BB housemates are restrained as row gets physical

From Digital Spy

Big Brother unquestionably aired its most disturbing episode of the year on Thursday (October 18) as lies, betrayal and jealousy within the house exploded into a series of rows that turned physical. It was Fight Night 2018!

Producers likely knew they'd be stirring up trouble when they introduced the concept of a secret Absolute Power Nomination, where one housemate could bid for the right to send someone straight through to Friday's eviction without playing the Gamechanger.

Hussain ultimately won the power by bidding 596 Big Coins and nominating Lewis, but he's been ordered to keep his victory a secret. Housemates have thusly wrongly believed it was either Sian or Isabella who'd won.

His deception, and Lewis and Cameron's festering belief that they'd been betrayed by either Sian or Isabella, came to a head on Thursday when the house gathered together to try to figure out who had Absolute Power.

Lewis insisted he didn't care (although his short temper signalled otherwise), but Sian was insistent to the group that she hadn't sold her soul for the all-powerful box.

"Basically, I felt like everybody thought like I had the box," she told the group. "I would never do that. I haven't done it... You can believe me or you don't have to but I bid nothing!"

One by one, the housemates shared how much they'd bid on the Absolute Power nomination. Cameron bid nothing. Zoe bid 311, but insisted she'd hadn't won the power. Brooke bid 411, while Cian admitted to bidding 560 and Isabella bid 180.

"It's pissing me off not knowing," Cameron admitted while the housemates were trying to hash out the liar. "It really is irritating me."

Later, as the house were trying to debrief, Lewis was telling the others that he didn't "really give a f**k" about who won the power since he was going to be nominated anyway, when Akeem interrupted him.

That set off Lewis and caused another clash between the two after their near-physical brawl in the hot tub last week. Even when Akeem apologised for interrupting, Lewis sniped: "I don't give a f**k! You're doing it all the time!"

In the Diary Room at the exact same time, Hussain asked if he could "come clean" and give the reasons for his Absolute Power nomination. Big Brother reminded him that he could not "come clean" because then he'd be discussing nominations, which is a rule break.

"I can't believe everybody believed me," Hussain admitted.

In the middle of all of this drama, there was another seed of mistrust running through the house after Hussain told Brooke that Isabella had been slagging off Lewis behind his back.

"Obviously, there is a little bit of jealously in there," he admitted. "If that happened to Cameron, he would get jealous."

After the Absolute Power debate had just started to settle down, Lewis and Brooke confronted Isabella over whether she could be trusted - and she copped to joking that Lewis was "really good-looking until he opens his mouth".

As the standoff grew more heated, a frustrated Brooke stormed off and warned Isabella: "I wouldn't f**kin' turn on me!"

Isabella headed straight to Hussain to accuse him of trying to poison the well against her in the house, but he was adamant that she's the one who'd started "rolling with the opposition".

"You're making my time in this house f**king horrible," Isabella vented, with Hussain insisting: "It's all about respect! If you respect our friendship, you don't roll with the opposition!"

When those two ended up with no resolution, Hussain wandered outside where the group were sitting and it looked like he was going to finally have it out with Lewis - when Zoe stepped in on Lewis's behalf.

"You ain't getting involved because you ain't got a backbone," Hussain taunted Lewis.

This infuriated Zoe, who charged over to get in Hussain's face as he called Lewis a "f**kin' little prick". Cian intervened to physically restrain Zoe, telling Hussain that he's "better than this".

"You ain't gonna say f**k all because you're a little pussy," Hussain screamed at Lewis, then shouting at Zoe: "Fight his battle! Fight his battle!"

Big Brother repeatedly called for Zoe to come to the Diary Room, and she had to be physically removed from the scene and helped to the Diary Room. In the house, Cian broke down into tears as he screamed for Hussain to stop his tirade.

Big Brother finally ordered Hussain into the bedroom, with Akeem escorting him to make sure the argument didn't escalate any further. In the bedroom, he accused Zoe of "coming swinging for" him while Lewis sat silent - and then admitted once and for all that he did have the Absolute Power nomination.

"He's a f**kin' dick! He's a f**kin' coward," Hussain seethed. "I don't understand why everybody doesn't see it?"

Meanwhile, in the Diary Room, Big Brother warned Zoe that it would not "tolerate any threats of violence or aggressive behaviour".

"Hussain thinks he's a big man and he's not," an increasingly-furious Zoe raged. "I stick up for Lewis, I tell Hussain to go inside and he wouldn't. He wouldn't! I'm not having that. C**t! Who the f**k does he think he is? Who the f**k does he think he is?... I'm f**kin' fuming!"

Strangely enough, it all calmed down and Zoe returned to go to bed peacefully. Hussain made his way to the Diary Room, where it was clear that he had major regrets about what went down.

"What am I doing here? As long as people know I wasn't going for Zoe, fine," he stressed. "I was going for him! I'm disgusted by my behaviour first. I shouldn't be shouting."

For many, the uncontrollable scenes drew comparisons to the infamous Fight Night row between Nadia Almada and Victor Ebuwa's factions in Big Brother 5:

(warning: NSFW tweets below)

A group of fans were disturbed that throughout the eruption, Lewis sat back without saying a single word even though all of the fighting was about him:

Others credited Lewis with not rising to Hussain's taunting:

There were plenty who felt it was hypocritical for Zoe to get away with a warning after becoming physical:

Plenty of blame was lobbed at Hussain as well:

It remains to be seen how Hussain will be punished for revealing, amid the chaos, that he had the Absolute Power nomination. That rule break could come into play tomorrow night...

Big Brother continues with a double eviction special on Friday (October 19) at 10pm on Channel 5.

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