The Scoop: Big Brother set to return to TV with Qld location yet to be confirmed

A cult TV show is officially making a comeback – but just how close it’ll get to its original home remains a mystery. WE’VE GOT THE SCOOP

Big Brother is making a comeback.

Big Brother is officially making a comeback – but just how close it’ll get to its original home remains a mystery.

Following a lacklustre season and yet another network shuffle, the 2025 reboot of Big Brother Australia is returning to Network 10 and the Gold Coast later this year, sparking speculation that the show’s infamous Dreamworld house could rise from the ashes – quite literally.

Melissa Tracina from Channel 10. Picture: Supplied

While producers have confirmed a Queensland-based production via local job postings, Scoop can reveal that the original Dreamworld site remains untouched.

The lot – once home to the nation’s most-watched house – still sits empty, six years after it was torched in a blaze allegedly started by a group of children.

No visible signs of reconstruction have emerged, leading industry insiders to believe the show’s set may instead be built from scratch at a new Gold Coast location.

The former set of the Big Brother House at Dreamworld on June 28, shows no signs of construction despite the show confirmed for filming in Queensland this year

With filming expected to begin within months and an end-of-year air date locked in, sources say construction would need to be under way now to meet deadline.

Fans had hoped for a nostalgic full-circle moment, with many taking to social media to call for a return to the show’s “ancestral home.”

The original house, left abandoned after Nine axed the series in 2014, became a decaying landmark before it was destroyed in 2019. Footage from the time showed graffitied walls, shattered windows and overgrown pathways.

Regardless of its haunted legacy, the franchise is rebooting with fresh ambition – this time with new host Melissa Tracina, a 24/7 livestream format, and a promise to steer the franchise back to its roots after recent seasons were criticised for resembling Love Island more than Big Brother.

The reboot is set to premiere in November and wrap before Christmas.

Real Housewives of Sydney star Krissy Marsh says she won't return to the show.

Vodka and the truth

Reality TV star Krissy Marsh has slammed the door shut on returning to The Real Housewives of Sydney, declaring she’s “definitely not” signing up for season four.

“Once bitten, twice shy...third time, I should’ve learned my lesson,” Marsh told Scoop after the season three reunion.

She described last season’s turbulent run as feeling “like five seasons in one,” adding bluntly: “You know they say if you look back, you get a sore neck? Well, I certainly won’t be looking back.”

But the former Housewife isn’t retreating from the spotlight. Her no-BS podcast Vodka Lectures is quickly gaining traction for its alcohol-soaked wisdom, inspired by years of “Skinny B-tch”-fuelled mentoring sessions with friends, family members — and particularly her nieces.

“I’ve been drinking Skinny

Bi-ches for years and lecturing my nieces when I’ve had enough balls to say it,” Marsh said. “Like, for God’s sake, just get on with your bloody life. I’m sick of it.”

She said those candid rants, often given after a glass or two, are what shaped the podcast’s unfiltered style, and have since resonated with listeners.

“Girlfriends will call me and go, ‘Was that about me?’ I’m like, guys, the world doesn’t revolve around you.”

Marsh said Vodka Lectures tackles everything from grief to online dating to getting your life together, without sugar-coating.

Former Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been spotted having a laugh at a sportspersons lunch at the Eaton's Hill Hotel, showing his support for a local comedian Steve Allison. Picture: Screenshot from Steve Allison

Dutton’s a comedy fan

Former federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton has made one of his first public appearances since his crushing election defeat – and gave a free plug to a Gold Coast comedian while he was at it.

Dutton was in the front row of the crowd at a sportsman’s lunch at the Eatons Hill hotel last week in his old seat of Dickson, which he lost to Labor’s Ali France, in the May election. The lunch featured Queensland rugby greats Allan “Alfie” Langer, Wendell Sailor and Scott Prince, with popular Coast funnyman Steve Allison providing the comedic relief.

In a video posted to Allison’s social media channels, Dutton gave the comedian a hearty shout-out.

“Hey Steve, I want to say well done mate – you had the crowd on the edge of their seats,” he said. “You do a great job and really enjoyed it. Well done, very funny man.”

Jonathan Thurston and Lance 'Buddy' Franklin went toe-to-toe at the Gold Coast Marathon last weekend. Picture: Instagram @buddy_franklin23

Battle of the footy codes

It was a battle of the Indigenous former footy stars when NRL legend Jonathan Thurston and AFL champion Lance “Buddy” Franklin went toe to toe in last weekend’s Gold Coast Marathon running festival.

The duo were among a sea of 30,000 runners in the huge event, lacing up for the half-marathon.

And it was Thurston, 42, who proved to be the most fleet of foot, finishing in a very respectable 1hr, 34mins and 42secs to cross the finish line comfortably ahead of his younger running mate Franklin, 38, who ran a 1:39:39.

The duo celebrated after the race by unfurling the Aboriginal flag.

Australian rapper Illy is stopping by SEQ. Picture: Supplied.

Rapper Illy stopping by

ARIA award-winning and multi-platinum hip hop artist Illy is set to hit the Cleveland Sands Hotel as part of a 27-show regional Australian tour, also heading to Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Maroochydore and Burleigh Heads.

The ARIA award-winning Aussie rapper is giving suburban Brisbanites the taste of the ‘Good-er Life’ as with this upcoming regional tour. The multi-platinum muso is hitting 27 regional venues across the country, with little old Cleveland Sands Hotel in Redlands locked in as his Queensland capital city stopover.

He’ll make his east-side appearance on October 9, following whistle-stops in Cairns, Townsville and Airlie Beach, before heading to Burleigh Heads and Maroochydore.

Sydney Roosters centre and Maroons player Rob Toia has been featured as the face of mens fashion brand Van Heusen's latest campaign.

Toia’s future on catwalk

He might be best known for his meteoric success on the NRL field, chosen for the Maroons State of Origin side after just 10 first-grade games, but Scoop thinks Rob Toia could give it all up for the catwalk.

The fresh-faced 20-year-old has debuted a preppy new look as one of the faces of men’s fashion brand Van Heusen’s latest winter campaign.

Van Heusen, who are the official tailors for Toia’s home team the Sydney Roosters, have given him a metrosexual glow-up for the ages, featuring him clad in cable knitwear, beige chinos and a button-up shirt in what can only be described as pastel plum.

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Originally published as The Scoop: Big Brother set to return to TV with Qld location yet to be confirmed