What ex-host Gretel Killeen thinks about the new Big Brother

Gretel Killeen breaks silence on new Big Brother, wishes Sonia Kruger well

Former host Gretel Killeen has opened up about Big Brother returning without her tonight.

Writing for The Australian, Gretel not only wished the show well, but encouraged Aussie viewers to get behind the format and its new host, Sonia Kruger.

"Eleven years ago, yes that long ago, I hosted the first series of Big Brother on Australian TV. Tonight, a new series of BB begins on a different network with a different host in a different decade. I'm often asked how I think it will fare," she wrote.

"I choose to guess it will be a great success because BB is a strong format and Sonia Kruger will be a terrific host. I choose to be positive because I'm tired of Australians unhealthily wishing failure on one another in vacuous displays of schadenfreude, a possible ironic consequence of 11 years of reality TV colliding with a nation suffering low self-esteem."

Gretel's comments come after the particularly strong public backlash against Kyle and Jackie O when they replaced her for the reality show's 2008 season.

Big Brother returns tonight at 7pm on the Nine Network.