ITV's Big Brother has been criticised by viewers for apparently failing to provide suitable disability access for quadruple amputee housemate Charlotte, after her prosthetic legs came off during her entrance to the house on the show's live launch episode.
Big Brother returned to screens on Sunday night for the launch of its twenty-third series, its fourth on ITV, introducing 16 housemates who entered a house in west London.
Among them was Charlotte, an 18-year-old student from Oxford, who explained in her introductory VT that she lost her hands and feet to meningitis at the age of three. She said she regularly wears prosthetic legs, adding that she often forgets why some people stare at her: 'I'll be like, "Oh my God, I must be looking quite nice today!" and then I remember it's actually because I've got no limbs.'
Charlotte's entrance was due to follow the same format as the other housemates. She was driven up to the outdoor stage, where she was expected to climb a short flight of steps and be greeted by hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best.
Shoe comes off during live entrance
But as she emerged from the car, her high heel came off. Will Best rushed over to try to put the shoe back on before the camera cut away.
As AJ Odudu also rushed over to help, Charlotte could be heard asking Will, 'can you take them off?' before clarifying, 'no, no my legs.'
With Will's help, Charlotte then made her way up the stairs to the stage without her prosthetic legs, telling the hosts: 'My legs! My shoe came off. I'm so sorry, I had to take my legs off.' AJ reassured her that there was 'nothing to apologise for', as the crowd cheered.
Charlotte then entered the house, shouting, 'I'm in the Big Brother House with no legs!' before greeting her housemates and telling them, 'it's a long story, my heel broke and I had to take my legs off.'
Fans react on social media
Viewers criticised the show on X, pointing to the apparent lack of adapted access for Charlotte. 'Big Brother being quick to cast disabled people but failing to make the house entrance accessible is just an absolute mockery,' wrote one. Another wrote, 'No are you actually joking?! THEY DIDN'T PLAN AN ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE FOR CHARLOTTE????'
ITV responds to the criticism
In a statement sent to the Daily Mail, a Big Brother spokesperson said: 'Prior to Charlotte's entrance to the House, we worked closely with her and a specialist access co-ordinator to understand her access requirements and agree, with her, the arrangements for her entrance and time in the House.'
'A plan was put in place based on those discussions and agreed with Charlotte; however, she had an unforeseen issue with her shoe.'
The Daily Mail understands that ITV had offered Charlotte the use of a ramp, but she said she would prefer to use the stairs, and that Will Best had rehearsed the entrance with her beforehand. The house has also had a number of changes made to it to ensure it fully meets Charlotte's accessibility requirements, with ITV consulting her and a specialist access co-ordinator ahead of the launch to establish her needs. It is understood that Charlotte spoke with Big Brother after the live launch and confirmed she was okay.
Favourite to win the £100,000 prize
Charlotte is currently the favourite to win the show and its £100,000 prize fund, according to the latest odds from bookmaker Coral, who place her at 5-1. Fans on X declared, 'Okay Charlotte is already an icon,' with others adding, 'CHARLOTTE to win!'
Before entering the house, Charlotte revealed she would buy herself a new pair of prosthetic legs if she won the money, explaining: 'my prosthetic legs are about £25,000 per leg, so probably put half in savings and half on that.'
What Charlotte hopes viewers take away
She also said what she hoped viewers would take away from her time on the show, pointing out: 'Obviously, as a quadruple amputee, people are surprised at anything I do, even normal things like cooking, doing my makeup, getting dressed, stuff like that.'
'And obviously they're going to be watching me 24 hours a day so they're going to see me do all those things,' she said. 'They're probably going to be surprised at the most normal things for me, those are going to be the most shocking for everybody watching.'
Big Brother airs nightly at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
