Anyone aged over 40 has been automatically rejected from appearing in this year's BB, according to the News of the World today.

The 10,000 video applicants have been whittled down to a final fifty, none of whom are in their forties.

"Last year the oldest housemate was Sandy, who was 43," an insider told the newspaper. "The producers wanted to see how someone older would interact with younger people like Jade, who had her 21st birthday in the house. It made great TV but in terms of housemates getting on it was a disaster and Sandy hated it.

BB4 kicks off on May 23.