Julie Chen Teases January Return of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ With New Photo

Julie Chen Moonves is celebrating another season back as the host of Big Brother.

The longtime host, who left her job as co-host of The Talk last year following allegations against husband Les Moonves, shared her excitement to be back outside the Big Brother house for season 2 of Celebrity Big Brother.

“So excited to be back on this stage,” Chen captioned a photo of herself just outside the front door of the Big Brother house with her hands in the air. “Who else is ready for the second season of #BBCeleb?! RT if you’re counting down to the premiere on Monday January 21!”

Although it was previously announced that Chen would return to her job as host, fans were excited nonetheless to have her back.

“We love you Julie!!!! You ARE Big Brother!!!!” one Twitter user responded.

“Yass!! It wouldn’t be the same without you Julie!! We love you!” another said.

“….Girl I just can’t wait! It’s great to see you back!!!” someone else wrote.

CBS confirmed in November that Chen would return as host even after questions arose following her exit from The Talk.

“I have been at The Talk since the day it started nine years ago, and the cast, crew and staff have become family to me over the years,” Chen said in a pre-taped message that aired in September. “But right now I need to spend more time at home, with my husband and our young son, so I’ve decided to leave The Talk.”

Following Moonves’ exit from CBS in the middle of season 20 of Big Brother over the summer, Chen started signing off at the end of each episode as Julie Chen Moonves, adding her legal surname for the first time.

While the official cast for the upcoming season of Big Brother Celebrity Edition has not been revealed yet by CBS, a leaked list showed that former Olympian and reality star Caitlyn Jenner and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had signed on, although fan accounts have since reported that the two dropped out over pay discrepancies.

In addition, the leaked list, released by Twitter user @BBSecretSusan, included Aubrey O’Day of the girl group Danity Kane, Saturday Night Live comic and Big Brother superfan Bobby Moynihan, retired NFL player Calvin Johnson, Queer Eye fashion expert Carson Kressley, Lindsay Lohan‘s mother and manager Dina Lohan, Mean Girls actor Jonathan Bennett, The Usual Suspects actor Stephen Baldwin, reality star Tiffany Pollard and banned Olympic skater Tonya Harding.

The list is by no means a confirmed indication as to who viewers could be watching on their screens in a few short weeks.

Just like the regular Big Brother series, which is heading into its 21st season this summer, the winner of Celebrity Big Brother will earn $250,000; a favorite houseguest, chosen by viewers at the end of the season, takes home an extra $25,000.

The show locks the celebrity contestants inside a house together without any contact with the outside world, where they are monitored 24/7 by cameras and compete in challenges to control the household in an effort to avoid being evicted by their fellow houseguests.

The first season of Celebrity Big Brother in the United States ran in the winter of 2018, with Broadway star Marissa Jaret Winokur taking home the prize over runner-up Ross Mathews.

Season 2 of Big Brother Celebrity Edition premieres on Monday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. It will air multiple nights per week for three weeks, ending with a season finale on Wednesday, Feb. 13.