I guess everyone will have different ideas of when the "golden period" was - I think he's referring to BB1-4 as in BB in it's purest form. Whether that works a couple of decades on, considering it arguably didn't work four series in (although BB4 is the 3rd or 4th highest rated series I think), remains to be seen. I think other formats do show that trusting a solid format and keeping twists within that format, rather than twisting the format, can work.
I think really the show has to stick to their guns with their first series - it needs to be a reset, so if fans complain it's boring or predictable they need to avoid hitting that panic button. They almost have to right it off as a pilot series as keeping it simple will lay solid foundations for the series ahead - but if they throw in too much too soon it'll be on rocky ground from day one and soon begin to crumble.