Big Brother viewers have accused housemate Rhianna of "blatant cheating" during the latest nomination twist, claiming she looked inside the bag when selecting her position in the voting order.
The controversy unfolded in Tuesday's (October 20) episode, when housemates were told they would collectively choose four contestants to face Friday's (October 16) live eviction. As part of the House of Time twist, each contestant drew a random number from a bag to determine the order they entered a special room called the Time Zone.
Nomination Twist Sparks Allegations
The first person to enter had the power to put forward four nominations, while the rest followed one-by-one and could either swap out two nominees or leave the list unchanged. Housemates could not remove their own names from the podium, meaning the people who picked the first and last ticket held the most influence over the final eviction line-up.
Philip ended up nominating first, while Rhianna cast the final vote. Fan favourites Twinks, Sam, Catrin and Harry were ultimately placed for eviction.
Fans Spot 'Rule Break'
Viewers are convinced they caught Rhianna, 22, looking inside the mystery bag when she picked her position. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan asked: "Did anyone else spot how Rhianna looked into the bag of number chips when she was picking hers, and then it's apparently a coincidence that she picked the last one? #BBUK."
Another added: "I'm pretty sure Rhianna was secretly looking inside the bag when choosing her number #bbuk." A third fumed: "#bbuk WHY WAS RHIANNA ALLOWED TO LOOK IN THE BAG." Others said "Blatant cheating!!" and "I was shouting at the screen!!".
Viewers Defend Rhianna
The controversial scene appears to show Rhianna briefly looking down at the pouch as she plucked out her ticket. However, the camera angle has her eyes out of frame, although her head position clearly indicates she was looking down. This does not prove she was cheating, as other viewers pointed out.
One defender argued: "to be fair she already had the number in her hand if you look properly, I think she looked at the number she had picked rather than looking at the numbers to choose from. you can see she already has it in her hand. reaching too far now." Another said: "Or maybe it was to see if she only grabbed 1," with a third stating: "you don't think they would fold it?"
It is also important to note that Rhianna did not actually change the nominations list when she entered the Time Zone. By the time she went in, Catrin, Harry, Sam and Twinks were already nominated. The Chelsea-based star chose to nominate Catrin and Twinks, making no changes to the existing line-up. Big Brother is streaming on ITVX.
