Celebrity Big Brother most complained about show of the decade

Celebrity Big Brother was the most complained about TV show of the decade, it’s been announced.

TV watchdog Ofcom has revealed that the reality series notched up the most complaints in the past 10 years.

2018’s series, which saw Roxanne Pallett and Ryan Thomas involved in a major bust up, received over 25,000 complaints.

Other shows that made the list were Big Brother, Loose Women, The X Factor and Love Island.

Tony Close, Ofcom’s Director of Content Standards said: “Overwhelmingly, the most contentious programmes of the 2010s were either reality shows – like Love Island, Big Brother and The X-Factor – or news and current affairs.

“Why is that? One important reason might be the rise of social media over the decade. We know people like to discuss reality shows online. And in a time of political change, social media has also shaped increasingly passionate debate around news coverage.

“While the overall volume of complaints we receive about a programme is certainly a good indicator that it needs examining, it’s not necessarily a sign that broadcasting rules have been broken. For example, shows with large audiences often generate more complaints because more people are watching. And we don’t need to receive any complaints to step in if a programme breaks our rules.”

Most complained-about shows of the decade

Celebrity Big Brother, Channel 5 – 30, 31 August, 1 September 2018
25,327 complaints about the incident involving Roxanne and Ryan

Loose Women, ITV – 29 August 2018
8,002 complaints (of which 7,912 related to an interview with guest Kim Woodburn which resulted in her walking off set)

UKIP: The First 100 days, Channel 4 – 16 February 2015
6,187 complaints of which the majority were that the portrayal of UKIP was misleading, offensive and biased.

Sky News – 27 September 2018
3,463 viewers alleged bias and defamation of character in the editing of Sky News’ interview with Tommy Robinson.

The X Factor, ITV – 11 December 2010
2,868 complaints that performances by Rihanna and Christina Aguilera were too explicit for broadcast before the 9pm watershed.

Channel 4 News, Channel 4 – 29 March 2019
2,717 complaints when presenter Jon Snow said, after a day of rallies and protests relating to Brexit, that he had “never seen so many white people in one place”.

Love Island, ITV2 – 1 July 2018
2,644 viewers raised concerns about emotional distress to contestants, specifically Dani Dyer becoming distressed after a clip was shown to her of boyfriend, Jack, with his former partner.

The Wright Stuff, Channel 5 – 6, 7, 8 December 2011
2,358 complaints that Matthew Wright and a guest made insensitive and inappropriate comments when discussing an article in the Daily Mail regarding the first murder case in the Hebrides for 40 years.

Big Brother, Channel 5 – 24 June 2015
2,024 complaints about comments made by contestants.

Sky News with Kay Burley, Sky News – 5 June 2015
1,838 complaints about the tone of Kay Burley interviewing Chief Executive of Merlin Entertainment, Nick Varney, in the aftermath of the Alton Towers roller coaster crash.