Big Brother 2020: Sonia Kruger reveals emergency coronavirus calls in the house

Sonia Kruger has provided further details about the dramatic lockdown of the Big Brother house ahead of Sunday nights episode.In what is shaping up to be a memorable moment of the returning season, promos for Sunday depict the housemates in shock over the announcement that the game will be “suspended” due to a crew member being tested for COVID-19, as cameras are eerily pulled from walls.
Speaking to Sunrise today, Kruger further revealed the episode will feature footage of the housemates making emergency calls to their loved ones — an unprecedented move for the reality show which usually blocks contestants from the outside world.
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“What you’ll see in this episode is we let them speak to their loved ones on the outside, and it’s really like watching a moment in time, because these people had no real exposure to what was going on,” Kruger said today.
“Most of them were quite happy because they knew they were in a very safe place, but they were concerned about their families.
“Sophie in particular … her mother and sister live in Amsterdam, and the Netherlands of course was being hit very hard by the virus, so she was very concerned,” she said.
“Dan’s girlfriend Anna was travelling in the United States at the time and he was really worried about her getting back.”
“We’ve all been in that news cycle and seen it being covered non-stop 24/7, but they haven’t seen any of that, so for them to have those conversations with their loved ones on the outside is really compelling to see.”
The contestants — who are usually sealed off from the rest of the world in the house — were informed about the escalating pandemic in early March off-camera during filming for the prerecorded season.
The global health crisis was in its early days when the contestants first arrived to set.
Recently-evicted contestant Shane Vincent shed light on the moment they all found out, sharing that the stars of the show were only made aware of the crisis after they saw these strange messages appear in the sky.
Vincent told Daily Mail Australia: “We didn’t know anything about what was going on in the outside (world), we were sitting in the backyard one day and you know the skywriters, they were above us and writing like ‘stop (the) F1’.
“And we were like, ‘what the hell is going on?!’”
The reality star continued: “And the next day, a skywriter came up and said, ‘wash your hands’ in the sky. And we were like, ‘wash your hands? What is going on out there?’
“A couple of days later, we had a meeting and they told us about COVID-19,” he said.
In promos for Sunday, host Sonia Kruger is shown making an announcement from outside the house: “A Big Brother crew member has been exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. The decision has been made to pause the game.”
Bringing the contestants together to the diary room, Big Brother is heard telling the confused cast: “Big Brother has been made aware that a crew member has come into contact with a confirmed coronavirus case. The Big Brother house will be placed in lockdown, and the game will be suspended.”
“Guys – there’s something going on,” contestant Sophie tells her fellow housemates. “No cameras out the back. None of the cameras are following (us), anywhere.”
Elsewhere in the promo, Kruger explains that, while camera operators have been pulled out of the house, the rigged cameras will still be able to record.
In March, an Endemol Shine Australia spokesperson shared the news of the crew member being tested in a statement.
“We have been made aware that a Big Brother crew member has been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19,” it said.
“The crew member is currently feeling well and showing no symptoms of the virus, however, is being tested and is now self-isolating.
“We continue to work within all Federal and State guidelines and will always make the health, safety and wellbeing of our cast and crew our number one priority. Housemates have been brought up to date with the current situation,” the spokesperson said.
Big Brother continues Sunday night from 7pm on Channel 7.