Big Brother Australia stars are rocked by a COVID-19 scare on set – as crew members abandon the house and the contestants are forced into lockdown
A trailer for Sunday night’s episode of Big Brother Australia offers a glimpse of the shocking moment the contestants are told of a coronavirus scare on set.
In dramatic scenes, the contestants gather in the diary room, where they are told that a ‘crew member has come into contact with a confirmed coronavirus case’.
As they begin to process the news, Big Brother drops another bombshell: ‘The Big Brother house will be placed in lockdown and the game will be suspended.’
Surreal: A trailer for Sunday night’s episode of Big Brother Australia offers a glimpse of the shocking moment the contestants are told of a coronavirus scare on set
‘Oh my god…’ housemate Kieran Davidson says, as his co-stars look shell-shocked.
Elsewhere in the trailer, cameras are shown being pulled from their hiding places as the contestants wander around the garden aimlessly.
Mat Garrick leans over one camera and asks: ‘Is anyone operating this?’
This seems to suggest the crew was forced to make a quick exit amid the COVID-19 scare, leaving the housemates alone in the compound.
‘For the first time ever, Big Brother is in lockdown,’ host Sonia Kruger says, ending the trailer on a chilling note.
Blindsided: In dramatic scenes, the contestants gather in the diary room, where they are told that a ‘crew member has come into contact with a confirmed coronavirus case’
The housemates were informed by the show’s executive producer off camera about the escalating coronavirus pandemic in early March.
Under normal circumstances, Big Brother stars are kept in the dark about the outside world, but an exception was made in this case.
Until that point, the contestants had no idea what was going on because they had entered the secure compound when the global health crisis was in its early stages.
‘Oh, my god…’ As they begin the process the news, Big Brother drops another bombshell: ‘The Big Brother house will be placed in lockdown and the game will be suspended’
The coronavirus scare took place in late March, according to industry website TV Blackbox, and production was shut down for 48 hours.
An emergency cleaning team was called to the compound in Manly, Sydney, and each production unit was scrubbed with disinfectant.
Filming resumed when the crew member who had been in contact with someone with COVID-19 tested negative for the virus.
Abandoned? Cameras are shown being pulled from their hiding places as the stars wander around aimlessly. Mat Garrick leans over one camera and asks: ‘Is anyone operating this?’