Big Brother alums Claire Rehfuss and Joseph Abdin are now very well-known for their appearances on the show, but they almost didn’t even get a chance to play the game.
For Claire and Joseph, their journeys to be Big Brother cast members nearly came to an end when they were sequestered as alternates.
Each season, the producers put together a group of people who will possibly be on the show.
In addition to the 16 people who are chosen to be a part of the cast, the production team also puts several additional people into the sequester process to serve as alternates.
The alternates are necessary in case one of the primary cast members isn’t able to begin filming when the season officially gets started.
Claire and Joseph each got big breaks when spots opened up at the last moment to allow them a shot at that $750,000 prize.
Claire Rehfuss becomes a Big Brother 23 cast member
As the Summer 2021 season of the show got close to starting, Christie Valdiserri was a part of the BB23 cast. She was geared up to compete in the reality competition, and her bio had already been put out by CBS and the show.
But just before filming was ready to begin, Christie had to be replaced due to a positive medical test. This opened the door for Claire Rehfuss to become a BB23 houseguest, where she would strike up a relationship with Derek Xiao and then win The Amazing Race with him.
Joseph Abdin joins the Big Brother 24 cast
The Summer 2022 season of Big Brother was set to begin with chemical engineer Marvin Achi from Nigeria as part of the show. He was announced on the original BB24 cast list, but Marvin got pulled before the first episode.
With Marvin out, this allowed Joseph Abdin to get his shot at playing Big Brother. Joseph would end up making it to the BB24 jury, and after the season came to an end, he began a relationship with Big Brother winner Taylor Hale.
More Big Brother coming soon
It’s not always a straight line to becoming a resident of the Big Brother house, but pretty soon, more people will be getting a chance to win a huge cash prize.
Big Brother 25 arrives this summer, with the producers actively looking for new people to join the show. There have also been some conflicting rumors about former houseguests getting another shot.
A new rumor that has been pushed by an alum is that an all-winners season of Big Brother is coming soon. That could be a pretty intriguing season if everyone agreed to play.
And in other news from BB23, Xavier Prather said he suffered some bad injuries that could keep him from competing on any shows in the near future.
Big Brother 25 airs in Summer 2023 on CBS.