Richard Branson is being lined up to make a special appearance in the Big Brother 8 house, according to a report today.

Producers hope that the businessman will pay a visit to set the housemates a task because his company Virgin Media has agreed to sponsor the new series.

A source told the Daily Star Sunday: "What better way to show how pleased we are having him as Big Brother sponsor than by having him on the show? It will be a huge surprise for the housemates this year.

"We are planning to have Richard give the contestants a task - probably something business related. He will stay the day seeing them do the challenge and return 24 hours later to reveal who the winner is. And he'll hand them a special reward."