Big Brother cleared over former contestant's complaint

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 28-May-08, 09:00

LONDON - Ofcom has rejected a complaint from Dawn Blake, a former 'Big Brother' contestant, that the programme treated her unfairly and infringed her privacy.

Blake, who lasted six days in 'Big Brother 7' in 2006 before being ejected for contacting the outside world, complained that the editing of the programme was designed to humiliate her about her body odour and medical conditions such as eczema, and to portray her as cheating.

She also told Ofcom that her privacy was infringed in the making of the programme because she was kept in the house and filmed against her will.

Channel 4 responded that if viewers had gained the impression that Blake was not showering it was because she had said explicitly she was not. It argued it was clear that she was showering, but there was still an issue among the other housemates about her body odour.

It dismissed Blake's complaints that the programme portrayed her as cheating, claiming she had broken the rules by receiving a pre-arranged coded message from her sister to the effect she was not coming across well on TV and should leave.

It also said that contestants were free to leave the house at any time through a number of fire escape routes.

Ofcom sided entirely with Channel 4 over the case, ruling that she was fairly portrayed and her privacy was not infringed.