Mel Tracina will be the new face of Big Brother Australia when it moves back to its original network later this year.
After stints on Channel 7 and Channel 9, the long-running Australian reality TV series is returning to Channel 10 later this year, the network it first premiered on in 2000.
Big Brother will look a little different when it premieres later this year: it’s returning to its original home inside Dreamworld; the house will be live-streamed for the first time in years; live evictions are returning, and Mel will be replacing long-running host Sonia Kruger, who remains at Channel 7.
Here’s everything we know about Mel Tracina.
Who is Mel Tracina?
Mel is best known for her work on Channel 10’s comedy panel show The Cheap Seats, where she’s the Cultural Correspondent.
She’s also a NOVA radio presenter and she graces the airways even weekday from 9am until 2pm.
The 34-year-old is also a regular guest on Have You Been Paying Attention? and she used to co-host a podcast called Social JustUs.
Mel married her long-term partner in 2016 and they mostly keep their relationship private.
“Being married to you is one of my greatest achievements. You bring so much love and joy to my life. Seeing you first thing in the morning and last thing at night makes hard days easy and easy days, fun. Its an honor to be your wife. Thank you for loving me (it can be a hard task). Happy 1 Year Staleski,” she wrote in an Instagram post in 2017.
What has she said about Big Brother?
In October 2024, it was announced that Mel would be the new host of Big Brother Australia as it returns to Channel 10.
“The show has such a loyal and passionate fan base, and I am excited to help bring back the show’s original spirit (minus the flip phones and bum dancing),” she said in a statement at the time.
On The Cheap Seats she joked that the gig “felt right”.
“Well I thought about it and I was like ‘well I can’t cook, I can’t sing, I can’t operate a power tool’ so this felt good,” she said.
This week, Channel 10 announced the set for the reality show would be returning to Dreamworld.
“The Big Brother house is synonymous with Dreamworld, so bringing the OG format to its OG location feels right,” Mel said in a statement. “We’re excited to be home (and in a new house that hopefully comes with an air fryer).”
While speaking to the Daily Mail last year, Mel said bringing back the live stream element will set this season apart.
“What’s so good about this is the live stream element, so you don’t have to worry about getting a bad edit or being seen as the ‘season villain,’ because viewers can log in at any time and see what the [housemates] are up to,” she told the publication.
While talking to Nova’s Jase and Lauren last year, Mel admitted she was a huge fan of the show when she was growing up.
“I remember how much of a juggernaut it was when it came to Aussie TV, how obsessed we were,” she said.
“We’re just watching people living in a house, and that’s what it was. In 2001 when it started, people were doing housework. Do you remember that? Proper, just living in a house.”
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
