'Celebrity Big Brother' and 'Loose Women' to be investigated by Ofcom

25 September 2018 at 3:54 am

Celebrity Big Brother and Loose Women are both to be investigated by Ofcom, following tens of thousands of complaints from viewers earlier this month.

The TV regulator will look into whether the shows broke broadcasting rules.

In the case of Celebrity Big Brother, it will be investigated over whether Channel 5 showed ‘appropriate information’ in order to ‘avoid or minimise offence to viewers’.

The reality show received over 25,000 complaints during its recently concluded series, after actress Roxanne Pallett accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of being physically abusive towards her during a ‘play fight’.

She later admitted that she had made a ‘horrible mistake’ in accusing Thomas, who was given a formal warning by show producers.

Many of those who complained about the show did so over the broadcaster’s handling of the incident.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are investigating whether this programme broke our rules on offensive content.”

In the case of Loose Women, nearly 8,000 viewers complained about a segment, also Celebrity Big Brother related, in a show earlier this month.

In it, a supposed reconciliation between former Celebrity Big Brother housemates Coleen Nolan and How Clean Is Your House? presenter Kim Woodburn, who had fallen out on the reality show, turned sour.

Woodburn accused Nolan of bullying her while in the Celebrity Big Brother house, and stormed off the show’s set, visibly distressed.

Viewers accused Nolan and her fellow panellists, her sister Linda Nolan, Janet Street-Porter and Linda Robson, of ganging up on Woodburn, many concerned for her wellbeing.

Nolan later took leave from the show, and postponed a planned concert tour, saying that she had been the victim of ‘a horrifying torrent of online abuse’.