,” she says with a smile. “Mostly I feel maternal towards them, particularly this group because they’re very young. It made me think [about] when I was 20; you think you’re a grown-up and across it all, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. But you’re not. You’re completely driven by a whole other set of hormones.”

The new season of Big Brother Australia premieres 7.30pm on Monday on the Seven Network and 7plus.

Originally published as Sonia Kruger dishes on Big Brother’s ‘sexy’ makeover