Big Brother returned with a bang on Sunday night as 16 new housemates were introduced to the world.
Drama began almost immediately with dancer Olivia Young, 23, who broke down in tears when she found herself up for eviction within minutes of entering the house.
During one task, fellow contestant Jenkin Edwards, 25, predicted Olivia would be “the most difficult housemate to live with”, unwittingly leading her to face the public vote.
However, furious viewers are accusing Big Brother of giving Olivia ‘preferential treatment’ after it was revealed she could win herself immunity from the vote with a simple task.
Shortly after Olivia had her voting tantrum, Big Brother revealed that they were giving Olivia a secret mission, telling her that the housemates would soon have a task where they would rank each other from least to most entertaining.
Not impressed: Big Brother fans were left furious during Sunday’s show as they claimed housemate Olivia Young was given ‘preferential treatment’
Oh dear: The drama started almost immediately with dancer Olivia, 23, who broke down in tears when she found herself up for eviction minutes after entering the house
They discovered that if Olivia managed to avoid being the least entertaining, she would gain immunity.
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, viewers raved: “It was a great launch, I loved most everything – fantastic cast, only downside is the twist for Olivia…it’s kind of easy as hell, she won’t even have to lift a finger to save yourself from being boring #BBUK’;
“Why does Olivia get preferential treatment?” She had 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’;
“It’s an easy task for Olivia to win immunity because she’s a character, the other housemates aren’t that chatty.” She will be fine from this task’; ‘Why did they actually give immunity to Olivia?? #bbuk.’
‘No, that will be so easy, omg they just handed immunity to Olivia on a silver platter. she wouldn’t rank least fun by any means, not say Jordan or Henry. i’m annoyed #BBUK’;
‘Big Brother realizes they need to keep Olivia for drama #bbuk’; “So that Olivia can get immunity for the next eviction, but Jenkin lost his suitcase, has no hot water 24 hours a day and has to make breakfast in bed, and Dylan has to sleep on the floor too… do they have a chance to win them back or because that they didn’t cry… #BBUK’
The move even prompted a backlash from a former housemate, with Big Brother 7 runner-up Glynn Wise saying: “#bbuk is up to his old tricks. They know Olivia is a firecracker and will be great to watch.
“With this task she will win immunity and is guaranteed to stay there for a few weeks.” Well done Big Brother, keep the big characters! I’m getting Charlie Uche vibes…’
MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment.
Not impressed: The move even prompted a response from a former housemate, with fellow Big Brother winner Glenn Weiss saying “#bbuk are up to their old tricks”
Iconic: Glyn appeared in the show’s seventh season alongside Nikki Grahame (pictured)
Oh dear: Looking at X, formerly known as Twitter, viewers were worried that Olivia would be able to win immunity from the first public vote
To welcome the 16 contestants who entered the house, Big Brother arranged some games, all of which resulted in losses.
During the musical statues performance, Yinrun, a customer service agent from China, won the game, with the prize of breakfast in bed, and she chose Jenkin to cook and deliver it to her.
In the second game, Jenkin lost a game of hide-and-seek and was told he “wouldn’t get hot water for the next 24 hours”.
After Big Brother announced: ‘Jenkin, cold showers are for you’, the barman said: ‘That’s tricky’.
Later in the evening, 40-year-old NHS manager Kerry, from Essex, singled out Jenkin as the housemate with the ‘most questionable dress sense’, which meant he would not receive his suitcase – before a video was shown of him being blown upstairs.
He was later given a tub of ‘basic’ clothes in the living room and said he felt ‘guilty about the Olivia thing’, calling himself ‘public enemy number one’.
Still, viewers sympathized with Jenkin and turned on Olivia branding the dancer as ‘diva’ and ‘boring’.
BIG BROTHER 2023: MEET THE CONTESTANTS!
JENKIN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Bartender
FROM THE: Bridgend
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS DESCRIBE YOU? ‘Loud and messy and probably irritating.’
TOM
AGE: 21
PROFESSION: butcher
FROM THE: Somerset
WHAT ARE YOU MOST NOMINATED FOR? “I think I could potentially offend some people.” My mouth moves faster than my brain.’
TRISH
AGE: 33
PROFESSION: Mum
FROM THE: 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 ridiculous and my housing situation is unstable. It brings me a lot of mother guilt because I have a small child. That is my biggest incentive and motivation to win.’
JORDAN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: A lawyer
FROM THE: Scunthorpe
WHAT ARE YOU MOST NOMINATED FOR? “Being argumentative and acting like I don’t want to be there, even if in my heart I do.” They could nominate me for maybe being inactive or not giving everyone equal attention. They may feel left out, but I can’t help it.’
DYLAN
AGE: 39
PROFESSION: DJ
FROM THE: Coventry
TELL US INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF: ‘I appeared on a TV show called The Last Leg about amputees – two years before I lost my leg!’
NOKIE
AGE: 26
PROFESSION: banker
FROM THE: Derby
WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO BECOME A BIG BROTHER HOUSEWIFE? ‘I love challenges. I have had so many amazing moments in my life, like going to Miss Universe as Miss Great Britain. I like doing 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 many stereotypes surrounding them. I also show what it’s like to be a woman who has 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 THE: Liverpool
WHAT ARE YOU MOST NOMINATED FOR? ‘Being the biggest fan, eating all the food and being the loudest housemate.’
OLIVIA
AGE: 23
PROFESSION: Dancer
FROM THE: Glasgow
WHAT ARE YOU MOST NOMINATED FOR? “I think when people are in that hungry state, that’s when I’ll cheer people on and grind their gear.” I think they will nominate me because of my willpower, because of my brutal honesty and exaggeration of opinion.’
FARIDA
AGE: 50
PROFESSION: Makeup artist
FROM THE: Wolverhampton
TELL US INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF: “People are always surprised when I say that I got married at the age of 43. Or also that I am a former vacation representative for Gran Canaria and Menorca.”
Haille
AGE: 18
PROFESSION: Youth worker
FROM THE: London
WHAT ARE YOU MOST NOMINATED FOR? “Being lazy and having an opinion.” I’m quite opinionated, I like to speak my mind and few people like that. I am quite real.’
IINRUN
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Customer Service Agent
FROM THE: Harrogate
WHAT PART OF THE EXPERIENCE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? “I’m most excited to be surrounded by so many people from different walks of life.” I don’t think I’ll ever live in a house with so many different people again. I’m from China and I think it will help me to be more immersed in British culture.’
CHANEL
AGE: 29
PROFESSION: Dental Therapist
FROM THE: Llanelli
WHAT ARE YOU MOST NOMINATED FOR? “Probably just because I’m boring. In Wales we have this saying “I’ll do it in a minute now”. So if I went to make food and left a dish on the side, I have every good intention of washing it, but I’d say, ‘I’ll do it now in a minute,’ and it might be three hours later before I do it. Well, probably for such nonsense.’
ZAK
AGE: 28
PROFESSION: Model
FROM THE: Manchester
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THE PRIZE MONEY IF YOU WON? “Pay off my debts and help my family.” I’ve also been saving up to build a park in my village back home in Thailand because there are no parks or playgrounds where I grew up.’
MATTHEW
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Doctor
FROM THE: Isle Of Man
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY DESCRIBE YOU? “They would say I’m a pretty happy person or someone who really wants to experience life to the fullest and do everything it has to offer.” Someone who is kind and funny and doesn’t take life too seriously.’
HENRY
AGE: 25
PROFESSION: Food Writer
FROM THE: Cotswolds
HOW WOULD YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY DESCRIBE YOU? “I think they would say I’m particularly outgoing and very chatty.” I mean, to be honest, my parents would definitely say I’m a bit of a snob, but I take that as a compliment. I think it means you have high standards and good taste. They would say I’m quite an unusual child.’
KERRY
AGE: 40
PROFESSION: NHS Manager
FROM THE: Essex
WHAT MADE YOU APPLY TO BE A BIG BROTHER HOUSEWIFE? ‘I like the program. To me, it’s the ultimate reality TV show ever. I have multiple sclerosis and the reason I never applied before is because I always saw those great big stairs to get into the house. It was a bit unachievable because I was in a wheelchair for the first three years of my illness. When I saw that he was coming back and looking for the right people from all walks of life, I thought, this is my year.’