The short version: On the October 19 episode, Big Brother called Rhianna to the Diary Room during a tearful row with Omar. Ofcom’s complaints list, updated October 21, records 7,138 complaints about that episode. Ofcom says a place on the list is not itself a decision to investigate. On the October 21 episode, Digital Spy reports that Omar was called to the Diary Room and warned about his language. ITV has not announced a removal. On Friday, October 23, Harry was evicted. The hosts called it the closest vote of the series. Catrin, Samuel and Twinks stayed. Will Best told Digital Spy that Omar is still in the house. Big Brother: The Reunion is confirmed for Friday, November 6 on ITV2 and ITVX. ITV has not published a final air date.
Update, October 27: Harry has spoken, and he’s baffled. On The Group Chat with GK Barry and Kate Lawler, he was shown housemates nominating him for “playing a game” and said: “I don’t understand. I can’t comprehend… what have I done that’s that mad?” He added: “When I go in there I try to be a peacemaker” (The Mirror, October 26).
Over in the house, Rhianna is taking heat. In the Sunday, October 25 episode, she told Philip about Rochelle, “I’ve shared a bed too much… she can’t keep doing that to me.” Some viewers online called it “game playing,” while others defended her, pointing out that “BB only showing you what he wants the public to see,” The Mirror reports. And Monday’s episode kicked off a Halloween “House of Horror” week, per ITV’s episode rundown via TV Zone UK. The final date still hasn’t been confirmed by ITV.
This is a report of what was broadcast and what ITV and Women’s Aid have said. It is not a finding about anyone in the house. The outlets we used give housemates by first name, so this guide does too.
More on the series lives on our Big Brother hub.
What viewers saw between Omar and Rhianna
Radio Times, in a story published October 20, describes a relationship that had already been tense for several days. In the October 19 episode, Rhianna said she thought they had both been “acting weird” and apologised. “It’s on me, I am sorry,” she said. “The last few days I’ve been mentally going through it.”
Omar replied: “Do you think you’re the only person who’s dealing with things? So, you’re going through things – how is that my fault?” Radio Times reports that he accused her of being “not mature enough.” She told him: “I want to be OK with you but this is not going anywhere.”
They appeared to reconcile, then argued again. Rhianna said she disliked the way Omar spoke to her and tried to end the relationship. Radio Times reports that he told her not to cry and urged her to look at him as she was in tears, and that he said she had really angered him and that it was not fair. Big Brother stepped in and called Rhianna to the Diary Room to check on her. “I’m not that good but I’ll be fine,” she said (Radio Times).
Later, talking to housemate Yasmin, he used an insult about Rhianna that Radio Times printed in censored form, and said: “She’s being annoying and I’m not here to deal with it.”
The friction had started earlier. Omar objected to the way Rhianna asked housemate Lynx to cook, walked into the garden and told her: “You annoyed me today. Can’t you figure it out?” When she asked if it was about her saying “please,” he said yes, and that the way she had said it was “a bit weird.” She was later seen in tears while other housemates checked on her. Radio Times reports that viewers, and housemates including Catrin and Twinks, described the dynamic as “toxic.”
What ITV said
A Big Brother spokesperson gave Radio Times this statement:
“All housemates receive respect and inclusion training and an extensive briefing from the Big Brother senior team to prepare them for living in the house and to set out Big Brother’s expectations for appropriate behaviour and language.
“Housemates are monitored 24 hours a day and any instances of inappropriate behaviour are responded to appropriately. Welfare and safeguarding are prioritised throughout the production, with a dedicated welfare team available to support housemates before, during and after their time in the house.”
That is the whole of the response Radio Times published. ITV did not say, in that statement, whether anyone would be removed from the house. The October 21 episode, below, showed a Diary Room warning. That is not the same thing as ITV announcing a removal.
What Ofcom has published
Ofcom’s audience-complaints page, last updated October 21, 2026, lists programmes that received more than 50 standards complaints from Tuesday, October 13 through Monday, October 19. Big Brother on ITV2, transmitted October 19, is at the top with 7,138 complaints. The October 18 episode is listed at 658. The October 16 live eviction is listed at 206 (Ofcom).
Ofcom prints two limits on that table, and this guide is using both. Inclusion on the list is not a sign that Ofcom is investigating the broadcast. The number of complaints is not a measure of how serious an issue is. Ofcom has not, on that page, said it has opened an investigation into the October 19 episode.
The October 21 Diary Room warning
Digital Spy, in a story published October 21 about that night’s episode, reports that Omar was called to the Diary Room. Digital Spy gives the surnames as Omar El Meyer and Rhianna Collins. The rest of this piece keeps the first names used by Radio Times, the Mirror and Banijay.
Digital Spy quotes Big Brother:
“Big Brother wants to bring to your attention that at times, it appears that you are dismissing your fellow housemates’ feelings and experiences, and not acknowledging the impact such behaviour could have on your fellow housemates and the viewing public.
“Some of your language used on more than one occasion and the behaviour you have exhibited could cause offense to your fellow housemates or the viewing public.”
Omar’s reply, as Digital Spy quotes it: “I fully understand. Just, I’ve never dismissed a housemate’s feelings, in all honesty.” He said that if he thought a housemate’s feeling about him was incorrect, he would say so, and that this was not the same as telling someone they did not deserve a feeling. He then said the conversation was about Rhianna. He said he had tried to look out for her, and: “I did not walk in with any bad intentions or any malice.”
Big Brother answered, in Digital Spy’s quote: “Omar, you must always be mindful of the impact your language and behaviour can have on others” (Digital Spy).
Later in the same episode, Digital Spy reports a conversation in the Snug. Omar asked Rhianna whether he had ever controlled her or limited her. She replied: “The word ‘controlled’ is crazy. You haven’t and I don’t feel that way. I am my own person, no one can control me, just like no one can control you.” She said that in the disagreement she had felt as if she had done something wrong. He said he was sorry if he had made her feel upset. She said she does not want those conversations, and that she will tell him if she does not like what he is doing.
This is an account of what was broadcast, as Digital Spy reported it. It is not a finding about either housemate.
What Women’s Aid said
On October 20, Women’s Aid published a response from Veronica Oakeshott, its head of external affairs. The statement does not name Omar, Rhianna, or any other housemate. It talks about the behaviour being shown on the programme.
Oakeshott said abuse “often begins with ‘red flag’ coercive and controlling behaviours like isolating you from friends or repeatedly putting you down, before escalating into other forms of abuse,” and that “it’s worrying to see behaviours like this being given a platform in popular media like Big Brother.” She said the charity had been contacted by viewers, and that the show “risks minimising survivors’ experiences” and “presenting abuse as a form of entertainment.”
She also wrote that producers “should understand their responsibility to keep contestants emotionally and physically safe,” and that Women’s Aid wants ITV to work with specialists. “We would welcome a discussion with the Big Brother team” (Women’s Aid).
If you need support, Women’s Aid points people in the UK to the free, confidential National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247 (24 hours), and to its directory of local services. If you are in immediate danger, call 999. In the US, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is free and confidential, 24 hours a day, on 1-800-799-7233. You can also text START to 88788. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Who left on Friday, October 23
Harry was evicted. Digital Spy, writing that night, says hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best called the public vote the closest of the series. The four facing it were Catrin, Harry, Samuel and Twinks. Harry was the one shown the door (Digital Spy).
London Now names him Harry Symonds, 30, from Croydon, an online fitness coach who had been in the house since the series launched on September 13. It quotes the official Big Brother UK account: “The tagpole leaves the pond, Harry is next to be evicted!” Before the result, London Now quotes him: “Whatever happens, happens… let His will be done” (London Now).
| Housemate | Result, Friday, October 23 |
|---|---|
| Catrin | Stayed |
| Harry | Evicted |
| Samuel | Stayed. Digital Spy and London Now use Samuel. The Mirror had used Sam |
| Twinks | Stayed |
The nominations were not a normal round. That week’s theme was the House of Time. Housemates drew numbers in secret and entered a “Time Zone” in that order. Philip went in first and had to put four name discs on the nomination podiums. He chose Catrin, Harry, Sam and Twinks. Everyone else could swap up to two names, and could not take themselves off. The Mirror reports that the four names were unchanged when Big Brother announced the final lineup (The Mirror). Digital Spy’s October 21 story says neither Omar nor Rhianna faced that vote (Digital Spy).
A double eviction that night was not confirmed, and Digital Spy’s account of the show describes one departure.
What else aired on the eviction episode
This is an account of what Digital Spy reported from the broadcast. It is not a finding about anyone in the house.
Housemates had visits from friends and family. Digital Spy quotes Rochelle’s husband telling her: “Be careful with Philip. Be friendly to everybody. Certain people are stabbing you in the back.” And: “Be more kind, be more friendly to everybody and stop with some of it, okay?”
Digital Spy also quotes Rhianna’s sister, speaking to Rhianna about Omar: “He has been dimming your light.” The same report quotes the sister saying he had been “emotionally” messing with her, in stronger language than this guide is repeating, and that she wanted Rhianna to know “there is so much going on behind closed doors.”
Will Best told Digital Spy that further conversations with Omar had happened off-screen since the controversy, and that Omar was still in the house (Digital Spy). ITV has not announced a removal.
Digital Spy, writing after the eviction, said the series continued the next night, Saturday, October 24, at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX. What happens in that episode is not in this update. Who is nominated next is not yet known.
When is the Big Brother 2026 final?
Not yet confirmed as a broadcast date.
What is on paper:
- ITV’s Big Brother 2026 voting terms, dated September 11, say that on multiple occasions between October 30 and November 5, 2026, a final-week public vote will open and freeze. After each freeze, the housemate with the fewest votes among those at risk is eliminated. In the final show, the housemate with the most cumulative votes is the winner. Each window allows five votes per registered mobile number (ITV).
- Banijay UK announced on October 20 that Big Brother: The Reunion, a one-hour special, will air on Friday, November 6 on ITV2 and ITVX. That announcement does not give the final’s air date (Banijay UK).
Thursday, November 5, is the last day named in those voting terms, and it is the day before the confirmed reunion. Treat that as the date the rules run to, not as an ITV schedule announcement. If ITV lists the final, we will update this page.
Big Brother: The Reunion
| Title | Big Brother: The Reunion |
| When | Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| Where | ITV2 and ITVX |
| Length | One hour |
| Hosts | AJ Odudu and Will Best |
| Producer | Initial, part of Banijay UK |
Banijay says the cast will come back to the house to talk about the series, “the moments, friendships and fallouts,” and “where they stand now.” ITV commissioner David Smyth said viewers can expect “plenty of surprises, laughter, and perhaps a few scores to settle.” Initial managing director Katy Manley called the reunion a way to “round off” the series.
Banijay also gave streaming figures with the announcement: the Big Brother brand has passed 202 million streams on ITVX; this series alone has passed 37 million, up almost 14 million (58 percent) on Big Brother and Big Brother: Late & Live at the same point last year; and the series is up 68 percent among 16-to-34-year-olds. Those numbers come from the producer, not from an independent ratings bureau.
The reunion is commissioned by Katie Rawcliffe, ITV’s director of entertainment, reality and daytime, and by David Smyth. Initial’s Katy Manley, Jody Collins, Tamsin Dodgson and Jess Thomas oversee Big Brother.
Where to watch
In the UK: the series and the November 6 reunion are on ITV2 and ITVX.
In the US: a US broadcaster or streamer for this series is not yet confirmed in the sources we checked.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether Ofcom will open an investigation. The complaints list is explicit that being on it is not that decision. Ofcom has not announced one.
- Whether ITV will take any further action after the October 20 statement and the October 21 Diary Room warning. Neither is an announcement that someone will be removed.
- Who is nominated next. Friday’s result is in. The following public vote is not.
- What aired on Saturday, October 24. Digital Spy said that episode was at 9pm. This page does not have a report of it.
- The final’s air date. The voting terms run through November 5. The reunion is November 6. The final itself has not been listed by ITV in the reunion announcement.
- A single set of full names across every outlet. Digital Spy uses Omar El Meyer and Rhianna Collins. London Now uses Harry Symonds. Radio Times, the Mirror and Banijay have used first names. This guide does not treat one outlet’s surnames as an ITV cast list.
Sources
- Ofcom, audience complaints, programmes with more than 50 standards complaints from October 13 to 19, 2026 (page last updated October 21, 2026): ofcom.org.uk
- Digital Spy, “Big Brother airs Omar warning amid Ofcom complaints and backlash” (October 21, 2026): digitalspy.com
- Digital Spy, “Big Brother airs ‘closest’ eviction of the series after game-changing Rochelle scenes” (October 23, 2026): digitalspy.com
- London Now, “Big Brother 2026: Harry Symonds from Croydon evicted” (October 23, 2026): london-now.co.uk
- Radio Times, “ITV responds following Big Brother controversy surrounding Omar and Rhianna scenes” (October 20, 2026): radiotimes.com
- Women’s Aid, “Women’s Aid responds to controlling behaviour being platformed on Big Brother” (October 20, 2026): womensaid.org.uk
- The Mirror, “Big Brother nomination results revealed” (October 20, 2026): mirror.co.uk
- Banijay UK, “ITV announces Big Brother: The Reunion amid soaring ratings” (October 20, 2026): banijayuk.com
- ITV, Big Brother 2026 voting terms and conditions (dated September 11, 2026): itv.com
- Women’s Aid, information and support, including the National Domestic Abuse Helpline: womensaid.org.uk
- National Domestic Violence Hotline (US): thehotline.org
- The Mirror: Evicted Big Brother housemate admits ‘I don’t understand it’ (October 26, 2026)
- The Mirror: Big Brother fans fuming as they spot ‘game player’ weeks before final (October 26, 2026)
- TV Zone UK: Big Brother tonight: full rundown, Monday 26th October 2026
