Arisa Cox

**Arisa Cox** is the host of Big Brother Canada, and the former host of its spin-off, Big Brother Canada Side Show. Since 2020, she has also served as one of the show's executive producers.

## Biography

After studying journalism at Carleton University, Cox became an on-air reporter for CTV Ottawa. In 2001, she took part in the first series of *U8TV: The Lofters*, a Big Brother-style reality show in which eight Canadians moved in to a loft and were filmed 24 hours a day for a year. Viewers followed the participants' lives as they created and produced a series of their own television programs, including talk shows and documentaries.

In September 2007, Cox joined *E! News Weekend*, the local edition of the entertainment news program on E! Canada; she remained its co-host for two years until the network was shut down in 2009. Her other reporting credits include A-Channel Ottawa, *The A-List*, *The Gill Deacon Show* and CBC News Network.

Following her Big Brother Canada debut in 2013, Cox began co-hosting the morning show on Edmonton radio station 91.7 The Bounce, alongside Ara Andonian.

Cox has also had a number of acting roles. Most notably, she played television host Georgina Farlow in Disney's 2010 television film *Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam*, which starred Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers. In 2018, she portrayed Brock St. Regis in the Netflix holiday film *Christmas With a View*.

## Association with Big Brother

After production on Big Brother Canada (BBCAN), the country's first English-language version of the show, began in 2012, broadcaster Slice announced Cox as the show's host on January 21, 2013. She said her experience on *U8TV: The Lofters* would enable her to empathise with the houseguests, explaining: "I feel like I’m bringing something else to the table. It’s not just, ‘Oh wow, I’m not like you. I would never go on a show like this’. I’ve been those people trying to survive a really surreal place." She also suggested her background in entertainment reporting would make her hosting style "a lot more emotional".

For BBCAN's second season in 2014, Cox's hosting role was expanded to include the Big Brother Canada Side Show, a new weekly spin-off in which Cox discussed action from the house with regular panellists Peter Brown, Gary Levy and Sarah Hanlon alongside a series of special guests, and held extended interviews with evicted houseguests. While BBCAN was promoted to parent channel Global for its third season in 2015, the Side Show remained on Slice.

In 2017, it was confirmed that the Side Show would not return for BBCAN's fifth season, although Cox would continue to hold extended interviews with evicted houseguests in After The Eviction Live, a short live stream that aired on the show's official Facebook page immediately after each eviction episode.

Cox's continuing passion for the Big Brother format, as demonstrated on her social media pages, has made her popular with fans. She has become known for two catchphrases: 'Someone is always watching', her signature sign-off at the end of each episode, and 'You can and you will', an offhand comment she directed at Head of Household Sindy Nguyen during the BBCAN5 double eviction that led to Neda Kalantar's shock exit.

On June 5, 2017, Global made the surprise announcement that BBCAN had been put on 'hiatus' indefinitely. The news sparked an emotional backlash from fans, who began campaigning for the show's reinstatement. Just over a month later, on July 20, 2017, Global teased another announcement on air and online using the hashtag #YouCanAndYouWill, in reference to Cox's catchphrase. The following day, the network confirmed it had changed its mind and would bring BBCAN back for a sixth season in 2018; the show has continued every year since.

Speaking to Global News in March 2018 about the moment she was told of the hiatus, Cox said: "It was hard to hear, I’m not gonna lie, but I flipped almost immediately to a sense of gratitude because we got five years of this incredible show that’s known around the world.

"Then the fans were like, 'Not on our watch'. Seeing that whole thing unfold was probably the most fun I’ve had working in television."

 File:Arisa Cox on BIg Brother's Bit On The Side.jpg
Cox became friends with Big Brother UK (BBUK) presenter Rylan Clark-Neal on Twitter through their similar jobs and mutual interest in each others' series. In August 2018, this led to Cox making appearances via video call on Clark-Neal's spin-off show Big Brother's Bit on the Side, as part of a recurring segment in which personalities from international versions of Big Brother were invited to share their opinions on the latest BBUK events.

Spurred on by Channel 5's decision to cancel BBUK, Cox then flew out to London especially to make an in-person appearance on Bit On The Side's last ever series. She was the special guest on the episode dated October 29, 2018, during which she was interviewed by Clark-Neal, toured the camera runs of the house and reunited with 'legendary' BBUK housemate Nikki Grahame, who had been 'international wildcard' houseguest on BBCAN4.

In March 2020, BBCAN's eighth season was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. While Cox was present in the studio for the first three 'live' episodes, including one without a studio audience, she filmed all further appearances from her own home "out of an abundance of caution". Due to government lockdown measures, the season was eventually shut down just one month in to its planned 12-week run without naming a winner.

In the weeks that followed BBCAN8, a series of Black Lives Matter protests took place around the world. On July 13, 2020, Global renewed BBCAN for its ninth season in Spring 2021, and in order to better reflect "the diverse culture of Canada", confirmed that Cox would be an executive producer on the show for the first time, in addition her hosting duties. Working alongside showrunner Erin Brock, her new role involved giving input to storylines, helping with casting and outreach, and increasing BIPOC representation in the cast. Cox commented: "We have reached a turning point in history and as the fight against racism and issues facing Black, Indigenous and people of colour around the world have been pulled into the spotlight, Big Brother Canada is seizing this moment to become a leader in the reality TV world."

## Gallery

Arisa Cox BBCAN1.jpeg*Big Brother Canada 1*Arisa Cox BBCAN5.png*Big Brother Canada 5*Arisa Cox BBCAN7.png*Big Brother Canada 7*BBCAN8 Arisa Cox.jpg*Big Brother Canada 8*
## Trivia

* In 2014, Cox was nominated for the 'Best Host in a Variety, Lifestyle, Reality/Competition, Performing Arts or Talk Program or Series' award at the Canadian Screen Awards for her work on BBCAN.

## References

1. ↑ Big Brother Canada: Arisa Cox to host first edition of reality show. Toronto Star (21 January 2013). Retrieved on 7 June 2021.
2. ↑ Arisa Cox talks ‘Big Brother Canada’ Season 6: It’ll be a ‘wicked, wicked season’. Global TV (6 March 2018). Retrieved on 7 June 2021.
3. ↑ BBCAN host Arisa Cox to appear on Big Brother’s Bit On The Side. bbspy (27 October 2018). Retrieved on 7 June 2021.
4. ↑ Staff (13 July 2020). ‘Big Brother Canada’ Season 9 announced, Arisa Cox named executive producer. Global TV. Retrieved on 13 July 2020.