Mel Tracina knows better than most that when Big Brother says expect the unexpected, he means it.
After stepping into the iconic hosting role for the show’s 2025 reboot, the comedian, Nova announcer and The Cheap Seats cultural correspondent is back for another season, this time facing a brand-new house in Brisbane and the return of the 24-hour live stream.
But it was last season’s live finale that gave Mel one of her biggest on-air scares.
“In the final episode when Bruce and Alana both chose the car over staying in the house, and they had to play the game where the key was under a cup to see who won it, I was watching that play out live with the audience,” Mel, 37, tells TV WEEK.
“It got to the second last cup and I was on the radio like, ‘Hey, guys, are you sure there’s a key in there? Have we forgotten the key?’
“I was stressing out. There’s a level of adrenaline that comes with hosting live because you don’t know what’s the housemates are going to say. You don’t know what anyone in the audience is going to yell out at any given time. There are so many unknowns.”
That pressure was amplified by the weight of Big Brother history. Mel followed a long line of hosts as the franchise returned to its original live format.
“The pressure was the hardest part last season,” Mel reflects. “The show obviously had so many iconic hosts before me. Gretel Colleen, Sonia Kruger, Kyle and Jackie O at one point. There was that pressure of big shoes to fill.”
Gretel has since become one of Mel’s biggest cheerleaders.
“I met Gretel before we kicked off the season, and she was so incredible with the advice that she gave,” Mel reveals.
“We’ve been in touch since and we’ve messaging each other, congratulating one another on our roles, her on The Traitors, and she congratulated me on my singing promo.”
The recently released promotional video for the new season became a talking point of its own after viewers questioned whether Mel’s singing voice had been generated by AI.
“It was me!” she promises.
“The second that promo came out, my mum shared it on her Facebook saying, ‘Who thought she could sing? I did. I paid for her lessons.’ But singing in front of an audience when it’s not karaoke, was very nerve-wracking. It was a very challenging moment for me to sing.”
Now, Big Brother is moving from Dreamworld on the Gold Coast to a new home in Brisbane, giving Mel a new set of hurdles to navigate.
“Moving to Brisbane just reminds us that Big Brother is never settled,” she teases. “And you never know when he’s going to flip the script, even on the host!”
The new house has its own tricks, including a mystery button, live nominations and plenty of ways for Big Brother to meddle with the housemates.
“He’s always got something evil up his sleeves… if he even has any sleeves.” Mel jokes.
“He could be nude for all we know. This year the house itself can turn on the housemates. So there’s going to be lots of nooks that are going to be nooking. There’ll be lots of opportunities to mess with them.”
And then there are the new housemates. While Mel is keeping plenty under wraps, she promises a colourful bunch of personalities.
“We have a self-confessed bogan,” Mel reveals.
“There’s a housemate who claims to have never been kissed. Someone who’s obsessed with Susan Boyle and has a range of budgie smugglers. It’s always a range of different Aussies, all with different quirks.”
Last season delivered plenty of relationship drama, including the will-they-won’t-they storyline between model Holly Young and larrikin Colin Ridley, which had the house and viewers divided.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t keeping up to date with them all,” Mel admits.
“I follow all of them on socials. From what I’ve seen, none of the romances have survived… and I can’t say we’re shocked.
“But it was so enjoyable to watch it unfold. You just never know what connections are going to form with housemates, who’s going to be friends and who’s going to be frenemies and who’s going to fall in love. I don’t think even knows Big Brother can figure out the relationships and how they’re going to form.”
This year, fans can once again watch those relationships unfold around the clock with the return of the 24-hour live stream.
“I was addicted to the livestream, and I was doing the creepy thing where you’d tune in on, a Saturday night because you’re on the couch. You’d watch them sleep, hoping they’d say something wild in their sleep,” she says with a laugh.
“But I also got to that point where my TikTok algorithm was just giving me recaps of the livestream. Users would just be doing all of the updates and I was there like, ‘They’re doing all my prep.’”
Away from Big Brother, Mel remains married to Stefan Burford, while continuing her work on The Cheap Seats. Her love of reality television even follows her off the clock, as she discovered when she spotted Love Island’s Zac Nunns at a wedding.
“I was at a wedding in St Kilda, and I saw someone walk past and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Zac from Love Island!” she says. “I asked if we could get a photo. He thought I was some massive fangirl, but no, it’s my job to know reality TV.”
So, could the rise of Big Brother tempt Mel to leave her beloved job on The Cheap Seats behind?
“No, I love The Cheap Seats,” she declares.
“I love being on the desk with Mel [Bracewell] and Tim [McDonald]. I find them both so funny and I pinch myself every week that I get to watch reality television shows and find the funny parts and then present them. It’s such an awesome gig, something I could never have even imagined for myself so as long as they will have me, I will be there.”
Big Brother Australia returns to 10 on Sunday, October 26.
