Will arguably the greatest Big Brother contestant of all time — Dan Gheesling — ever return to CBS for his third stint on the reality competition show?
Through the network’s flagship series’ 23-year-long run, a handful of houseguests have earned the status of legend for their triumphs and ground-breaking gameplay. And perhaps no former contestant is more respected by the adaptation’s community than Dan.
Dan’s played on two seasons of Big Brother US — seasons 10 and 14. He became the series’ 10th champion in 2008 when he bested Memphis Garrett during Big Brother 10’s finale (he also became the first-ever contestant to snag every Jury member’s vote). Then, he moved back into the house four years later, and after an iconic performance over 75 days, Dan found himself as the season’s runner-up behind Ian Terry.
Not only had Dan staved off eviction for two seasons while winning one, but he also never had a vote cast against him in either season — a truly remarkable feat that only Cody Calafiore can also lay claim to.
Well, it took over 10 years for Dan to make his television comeback. But, it was on Peacock’s The Traitors, not Big Brother.
And unfortunately, just because he played on another reality competition show doesn’t mean Dan is planning his grand return to Big Brother. In fact, the 40-year-old emphatically told fellow Big Brother alum Kat Dunn in an interview published on February 2 that he would never compete on Big Brother again.
“So it took me like 10 years to come out, you’re never going to see me again,” Dan said. “I can promise you, you will never see me again.”
That day, Dan also spoke with Shannon Tharp, and he gave a bit more clarity on his stance on Big Brother while also seemingly stating that he’d potentially be open to playing on another show — like The Traitors again — down the line. “I would say prior to playing The Traitors, it was ‘never say never’ [about returning to Big Brother]. Now it’s [never].”
“I love the show,” he continued. “I’m so grateful for it. Like, I’ve got to go win The Traitors. I have to win something else. I’ve already won Big Brother.”
Regardless, Dan finally scratched an “itch” he had developed over the years, and it sounds like he satisfied it with The Traitors.
“I had like an itch. I’m a dad now, I have three kids. I don’t coach football competitively anymore — I coach my kids’ sports, which is awesome. But, I’m really competitive, and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m starting to get like I can play again.’ And then they reach out.”
Dan revealed that he had received an email before the US version’s first season about potentially joining the inaugural roster. “It was like, instant delete,” Dan said. “I was like, what is this?”
But, after the success of season 1 and the emergence of The Traitors as a heralded reality competition show, he changed his tune when the show’s producers reached out for season 2, which is currently airing weekly on Peacock.
Another element that enticed Dan was the show’s filming requirements. He spent nearly 150 days inside the Big Brother house through two seasons. But, The Traitors wrapped within two weeks. “It felt like I was going to a job,” Dan said. “You know, I say this like an amazing, awesome, fun job. And then you’re done. Big Brother is like, this is your life, and for me, that’s dangerous because I am all in. There is not a shred of me that is thinking about anything other than how do I destroy these people in this house.”
Dan was in contact with his wife and kids throughout the entire Traitors experience, which he admitted potentially affected him from a game perspective — he may not have dialed in as he had in the Big Brother house. Regardless, that was also a selling point for Dan’s return. “That’s more important than playing a game and that fact that they’re like, ‘Yeah, we got you’ — ‘Cool, let’s go play this game,'” he said.
CBS would likely never offer that option to houseguests in a season of Big Brother, considering the length of play and the game’s sanctity. And even if they did, it doesn’t sound like the mastermind will ever tell Julie Chen Moonves she looks stunning ahead of an eviction.
Note: Dan’s quotes were edited for clarity.