Big Brother viewers spotted a very awkward blunder during Sunday’s launch as new housemate Emma revealed she knew Thomas just minutes after entering the house.

Aesthetics business owner Emma, 53, quickly approached amputee footballer Thomas, 20, as he entered the famous ITV2 house.

As she walked over to Thomas to give him a welcoming hug, she said: ‘I knew you would get in here after seeing you at the audition’.

Cameras quickly cut away from the pair as host AJ Odudu and Will Best introduced the next housemate.

Fans rushed to X to say ITV2 producers will not be happy with Emma discussing auditions while others said they were glad she ‘confirmed auditions really happened’ and bosses didn’t just pick the housemates from ‘scrolling through Instagram’.

Big Brother viewers spotted a very awkward blunder during Sunday's launch as new housemate Emma revealed she knew Thomas just minutes after entering the house
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Big Brother viewers spotted a very awkward blunder during Sunday’s launch as new housemate Emma revealed she knew Thomas just minutes after entering the house

Aesthetics business owner Emma, 53, quickly approached amputee footballer Thomas, 20, as he entered the famous ITV2 house
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Aesthetics business owner Emma, 53, quickly approached amputee footballer Thomas, 20, as he entered the famous ITV2 house

‘The producers after Emma said she saw Thomas at the auditions; been feeling like Emma knows EVERYONE and then she goes “oh I saw you at the audition!” SO MESSY bahahah mother knows all.

‘Emma recognising Thomas from the audition process; At least Emma confirmed auditions actually happened rather than a producer just scrolling Instagram. The producers watching Emma talk about auditions’.

Earlier in the show Big Brother viewers went wild for new housemate Emma, as she made an ‘iconic’ entrance into the famous house.

Emma claimed she is going to bring ‘peace and harmony’ to the house, but admitted there was also a chance she would cause some drama.

As she arrived at the house and spoke to hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best, Emma made sure all eyes were on her in a dazzling strapless red minidress which boasted a daring feathered top.

Fans quickly took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to say Emma is ‘already their winner’ as they branded her a ‘queen’.

‘Emma is my winner already; I love Emma already, queen; Emma might be the icon of the season although it’s too soon to tell; Emma has icon potential; Emma is kinda peng; Loving Emma already what an icon’.

During her introduction VT, Emma said she hopes she can be the ‘peacemaker’ but admitted she ‘doesn’t really act her age’.

As she walked over to Thomas to give him a welcoming hug, she said: 'I knew you would get in here after seeing you at the audition'
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As she walked over to Thomas to give him a welcoming hug, she said: ‘I knew you would get in here after seeing you at the audition’

Fans rushed to X to say producers will not be happy with Emma discussing auditions while others said they were glad she 'confirmed auditions happened' and bosses didn't just pick the housemates from 'scrolling through Instagram'
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Fans rushed to X to say producers will not be happy with Emma discussing auditions while others said they were glad she ‘confirmed auditions happened’ and bosses didn’t just pick the housemates from ‘scrolling through Instagram’

Thomas was in high spirits as he arrived at the house
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Thomas was in high spirits as he arrived at the house

He said: 'You would not be going on the show if you didn’t think about the prize pot and about being the winner of Big Brother. I think it’s important to try and have those connections but I believe a lot of them can be quite fake - play the game, play the environment'
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He said: ‘You would not be going on the show if you didn’t think about the prize pot and about being the winner of Big Brother. I think it’s important to try and have those connections but I believe a lot of them can be quite fake – play the game, play the environment’

She said: ‘I would like to think I’m the peacemaker. People ask me if I’m going to be the mother hen in the house – I might have times where I’m the mother hen but generally speaking I’ll be one of the girls.

‘I don’t think I really act my age when I really should so I can’t see myself acting my age in Big Brother.

She added: ‘If somebody doesn’t get my humour then they might think ‘she’s really abrupt and to the point and says it how it is’ but that’s my humour.

‘I’m still going to be me in there but sometimes I may come across as abrupt or say ”get over yourself”.

The original social experiment, where 16 strangers live together and are recorded 24 hours away in a custom built house, threw open it’s doors once again following the huge success of last year’s reboot series.

The live launch saw the contestants arrive and introduce themselves to each other and the nation, in hopes of bagging the show’s huge £100K prize later this year.

This year’s launch had initially been thrown into doubt after both hosts AJ and Will, who are retuning for a second series, were revealed to both be suffering with individual illnesses.

He explained that he has been hit by a ‘stiff neck’ that means he is struggling to move his head and was forced to visit an emergency physiotherapist.

Speaking to presenters Jordan North, Chris Stark and Sian Welby, Will explained: ‘Yeah, I’ve got a stiff neck. It’s a bit better today, yesterday was bad, I’ve got an emergency physio in a couple of hours after this.’

Poking fun at the inconvenient timing, he added: ‘It’s always good to just before the biggest show of the year, when you’re going to be live for six weeks, with all kinds of mad stuff, to not be able to move.

Earlier in the show Big Brother viewers went wild for new housemate Emma, as she made an 'iconic' entrance into the famous house
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Earlier in the show Big Brother viewers went wild for new housemate Emma, as she made an ‘iconic’ entrance into the famous house

She claimed she is going to bring 'peace and harmony' to the house, but admitted there was also a chance she would cause some drama
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She claimed she is going to bring ‘peace and harmony’ to the house, but admitted there was also a chance she would cause some drama

Fans quickly took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to say Emma is 'already their winner' as they branded her a 'queen'
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View gallery

Fans quickly took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to say Emma is ‘already their winner’ as they branded her a ‘queen’

‘So I’m sorry Chris I can’t really look at you [laughs], you’re on the wrong side!’

Sian then joked: ‘That’s why we got you a spinny chair, so you can move your whole body,’ causing Will to quip back: ‘I can just present the live show on one of these!’

However, he added that he couldn’t even lean on his co-host for support as AJ has ‘lost her voice’.

Will said: ‘AJ’s lost her voice as well, yeah sorry, I saw her yesterday, we did a podcast record. That’s why she’s not doing radio today!’

He admitted that he was ‘nervous’ about the live launch, but insisted it was down to his love of the show and desire to make sure it all went smoothly.

He explained: ‘Yeah of course I get nervous, because, I love this show so much, so I’m nervous that we’re going to do it justice, the format justice, I’m nervous how the housemates will do.

‘But once we get to Sunday, just before we go live, the nerves sort of disappear. I can’t wait to meet these people.’

BIG BROTHER 2024: MEET THE CONTESTANTS!

EMMA 

AGE : 53

FROM: Altrincham, originally Essex

OCCUPATION: Aesthetics Business owner

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR?  If somebody doesn’t get my humour then they might think ‘she’s really abrupt and to the point and says it how it is’ but that’s my humour.

ROSIE 

AGE: 29

FROM: Cornwall (originally Essex)

OCCUPATION: Dental Assistant

DO YOU HAVE A STRATEGY FOR MAKING IT TO THE FINAL? No! I think it’s about being your most authentic self. The viewers aren’t dumb – they can sniff out manufactured drama.

NATHAN 

AGE: 24

FROM: Dumfries

OCCUPATION: Pork Salesman and King Charles’ former butler

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR?  Accidentally offending someone – someone taking something I’ve said the wrong way. Not a terrible offence, but if someone takes something I said the wrong way.

SEGUN 

AGE: 25

FROM: Watford

OCCUPATION: Charity Videographer

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BRING TO THE HOUSE?  I think I’ll bring energy, comedic energy, vitality and a lot of entertainment and being uplifting.

DAZE 

AGE: 24

FROM: London

OCCUPATION: Climate Activist

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE MONEY IF YOU WON? It’s been a difficult financial period for me – climate activism is quite often something you do in debt. It would be nice to have money to do the work

KHALED

AGE: 23

FROM: Manchester

OCCUPATION: Sales Manager

WHY DID YOU APPLY TO BE ON THIS NEW SERIES OF BIG BROTHER? I didn’t actually know what Big Brother was.  I thought it’s a new opportunity in life. I have no interest in being famous.

MARTHA 

AGE: 26

FROM: Scarborough, originally from Margate

OCCUPATION: NHS Administrator

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST ABOUT BEING A HOUSEMATE? Definitely sitting on the Diary Room chair. That is a bucket list ticked off. Also just experiencing that isolation. I’m going to really enjoy not having my phone. I just love not having that responsibility.

LILY 

AGE: 20

FROM: Warrington

OCCUPATION: Chinese Takeaway Server

 WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? Probably that I’m annoying but I don’t care.

ALI 

AGE: 38

FROM: London

OCCUPATION: Forensic Psychologist

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST ABOUT BEING A HOUSEMATE? Just being away and thrown into a totally new environment, completely different to anything I’ve done before, completely different to anything I’ll ever do in the future.

THOMAS 

AGE: 20

FROM: Carlisle

OCCUPATION: Amputee Footballer

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? One of my bad traits is that I speak a lot. I do a lot of talking without thinking. In myself I never get offended, you can say anything about me – I’ve already heard it before.

RYAN 

AGE: 28

FROM: Stockport

OCCUPATION: Marketing and Events

WHY DID YOU APPLY TO BE ON THIS NEW SERIES OF BIG BROTHER? I’ve always been a fan of the show – it’s been a bit of a childhood dream to go on it.

HANNAH 

AGE: 24

FROM: West London

OCCUPATION: HR Consultant

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? I feel like whoever nominates is just a hater, babes! I think it might be my opinions that people nominate me for.

IZAAZ

AGE: 29

FROM: London, originally Swansea

OCCUPATION: Sales Consultant

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BRING TO THE HOUSE? I’ll bring a lot of happiness and kindness. I reckon I’ll be there for a lot of people. I’m not the type of person to fall out with anyone and if I did, I’d make up for it.

SARAH 

AGE: 27

FROM: Shrewsbury

OCCUPATION: Spa Account Manager

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE MONEY IF YOU WON? A few different things. One, I’d have my dream wedding. Two, go on a nice holiday. And three, maybe start my own business.

MARCELLO

AGE: 34

FROM: East London

OCCUPATION: Youth Mentor

DO YOU HAVE A STRATEGY FOR MAKING IT TO THE FINAL? Not at all. I’m going to show love, I’m going to be myself and that’s all I can do.

DEAN 

AGE: 35

FROM: East London

OCCUPATION: Barber

WHY DID YOU APPLY TO BE ON THIS NEW SERIES OF BIG BROTHER? I’ve been a fan for the longest time. I’ve wanted to do it from the age of 11 and never had the confidence to do it. As I got older, I was still obsessed with the show and as soon as it came back it was ‘this is my time to apply’.