Big Brother Portugal’s delayed comeback series is now set to launch this week with a twist that will see housemates isolated in their own apartments for 14 days – similarly to rival show The Circle.

The country’s first Big Brother-branded series in 17 years was scheduled to begin in March, until broadcaster TVI announced its postponement one week beforehand due to the worldwide coronavirus crisis.

Now, while countless other television productions have shut down or adapted to new, stripped-back techniques, the show has raised eyebrows by announcing it is resuming at the height of the pandemic.

This week, TVI announced that BBPT will now start on Sunday, 26th April – but with a twist that incorporates global self-isolation advice in to the format.

Rival reality show The Circle features players isolated in their own flats

Housemates will live on their own in individual apartments for the first two weeks, in line with World Health Organisation recommendations, with cameras filming them 24 hours a day as usual.

During this time, they will be set tasks to complete, and communicate with each other and presenter Cláudio Ramos using tablets.

The twist is almost identical to reality rival The Circle, in which contestants never meet and can only interact through a voice-activated social network.

It has been named ‘BB Zoom’, in reference to the video conferencing platform that has recently ballooned in popularity.

While in quarantine, housemates will be tested for coronavirus by a ‘certified company’. Those who test negative will eventually move in to the actual Big Brother house at the end of the 14-day period.

The house is an existing mansion in the coastal resort of Ericeira, making Portugal the second version of Big Brother after Poland to be based in a pre-built property.

The series will then will continue as normal for a duration of around three months – albeit with coronavirus-related protective steps, including audience-free evictions.

TVI’s programming director Nuno Santos said the delay was the “right decision at that moment” and that producers “now have the process under control”.

The network’s decision to proceed, despite health concerns and potential limits on business activity, contrasts the significant effect COVID-19 has had on Big Brother in other countries.

Big Brother Canada recently ended two months early due to a coronavirus lockdown

Last month, the latest Canadian and Malayalam-language Indian editions were discontinued without a winner – the former two months early – due to government-imposed lockdown conditions.

The final of Grande Fratello VIP in Italy – at one point the second worst-hit country – was brought forward by three weeks, while Australia’s reboot halted for two days after one crew member was exposed to the disease.

However, Big Brother Brasil has done the opposite, extending its run by four days, while the German and Swedish versions are still going.

SKAI’s revival of Big Brother in Greece, which was also postponed last month, remains off air indefinitely.