Big Brother stars Jordan Sangha and Henry Southan have said that Ekin-Su Culculoglu should have taken ‘more accountability’ during her CBB exit, after the Love Island star furiously blamed ‘the edit’ for her hostile departure.
The pair are no stranger to the famous house after finding love on the ITV show last year, and in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, have offered their thoughts on this year’s celebrity lineup,
With just two days to go until the final, Jordan, 26, and Henry, 25, described Ekin-Su’s appearance on spin-off Late and Live as a ‘s**tshow,’ but said bosses should have shown ‘more empathy’ after her appearance sparked a social media storm.
The pair also tipped divisive character Louis Walsh to win the series, despite Henry admitting he had a soft spot for Fern Britton, who herself has been saved from eviction three times.
Referring to Layton Williams and host AJ Odudu’s insistence that Ekin-Su couldn’t blame the edit when she hadn’t seen it, Jordan said: ‘Well I agree with the substance of what they were saying, but I disagree with the approach.
EXCLUSIVE: Big Brother stars Jordan Sangha and Henry Southan have said that Ekin-Su Culculoglu should have taken ‘more accountability’ during her CBB exit
The Love Island star was quick to blame the show’s ‘edit’ for her hostile departure during a chaotic appearance on Late and Live, sparking a row with fellow guest Layton Williams
‘I mean, I think they could have been a bit more empathetic in their approach.’
Henry added: ‘I think it’s very like disorientating coming out of that house and then going straight on to Late and Live…
‘But I must say, she wasn’t taking any accountability and it’s so easy just to blame the edit. But everything, everything that was said and seen was said by her.’
Jordan chimed in: ‘Well she hadn’t seen the edit had she! That was the whole point!’
Henry also noted that Ekin-Su’s mother ‘needed to be on television more,’ after her viral appearance on the launch, and later attempting to defend her daughter last week.
He said: ‘On that launch night, when she was talking about her dad being an alien. We were listening in on tenterhooks, waiting to hear what she was gonna say next.’
Jordan went onto add: ‘I mean yeah, it was a bit of a s**tshow wasn’t it? But that’s the thing, it’s being talked about, so good on them for having spoken about it.’
Henry noted: ‘Oh it was great to watch as a viewer it was fantastic!’
With just two days to go until the final, Jordan and Henry described Ekin-Su’s appearance on spin-off Late and Live as a ‘s**tshow,’ but said bosses should have shown ‘more empathy’
Ekin-Su’s withdrawal comes after her Late And Live descended into chaos as she clashed with Layton Williams after her eviction from the house.
She attempted to ‘blame the edit’ for her unfair portrayal on the show but Layton was having none of it and told her she was dragging out the explosive argument with Marisha Wallace during Thursday’s episode.
While some branded the former Strictly star a ‘bully’ and said that he did to Ekin-Su what others did to him during his time on the dancing show, others disagreed and dubbed him the ‘voice of the people’.
She broke down in hysterical tears after Marisha picked her in the face-to-face nominations before storming off to her bed as the musical star, 38, followed to apologise.
While both Jordan and Henry said they’ve watched the celebrity series – and offered their thoughts on social media – the former lawyer admitted his interest has waned following the departure of Sharon Osbourne and Lauren Simon.
He said: ‘I mean on Thursday night. I’d rather tune into The Apprentice!
‘I think it’s because my favourites Sharon and Lauren have gone. Because I loved Lauren. I don’t know why. Well, because of my mother.’
Henry said: ‘I think of all the celebrity reality shows, Big Brothers is the most exposing, there’s no there’s nowhere to hide, is there?
‘ITV is definitely trying to do something different in how they structure the show, its a lot more structured than in Channel 5 days where it’s a bit chaotic and you’d want celebrities to fly off the wall,’ Jordan added.
‘I would say, going back to Sharon, as I adore Sharon, she really did give me that classic Jackie Stallone waking up, getting out of bed for lunchtime.’
Henry said: ‘Sharon did seem to throw herself into it, and she wasn’t like, sitting back. But I was wondering why, why has Sharon done it?’
‘I think she’s trying to relaunch the Osbournes in England, she says on the show. She has no career in America remaning, and I think they’re moving back anyway with Ozzy’s health,’ Jordan continued.
Offering their insight on this year’s lineup, Henry admitted that while she has earned a mixed reception from her fellow housemates, Fern has proven to be one of his favourites.
He said: ‘So not many people online agree with me on this, but I have been really enjoying Fern and I’ve loved that since Sharon’s left, I think Fern’s kind of come through more and become a bigger sort of character, and I love how articulate she is in everything she says and she speaks her mind. I would love to see her in the final.’
Jordan added: ‘I think some of her reasons for nominating can be comprehensible and agreeable, but other reasons can be.’
‘I don’t really know what to think of Fern. I mean, she has definitely woken up since Sharon left the house because she was kind of on standby until Sharon went.
While both Jordan and Henry said they’ve watched the celebrity series the former lawyer admitted his interest has waned following Sharon Osbourne and Lauren Simon’s exits
‘But has it kept the momentum? They’re really doing a lot more task-wise like decking out the house and Iove the whole fairy tale decorations, but what we will say you’re enjoying it more than I am.’
And despite dividing the nation with his outrageous comments about fellow stars, both Jordan and Henry were quick to pick Louis as their favourite to win the series.
However, they added agreed with fans claims that Big Brother’s shocking snake twist, which earned The X Factor star a pass to the final, may have been a ploy by producers to keep him in the show.
Henry said: ‘Part of me wonders whether it was that the person was gonna be evicted, and then it was Louis [producers thinking] ”we want him to stay in!”
‘I think Louis been a very good housemate, whether he’s a nice person or not is a different question, but as a housemate, I think he’s been fantastic. I genuinely would probably put my money on him winning now as well.’
‘Louis is probably their most expensive booking. So they want to keep him in, don’t they?’ Jordan added.
Henry continued: ‘I think probably one of the cleverest parts of it as well was that it meant that no one could have nominated him because everyone he was an easy nomination, so it was quite nice to see all the others like having to like choose between each other.’
Jordan continued: ‘But in saying that he does provide entertainment. He’s my mum’s favorite. Yeah, I mean that tells you a lot about my mum.
‘But he’s loving it. He’s impish. He’s like a little kid that goes round and he’s just like ”stir that pot. Stir that pot.”
‘He could so easily just sit back in the corner, not say anything, ake his fee at the end of it but he’s thrown himself into it, and is being authentically himself, even if that is a bit of a b*****d,’ Henry said.
And despite dividing the nation with his outrageous comments about fellow stars, both Jordan and Henry were quick to pick Louis Walsh as their favourite to win the series
Jordan continued: ‘My highlight of the series, so far, well, probably the highlight, was when Sharon was talking to Louis, and said ”I’m so p****d off with Simon!” as if they were just having a private conversation and then when Sharon came out, she looked oblivious!’
Henry went onto add: ‘I genuinely think Louis could win, and I can’t believe it because he’s so divisive, but because it’s also vote to win, I think he’s one of the bigger characters and he will get voted.
Jordan continued: ‘I just think, the average Englander will love Louis, if that’s not a pretentious way to put it?’
And despite it being four months since they moved out of the house where their romance began, given it’s been kept largely the same, Jordan and Henry noted that it felt odd seeing the stars residing in their former abode.
Henry said: ‘I was just saying if they completely revamped the house it wouldn’t feel strange, but because it’s basically the same, seeing Sharon Osbourne like swooping around that corridor.’
‘It’s almost as if there’s some intrudors in the house, and we haven’t been in the house since our series, I know some of the other housemates have, and you know it is a bit heartbreaking that they’re now pottering around where we’ve once pottered,’ Jordan added.
Asked whether their views have changed on any of the remaining celebrities, both said they’d warmed to Zeze Millz, hours before she was evicted on Tuesday night.
Henry said: ‘This is disagreeing with [Jordan], but I actually did find Sharon, some parts as much as it was great to watch, I thought ”oh god she’s a bit bitter!” Calling Anna Winter, the c-word and James Corden…
‘It’s the kind of small talk you have that you think you’re having in private that you just forgot you’re being filmed.’
‘And also David [Potts], actually, I think David’s quite easily sort of pre-judged for being this kind of loud, brash character, and he is loud and brash, but actually I think he seemed like a really nice, decent guy as well.’
On their rocky road to finding love in the house, Jordan and Henry endured their fair share of hardships on the show, including food shortages, gruelling tasks, nomination twists and a general lack of sleep.
Asked whether they believe this year’s celebrities have had an easier ride, Jordan said: ‘Yes, I would say so, especially with the food situation,’ while Henry quipped: ‘I’m seeing Sam Pellegrino water around that house and there was.’
Jordan added: ‘They always seem to have food apart from I think during that task. But I mean, we suffered for ages without, didn’t we?’
‘And when it finishes it will be at the halfway point, of sort of our series,’ Henry said.
Jordan was crowned the winner of Big Brother 2023 after ITV revived the reality show last year, forming a close friendship and eventual romance with food writer Henry
Jordan added: ‘I mean I like the six weeks because you can almost wrap our series in a bow.’
Henry continued: ‘It’s a hard show to produce, probably because you have to appease the hardcore fans, whilst catering to a new audience as well.’
‘I think the House is far too big, because back in the day, it was really pokey, wasn’t it?’ Jordan continued.
This celebrity series has also raised eyebrows among die-hard fans who noted that with the use of face-to-face nominations and other twists, it appeared to be a step back from the scaled-down social experiment premise the show is known for.
Jordan said: ‘I would say there’s some blatant rule breaches the other day when they were talking about nominations.
‘And also what they’ve done in their series, which they didn’t do in ours, is that they’re revealing who said what about who and putting more people on the screen, whereas the only, I guess, meddling we had during ours was when at Halloween, when we were all on that table and then we saw Farida, Zach and Hallie.’
Henry agreed, adding: ‘It was very cryptic, and doing the face-to-face so early means that everyone knows what everyone’s thinking basically doesn’t it?’
Since making their romance official in November , Jordan and Henry have documented their relationship for fans on social media with a slew of loved-up posts
Jordan noted: ‘And I would I have had to nominate you if it were face-to-face,’ while Henry said: ‘I did love that they had to give them a kiss afterwards. I thought that was fabulous.’
His boyfriend then quipped: ‘I would just nominate you twice just to kiss you twice!’
Reflecting on the face-to-face nominations during their own series, Jordan admitted the house was caught ‘completely off-guard’ by the twist.
He added: ‘I’d say I prefer that there was very little interference with our series like we were never like orchestrated to do anything. We were literally was just thrown in to see what happened.’
Jordan was crowned the winner of Big Brother 2023 after ITV revived the reality show last year, forming a close friendship and eventual romance with food writer Henry.
Since making their romance official in November, Jordan and Henry have documented their relationship for fans on social media with a slew of loved-up posts.
On Valentine’s Day, Henry took to Instagram to share a gushing tribute to Jordan, writing that he never expected to find his ‘soulmate’ when he entered the Big Brother house.
In January, Jordan and Henry revealed they’ve moved in together less than three months after leaving the Big Brother house, and hinted to MailOnline they’re already got several TV and writing projects in the pipeline.
