Ofcom has revealed that this summer’s ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ was its most complained-about TV show of the year.
The media watchdog received 27,602 complaints over the series, which saw Roxanne Pallett accusing fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of punching her “repeatedly” and “deliberately” in the ribs, although video evidence later revealed this not to be the case.
Upon leaving the house, Roxanne conceded that her comments were a “mistake” and an “exaggeration”, while she later took time out from the spotlight to reflect on her actions, quitting both her radio presenting job and a then-upcoming pantomime role.
The Roxanne Pallett drama wasn’t the only controversial aspect of this summer’s ‘CBB’, though, with “Human Ken doll” Rodrigo Lopes receiving a formal warning for his use of a racist slur on his first night in the house.
Channel 5’s choice of housemates also raised eyebrows among some fans, with some noticing that most of the men in the house had been picked for “media storms” of their own making, as opposed to the women, many of whom had been the victim of media bullying or even criminal behaviour.
Ofcom also revealed that the second most complained-about show of the year was an episode of ‘Loose Women’ in which Kim Woodburn appeared as a guest, which quickly made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Third on the list was Sky News, with many complaining due to supposed bias in an interview with Tommy Robinson, while ‘Love Island’ was fourth, particularly due to an episode in which eventual winner Dani Dyer was led to believe her boyfriend was sharing a bed with his ex.
Completing the top five was ‘Coronation Street’, with the majority of complaints relating to the soap’s male rape storyline, involving long-serving character David Platt.
Following the most recent series of ‘CBB’, which Ryan eventually went on to win, Channel 5 announced that they would not be renewing the show for 2019, and that the most recent series would be the last.