Big Brother UK 2025: Winner Richard Storry, Cast & Start Date

A 60-year-old composer from South London just walked out of the Big Brother house with the winner’s trophy, and if that surprises you, you’re not alone. Richard Storry’s victory in the 2025 season turned a few assumptions about reality TV on their head.

Winner: Richard Storry (age 60) ·
Runner-up: Elsa Rae ·
Season start: September 28, 2025 ·
Season end: November 14, 2025 ·
Average viewership: 0.90 million per episode

Here is the season at a glance — a table that pulls together the key numbers from start to finish.

The season’s viewership held steady against 2024 despite a longer run — ITV got more hours of content without losing ground.

Who are the Big Brother contestants in 2025?

Initial housemates

• The initial batch of housemates included Gani, Cameron, Nancy, Caroline, Zelah, Teja, and Emily (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).
• A total of 16 contestants launched at the start of the season (RTS – UK industry trade publication).

Final six housemates

• The final six were Cameron, Emily, Elsa, Jenny, Richard, and Tate (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Winner and runner-up

• Richard Storry won Big Brother UK 2025 at age 60 (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).
• Elsa Rae finished as the runner-up (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).
• Richard, a composer and author from South London, became the oldest winner in Big Brother UK history (Digital Spy – UK entertainment news).

The implication: Big Brother UK casting may shift toward including more older contestants after this season proved that age is no barrier to winning a reality competition — especially when viewers are the ones voting.

Where can I watch Big Brother UK 2025?

Broadcast channel

• Big Brother UK 2025 aired on ITV2, part of the ITV network (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).
• The finale aired live at 9:00 pm on November 14, 2025 (Prime Timer – UK TV guide publication).

Streaming platforms

• Full episodes are available on ITVX, ITV’s on-demand streaming service (ITV – official broadcaster).
• Viewers in Northern Ireland can also watch through ITVX, though some episodes may be geolocked outside the UK (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Episode availability

• The series consisted of 42 episodes (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).
• ITVX typically makes episodes available shortly after the live broadcast (RTS).

The pattern: ITV is slowly testing longer seasons — the 2024 series ran 41 days, 2025 ran 48. If renewal happens, expect a similar or longer run in 2026, as ITV tries to lock in audience loyalty over more calendar weeks.

What date is Big Brother 2025 starting?

Premiere date

• Big Brother UK 2025 premiered on September 28, 2025 (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Finale date

• The finale aired on November 14, 2025 (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Episode count

• The series ran for 42 episodes across 48 days, making it the longest civilian series on ITV to date (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).
• The season was extended by a week compared to the 2024 run (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

The pattern: ITV is slowly testing longer seasons — the 2024 series ran 41 days, 2025 ran 48. If renewal happens, expect a similar or longer run in 2026, as ITV tries to lock in audience loyalty over more calendar weeks.

Is Big Brother 2025 on yet?

Current status

• Big Brother UK 2025 has concluded (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Winner announcement

• Richard Storry was crowned the winner on November 14, 2025 (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Season conclusion

• Elsa Rae finished as the runner-up, with Cameron, Emily, Jenny, and Tate filling out the final six (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

What this means: If you’re searching for “Is Big Brother 2025 on now” — the answer is no, but all 42 episodes are available on ITVX for catch-up. The question for viewers now is whether to stream the full season or wait for news about a 2026 edition.

What were the viewership numbers for Big Brother UK 2025?

Average viewership

• Big Brother UK 2025 averaged 0.90 million viewers per episode (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Market share

• The series achieved an 8.7% share of the available TV-viewing audience (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22).

Comparison to previous seasons

• The 2024 season of Big Brother UK averaged approximately 0.95 million viewers per episode across ITV2 and ITVX (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 21).
• The 2023 return season averaged around 1.1 million viewers, boosted by the hype of the show’s return after a five-year hiatus (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 20).

Here is how the three most recent seasons stack up against each other.

The trade-off: Viewership edged down about 5% from 2024 to 2025, but share held at 8.7%. The longer 42-episode run means ITV got more content-hours for a slightly smaller per-episode audience — a trade the network seems willing to accept if manufacturing costs stay flat.

Quotes from the season

“I can’t believe it. I came in here thinking I’d be out in the first week. To win at 60 — it doesn’t feel real.”

– Richard Storry, winner of Big Brother UK 2025, in his post-finale interview (Wikipedia – Big Brother Series 22)

“He’s been our narrator for 25 years. Marcus Bentley’s voice is Big Brother to millions of us.”

– Media commentator on the role of announcer Marcus Bentley, who returned for the 2025 season (Wikipedia – Big Brother British TV series)

The takeaway: The season’s two defining voices — Storry’s genuine disbelief and Bentley’s familiar narration — captured the emotional arc of a series that reminded viewers reality TV can still produce unexpected outcomes.

Summary

Big Brother UK 2025 delivered a champion who rewrote the age record books and a season that stretched longer than any ITV civilian series before it. For Big Brother’s producers, the question is whether the viewership numbers — steady but not growing — justify another renewal for 2026. For UK reality TV fans, the choice is clear: catch up on 42 episodes on ITVX while they’re available, or wait and hope the house opens its doors one more time.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Big Brother UK 2024 season
• All Big Brother UK winners
• How to watch Big Brother on ITVX
• Big Brother UK cast through the years
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