When I first stepped foot into the Big Brother AU house at Dreamworld, I was hit with a wave of awe.
The colours, the lights, the vibes – something about it felt dramatic, but in a fun, enticing way.
In fact, being in the house was a rush of excitement – almost comparable to the feeling you get when you try new food for the first time that you absolutely love and can’t believe you’ve never had it before and keep wanting to go back for more.
As New Idea‘s Entertainment Writer, I was lucky to be flown from Sydney to the Gold Coast to be one of the first to see the Big Brother house – before the housemates moved in.
Part of their 2026 Upfront event, on a warm spring evening, guests were welcomed by show host Mel Tracina who teased that an exciting season was upon us.
Shortly afterwards, we were taken through to the house and were given free rein to explore (I couldn’t believe it either).
My initial thoughts on the Big Brother house
One thing that shocked me most was the scale – it is huge.
The house has one main lounging area (with lots of other little areas for hanging out), a massive kitchen with a huge pantry cupboard, a large outdoor area, a bedroom, a bathroom, and of course: the diary room.
On offer outside was a gym space for working out, outdoor showers, two sets of lounges for the housemates to relax on, a pool, and an outdoor dining table with enough seats for everyone.
The bedroom was spacious, with single beds lining both sides of the walls and one double bed in the middle on the left-hand side (could they be anticipating a Big Brother romance?! Watch this space – you heard it here first).
At the end of the bedroom was a dressing area with tiny wardrobes that the housemates would have to shove all their clothes in (and I do mean shove).
Off the bedroom was the bathroom, which featured a sauna (!!!), four showers with only a small part of frosted glass meant to cover the housemates’ bits (I doubt it will cover much) and three toilets.
Attached to the bathroom was the laundry space (probably the least exciting part of the house).
Suffice to say, there is PLENTY of space for the housemates.
Are there really cameras EVERYWHERE in the Big Brother house?
Yes.
Everywhere.
I really do mean everywhere.
Even in the toilets… (it baffles me that over 20,000 people – yes, that’s how many people applied to be on the show – are okay being filmed while sitting on the toilet…).
10 NEWS+ revealed there are a total of 62 cameras in the house.
Some of them are quite obvious – and look like big, white security cameras, while others are quite hidden and sneaky.
In fact, the one thing about the house that was quite noticeable was that it did feel like a TV set.
I think this was mainly because of the lack of ceiling and the harsh lighting.
If I were a housemate, I’d probably try and spend a lot of my time outside to get the natural light and get away from the fluorescent lights!
Where is the Big Brother Australia house?
The Big Brother house can be found at Dreamworld in QLD, tucked away right behind the Tail Spin ride.
And just like the first season back in 2001, the show is live.
You can even register to head along and be part of the audience in the live evictions and nominations if you want to!
Where can you watch Big Brother Australia?
You can watch Big Brother on 10, 7:30pm Monday-Friday – and stream it 24/7 on their app and TikTok.
Producer Sarah Thornton told TV Tonight that the livestream is “on a delay for moderation”.
“We’ve got to watch it for defamation and classification. The live stream is an offering for super fans, but also for people who like to watch things that aren’t over-produced,” she told the publication.
