Classic British reality show Big Brother is set for a return to TV, after the Endamol format looks to be finding a new home on Channel Five, who are reportedly ’very close’ to signing and confirming a new five-year-deal with the production company, ending months of speculation over the fate of the series, which Five had been eyeing up for several years especially as the original Channel 4 version hit a ratings slide.

The relaunch is reported, to the delight of its fans, to be happening in August, when Five plan to begin their run in style three-week edition of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, with potential recruits including Peaches Geldof (daughter of musician Sir Bob), Mohamed Al-Fayed (billionaire former owner of London store Harrods), Amy Childs (star of reality show The Only Way Is Essex), Chelsy Davy (ex-girlfriend of Prince Harry).

A Channel 5 insider said of the arrangement with Endamol: “We are giving television fans exactly what they wanted – Big Brother back on our screens this summer. The deal will be signed over the next couple of days but everything has been agreed. It’s a really exciting time for Channel 5 and everyone is determined to make this new era of Big Brother the best yet.”

The source also commented on the potential celebrity series: “We’ve got our wish list of celebrities that we want and we’re going to do everything we can to persuade them to enter the house. We want people like Charlie Sheen and Peaches Geldof, who we’re confident would be TV gold inside the house. And watching someone like the billionaire businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed living alongside those two is bound to provide some classic TV moments. Once the deal is signed we’ll make our approaches.”

Launched in 2001 at the same time as the US version, Big Brother was an inspiration for many of today’s best reality formats, featuring cameras trained on every room of the house the contestants lived in, with the public vote deciding who stays or goes. The UK version lasted for 10 series and numerous spin-offs on Channel 4, a figure which will be added to thanks to Channel Five’s new deal, with the same ’house’ in Elstree Studios (England) (which has been used for all shows since series 3) being prepared to put into action again. Will the revamped version ever hit the peaks of the original?