Why Is Sharon Osborne 'The Lodger' On Celebrity Big Brother?

7 March 2024, 14:17 | Updated: 7 March 2024, 14:37

Sharon Osborne will only be on Celebrity Big Brother for five days - here's the real reason her TV stint is being cut short.

Sharon Osborne was the first celebrity to enter the Celebrity Big Brother 2024 house, but she will be one of the first to leave. This is because she is on the show as its first ever a celebrity 'lodger' in which her stay is shorter and she gets her own private bedroom.

Reports initially suggested that the former X-Factor judge was doing a short CBB stint because her fee for three weeks was too high for ITV, however she has come out to set those rumours straight.

Usually, the celebrity housemates sign up to be on the show for at least three weeks unless they get evicted but Sharon is only required to be in the house for five days. By taking on the role of 'the lodger' the star has also been exempt from tasks and given special challanges.

• Read more: Ekin-Su And Louis Walsh's Unexpected Friendship Divides Celebrity Big Brother Viewers
• Read more: Celebrity Big Brother Announce Huge Change To The Public Vote

On the launch episode Sharon was tasked with pre-judging the other housemates and choosing three of them to enter the 'ring of fire'. With the help of Louis Walsh, she chose Ibiza Weekender's David Potts, the uncle of Kate Middleton Gary Goldsmith and social media personality Zeze Mills.

After a day of getting to know her fellow housemates she ended up choosing Gary to go up for eviction meaning David and Zeze were officially out of the 'ring of fire'.

But why exactly has Sharon has been receiving special treatment on Celebrity Big Brother? Here's what she's said.

Why is Sharon Osborne only on Celebrity Big Brother for five days?

After reports initially claimed Sharon's CBB stint was short due to the cost of her fee, she has actually spoken to the tabloids and said that being away from her sick husband Ozzy Osborne is the real reason she won't stay longer than five days.

She said: "I don’t want to stay away from Ozzy for too long. We’re so close as a family. I don’t think I have ever gone a week without talking to any of them, ever. Through fights, feuds, everything. We still talk and this will definitely be the longest. I don’t know how I’m going to cope.”

Sharon has shared much of her close-knit family dynamic with the world after four seasons of The Osbornes - their reality show which first aired on MTV in 2002.

Upon entering the CBB house, Sharon said she made her final phone call to Ozzy on her car journey there and "he was miserable". Sharon told her fellow housemate, Broadway star Marisha Wallace, that Ozzy has been struggling with his health, she said: "It's hard for him but he's doing ok."

75-year-old heavy metal star Ozzy was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2003 and underwent a major spinal surgery in 2022.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain in November last year Sharon revealed how bad Ozzy's health had been. She explained: "Nightmare. It has been five years of nightmares. Operations. I just do not know how he has stood for it."

It has also been claimed by insiders that "Sharon will get a daily welfare update on how husband Ozzy is doing as she is worried about his health and would only go in if she knew he was okay".

They said: "She won't be told any other information about what is going on in the real world, but she'll be kept up to speed with how Ozzy is. He is her number one priority and given his age and all of his health struggles, she needed to have that piece of mind."

Sharon and Ozzy have been together since 1970 - that's 54 years! So it's no wonder she feels reluctant to be apart from her hubby for too long, especially when his health is so poor.

Listen live to Capital, and catch up on any shows you missed, on Global Player.