Big Brother came back with a bang on Sunday night as 16 new housemates were introduced to the world.
The drama kicked off almost immediately with dancer Olivia Young, 23, breaking down in tears when she found herself up for eviction within minutes of entering the house.
During a task, fellow housemate Jenkin Edwards, 25, predicted Olivia would be ‘the most difficult housemate to live with’ which unknowingly resulted in her facing the public vote.
However furious viewers have accused Big Brother of giving Olivia ‘preferential treatment’ after it emerged she can win herself immunity from the vote with a simple task.
Shortly after Olivia had a tantrum about being up for the vote, Big Brother revealed they were giving Olivia a secret mission, telling her the housemates would soon have a task where they’ll rank each other from least to most entertaining.
Not impressed: Big Brother fans were left furious during Sunday’s launch show as they claimed housemate Olivia Young was getting ‘preferential treatment’
Oh dear: The drama kicked off almost immediately with dancer Olivia, 23, broke down in tears when she found herself up for eviction within minutes of entering the house
They revealed that if Olivia can avoid being voted the least entertaining she would earn herself immunity.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, viewers seethed: ‘That was a great launch, I loved mostly everything – fantastic cast, only downside is the twist for Olivia… it’s kinda easy as hell, she won’t even have to lift a finger to save herself which is annoying #BBUK’;
‘Why is Olivia getting preferential treatment? She got a chance to save herself from eviction but where was Dylan’s chance to get a bed? Or Jenkins chance to get his clothes or hot water back? #BBUK’;
‘That’s easy task for Olivia to get the immunity as she’s a character , other housemates are not as chatty. She be fine from this task’; ‘Why did they basically hand Olivia immunity?? #bbuk.’
‘nah that’s going to be so easy omg they’ve just given olivia immunity on a silver platter. no way she would be ranked least entertaining rather than say jordan or henry. i’m annoyed #BBUK’;
‘Big Brother realising they need to keep Olivia for the drama #bbuk’; ‘So Olivia can win immunity for the next eviction, but Jenkin has lost his suitcase, has no hot water for 24 hours and has to make breakfast in bed and Dylan also has to sleep on the floor… do they get a chance to win them back or is it because they didn’t cry… #BBUK’
The move even prompted a response from a former housemate, with Big Brother 7’s runner-up Glyn Wise sharing: ‘#bbuk are up to their old tricks. They know that Olivia is a firecracker and will be great viewing.
‘With this task she’ll win immunity and will be guaranteed to be there for a couple of weeks. Bravo Big Brother, keep the big characters in! I’m getting Charlie Uchea vibes…’
MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment.
Not impressed: The move even prompted a response from a former housemate, with Big Brother runner-up Glyn Wise sharing ‘#bbuk are up to their old tricks’
Iconic: Glyn appeared on season seven of the show alongside Nikki Grahame (pictured)
Oh dear: Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, viewers seethed that Olivia would be able to win herself immunity from the first public vote
To welcome the 16 contestants who entered the house, Big Brother put on some games, which all carried forfeits.
During a rendition of musical statues, Yinrun, a customer support agent from China, won the game, with a prize of breakfast in bed, and she chose Jenkin to cook and deliver it to her.
The second game saw Jenkin lose a game of hide and seek and was told that he would ‘not receive hot water for the next 24 hours’.
After Big Brother announced: ‘Jenkin it’s cold showers for you’, the bartender said: ‘That’s sly as f***.’
Later on in the night 40-year-old NHS manager Kerry, from Essex, chose Jenkin as the housemate with ‘the most questionable dress sense’, which meant he would not receive his suitcase – before a video was shown of his suitcase being blown up.
He was later given a tub of ‘essential’ clothes in the diary room, and said he felt ‘guilty about the Olivia thing’, calling himself ‘public enemy number one’.
Yet viewers sympathised with Jenkin and turned on Olivia branding the dancer a ‘diva’ and ‘annoying’.
BIG BROTHER 2023: MEET THE CONTESTANTS!
JENKIN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Barman
FROM: Bridgend
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU? ‘Loud and messy and irritating probably.’
TOM
AGE: 21
PROFESSION: Butcher
FROM: Somerset
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘I think I might potentially offend some people. My mouth moves faster than my brain.’
TRISH
AGE: 33
PROFESSION: Mum
FROM: Luton
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE PRIZE MONEY IF YOU WON? ‘I think my first priority is to sort out my housing situation. The housing crisis is just ridiculous and my housing situation has been unstable. It brings me a lot of mum guilt because I’ve got a young child. It’s my biggest incentive and motivation to win.’
JORDAN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Lawyer
FROM: Scunthorpe
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘Being cantankerous and acting as if I don’t want to be there even if I do in my heart. They might nominate me for being disengaged perhaps or not paying everyone an equal amount of attention. They may feel left out but I can’t help that.’
DYLAN
AGE: 39
PROFESSION: DJ
FROM: Coventry
TELL US AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: ‘I appeared on a TV show called The Last Leg about amputees – two years before I lost my leg!’
NOKY
AGE: 26
PROFESSION: Banker
FROM: Derby
WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO BECOME A BIG BROTHER HOUSEMATE? ‘I love challenges. I’ve had so many amazing times in my life, like going to Miss Universe as Miss Great Britain. I like to do something different and I think this is the next challenge I want to conquer. I want to show people what pageant girls are really like and disprove a lot of stereotypes around them. I also show what it’s like being a woman who’s worked in male- dominated fields. I want to show that women are capable of doing anything they want.’
PAUL
AGE: 23
PROFESSION: Security Officer
FROM: Liverpool
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘Being the biggest wind up, eating all the food and being the loudest housemate.’
OLIVIA
AGE: 23
PROFESSION: Dancer
FROM: Glasgow
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘I think when people are in that hangry state, that’s when I’ll wind people up and grind their gears. I think they’ll nominate me for being full on, and for my brutal honesty and oversharing of opinions.’
FARIDA
AGE: 50
PROFESSION: Make-up artist
FROM: Wolverhampton
TELL US AN INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: ‘People are always surprised when I say I got married at 43. Or also that I’m an ex-holiday rep in Gran Canaria and Menorca.’
HAILLE
AGE: 18
PROFESSION: Youth Worker
FROM: London
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO GET NOMINATED FOR? ‘Being lazy and having an opinion. I’m quite opinionated, I like speaking my mind and not many people like that. I’m quite real.’
YINRUN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Customer Support Agent
FROM: Harrogate
WHAT PART OF THE EXPERIENCE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? ‘I’m most excited about being surrounded by so many people from different walks of life. I don’t think I will ever live in a house again with so many different kinds of people. I’m from China and I think it will help me be more immersed in British culture..’
CHANELLE
AGE: 29
PROFESSION: Dental Therapist
FROM: Llanelli
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LIKELY TO BE NOMINATED FOR? ‘Probably just for being annoying. In Wales, we have this saying ‘I’ll do it now in a minute’. So like, if I went to make food and I left a dish on the side, I have all good intentions of washing it but I’d be like, ‘I’ll do it now in a minute,’ and it might be three hours later before I do it. So probably for silly stuff like that.’
ZAK
AGE: 28
PROFESSION: Model
FROM: Manchester
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE PRIZE MONEY IF YOU WON? ‘Pay off my debts and help my family out. I’ve also been saving up to build a park in my village back at home in Thailand because where I grew up, there’s no parks or playgrounds.’
MATTY
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Doctor
FROM: Isle Of Man
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY DESCRIBE YOU? ‘They would say I’m quite like a lucky person or someone who really wants to experience life to its fullest and do everything that it has to offer. Someone who is kind and fun and doesn’t take life too seriously.’
HENRY
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Food Writer
FROM: Cotswolds
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY DESCRIBE YOU? ‘I think they would say I’m particularly sociable and very chatty. I mean, I’ll be honest, my parents would definitely say I’m a bit of a snob but I take it as a compliment. I think it means you’ve got high standards and good taste. They’d say I was quite a peculiar child.’
KERRY
AGE: 40
PROFESSION: NHS Manager
FROM: Essex
WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO BE A BIG BROTHER HOUSEMATE? ‘I love the programme. It is, for me, the ultimate reality TV show ever. I’ve got multiple sclerosis and so the reason why I never applied before is because I always saw those whacking great big stairs to get into the house. It just felt a little bit unachievable because for the first three years of my illness I was in a wheelchair. When I saw it was coming back and searching for real people from all walks of life, I thought, this is my year.’
