Julie Chen-Moonves Sparks Cheers in ‘Big Brother’ Return After COVID Diagnosis

Julie Chen Moonves has officially returned to Big Brother with much applause. The longtime host had to sit out of a recent live eviction for the very first time in the show’s 26-season run due to testing positive for COVID. The Talk co-host Jerry O’Connell stepped in for her on Thursday, Sept. 12. Via Deadline, Chen Moonves did end up returning a week later, telling viewers “I’m baaaaack” at the beginning of the live eviction episode on Sept. 19.

The audience erupted into cheers and Chen Moonves thanked them. “And I am COVID free. Thank you, God,” she shared. While she’s hosted all 26 seasons of , the live eviction episode on Sept. 12 marked the first time ever Chen Moonves missed a live show. She made sure to come back in full force and better than ever. While fans likely think that O’Connell did a decent job on such short notice and for his first time, many are probably very happy that Chen Moonves is back once again.

Chen Moonves’ COVID diagnosis came just a month before the 90-minute Big Brother 26 finale on Oct. 13, so it’s a good thing that she was able to recover. Her missing a live eviction is one thing, but having to sit out of a season finale would have felt very different. As long as she is cautious, Chen Moonves shouldn’t have anything to worry about. When she initially revealed her diagnosis, she shared that she was feeling fine but was still testing positive, so it was only just a matter of a short time before she came back to work, and it was clear that the fans missed her.

Now that Julie Chen Moonves is back, fans can put all of their focus back on the household if it wasn’t before and what the houseguests will get up to. There’s less than a month to go, meaning these evictions will be getting more stressful than ever before. It’s hard to tell who will come out on top, but the drama will sure be continuing especially when the season soon coming to a close. Fans will just have to tune in to see what happens on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. These final weeks will surely be entertaining to watch.