Votes for Celebrity Big Brother's Friday night double eviction had to be discounted after an on-screen error urged viewers to call and "save" Shilpa Shetty rather than "evict" her. Thousands of confused viewers thought they were rescuing her from eviction when in fact they were doing the opposite. Producers Endemol apologised for the "genuine mistake" which resulted in 20,000 phone votes being scrapped before voting re-opened.
Former S Club singer Jo O'Meara is odds-on favourite to get the boot, and will be joined by either Cleo Rocas, Ian Watkins or Shilpa. While the nervous housemates wonder who will remain for Sunday night's final, the furore outside the house continues. Publishers have dropped plans to publish Jade Goody's autobiography in paperback form next month, saying it wouldn't be appropriate.
Model Danielle Lloyd, meanwhile, could be in trouble with boyfriend Teddy Sheringham. The football ace has apparently asked his girlfriend's mum to pick up Danielle's belongings from his Essex mansion after the 23-year-old became involved in the conflict over the Bollywood actress. The former Miss Great Britain is one of the three contestants not facing eviction on Friday, however. "We all expected Danielle to be up, as she has rubbed quite a few people up the wrong way," said one show insider. "But it seems her public displays of affection for Shilpa have worked."
Channel 4 boss Kevin Lygo has also come under fire after he claimed the much-publicised race row saved the show's ailing ratings. "This was in danger of becoming the most boring BB that we'd had in many years and we were thinking, 'Oh dear, what can we do?'," he said. "And then suddenly, from the cooking of a chicken going wrong, this argument erupted and then was taken on by the media and then erupted into this extraordinary story." He described the ensuing debate as a "fantastic thing", adding he felt the programme was "produced and managed very well" despite calls for it to be axed.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
