Big Brother star Paul has admitted that he’s “worried” for the show’s remaining housemates after being booed by the public on his eviction.
Now in its fifth week, ITV’s reboot of the classic reality show has seen more than its fair share of drama over the series. Tensions in the house – where the group have organically split themselves into two tribes – came to a head in Friday (3 November) night’s double eviction, which saw Paul and Dylan kicked out of the house and booed on their exit.
The pair returned to Big Brother companion show Late and Live on Sunday (5 November) night, where Paul said that he had been shocked by the initial negative reaction on his exit.
“The reception I got was not what I expected, I won’t lie,” he said, laughing. “I was having a great time, having the time of my life, and I walked out the doors and it was just [boos]. I walked out to that reception, I just had to compose myself and get on with it.”
Security officer Paul was then asked about the “divide” in the house, and whether he was “worried” for his former allies Olivia, Chanelle, Jenkin and Tom.
“To be honest, I’m worried for the lot of them in there,” he replied. When presenter AJ Odudu laughed: “Everyone?”, he responded: “I am. In general. Coming out to what I came out to, no one in the house expected that, especially myself, I went in there to have fun.”
Paul said the crowd’s response was ‘very, very hard to take'— (ITV)
He then explained: “I just want everyone to know about everyone in the house: no one has got any narratives, everyone’s very respectful and they’re very good people, every single one of them. So I don’t know why people are getting certain narratives pushed on them.”
Paul and Dylan had faced the public vote against Trish and Noky, just hours after Trish had accused Paul of “bullying” Noky. As the housemates waited inside the house to hear the results of the eviction, they were given a glimpse of public’s reaction for the first time as Trish and Noky’s names were greeted with cheers, while Paul and Dylan were booed.
Paul admitted that the house had been a “very intense environment”, saying: “Coming out to what I came out to, I can’t lie it was hard to take. Very, very hard to take. For me, as a man who stands up for mental health, for me to come out to things like that, it was hard for me to take on the chin.
“But for the whole house I think, everyone deserves the respect because they’re in there for a reason. Everyone’s different and not everyone can be each other’s cup of tea, but the amount of lovely conversations we had, it was amazing.”
In response, Odudu said that “the rough and smooth” of every contestant had been shown in the house, suggesting that the boos may have come “in response to some of the behaviours and actions that you both did”.
Paul was met with boos when he was evicted on Friday— (ITV )
Discussions around mental health, and the impact of social media on the housemates on their exit, have surrounded Big Brother since the reboot was announced.
Ahead of the new series’ launch in October, ITV released the comprehensive duty-of-care guidelines that would be in place for the new series. Similar safeguarding measures have been used on ITV’s dating show Love Island in recent years, following the deaths by suicide of former islanders Sophie Gradon in 2018 and Mike Thalassitis in 2019, as well as former presenter Caroline Flack in 2020.
Before entering the Big Brother house, all contestants underwent psychological and medical assessments, and were informed of the possible positive and negative implications of appearing on the show.
They were assisted with an individual support plan including sessions with the show’s mental health professionals before entering the house, throughout their time on the show, and after their exits.
Following their eviction, housemates immediately receive a mandatory session with a mental health professional. Depending on each housemate’s needs, further support sessions are then provided until the mental health team have agreed an end date. Support and ongoing contact is provided for 14 months after the show has ended by the head of welfare.
Big Brother continues Sunday to Friday at 9pm on ITV2.
