November 5th 2024.
The latest episode of Big Brother's spin-off show, Late and Live, was mysteriously removed from their catch-up service, ITVX, just weeks after it had been edited and reuploaded. Fans were confused and disappointed, as the episode had originally aired on November 4 and was available to stream online afterwards. However, it seemed that the decision had been made to take it down temporarily, leaving viewers unable to watch the show hosted by Will Best.
SuperTV247, a fan account, was the first to spot the missing episode at around 1 pm and quickly shared the news on social media. They announced, "Last night's Big Brother: Late & Live has been removed from ITVX due to compliance reasons. ITV has stated that the episode will be made available later today." Fortunately, the episode was eventually made available again a few hours later, but with no explanation given by ITV, fans were left with unanswered questions.
Frustrations were expressed by viewers, such as Cocomelonate who exclaimed, "What now? And who gets to decide what's compliant and what's not?" Joe was also upset, saying, "ITV is the worst for behaving like this." Some fans, like Danny Denay, even planned to rewatch the episode to look for any blurring or jumpcut edits in order to figure out what had changed. Chantelle also chimed in, asking, "Oh, what is it because of now? Is it because of someone's shirt again?"
It seemed that the reason for the removal of the episode was due to a wardrobe malfunction. Ali's T-shirt design, which featured a watermelon, was no longer visible when the episode was reuploaded. This incident was similar to one that had occurred last month, when ITV deleted, edited and reuploaded an episode to remove housemate Ali Bromley's Wear The Peace charity T-shirt that featured the same symbol. The watermelon, which is in the colors of the Palestinian flag, has become a symbol of solidarity with Palestine during the ongoing war.
According to Time, the watermelon symbol first emerged in 1967 after the Six-Day War, when public displays of the Palestinian flag became a criminal offense in Gaza and the West Bank. This particular episode received 552 complaints, according to figures published by watchdog Ofcom. In response to the backlash, a Big Brother spokesperson stated, "All housemate items are checked by our production team before they enter the Big Brother house to ensure they comply with the rules and compliance requirements. We apologize for any offense caused by the broadcast and assure viewers that Big Brother was unaware of the implications of the image."
In a later episode, viewers were horrified by comments made by Nathan King about housemate Khaled, who has a Palestinian background. During a task, Nathan stated that he believed Khaled was holding back his true self and not speaking out about current world events, such as the ongoing war in Israel. Khaled responded, "This is a bit mad, to say that I'm not supporting my people." After watching the events unfold, some fans were not happy with Nathan's criticism and took to social media to express their thoughts.
The Agency has reached out to ITV for comment on the incident. Big Brother airs Sunday-Friday at 9pm on ITV2, with the spin-off show Late and Live airing immediately after the main program. If you have a celebrity story, video, or pictures, you can get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us, calling, or visiting our Submit Stuff page. We'd love to hear from you.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
