1 week ago
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When I revealed on Wednesday that Big Brother’s Rochelle Rackham had shared a racist Facebook post in 2015, I wondered if she might be asked to leave the house immediately.
I presumed it would have been a no-brainer for ITV – famously uncompromising when it comes to these matters – to claim that her comments were in direct conflict with the network’s ‘inclusive culture’. Indeed, similar behaviour in the past has resulted in competitors being instantly dismissed from the house.
But I can now divulge that one possible reason for chiefs at the network keeping Rochelle in situ, despite her history, is because they knew about the offensive posts before she even entered the Big Brother House.
Sources have now informed me that ITV’s production team were aware that Rochelle had ‘shared a meme to her social media account’ that she subsequently removed.
To remind readers, Rochelle reshared an image of a person bungee jumping over ten years ago, overlaid with the disgraceful words: ‘Experience bungee jumping only £35 a jump. Muslims go free. No strings attached.’
According to my source, Rochelle ‘deleted it after acknowledging its offensive nature’ and, I’m told, underwent respect and inclusion training which is given to all new Big Brother housemates.
Sources have said that ITV’s production team were aware that Rochelle Rackham had ‘shared a meme to her social media account’ that she subsequently removed
Rochelle reshared an image over ten years ago of a person bungee jumping, which read: ‘Experience bungee jumping only £35 a jump. Muslims go free. No strings attached.’
A source explained: ‘ITV being aware of this, and still allowing Rochelle into the house, is shocking. It doesn’t matter how long ago the comment was made.
‘It makes you wonder if they care at all, for the viewers and welfare of other Big Brother house members.’
I can further reveal that Tamsin Dodgson, the current creative director of Big Brother, at Banijay UK label, Initial, will be no stranger to this kind of news.
Tamsin oversaw the exit of previous housemates Ellis Hillon and Trish Balusa when their offensive and racist social media posts surfaced.
In September 2018, Big Brother contestant Ellis was removed over a tweet from 2014 about the 9/11 terror attacks, which contained a racial slur. She was evicted two days after the show started.
In 2023, contestant Trish was evicted through the voting process on the show, but afterwards, ITV distanced themselves from her, not allowing the 36-year-old to the final or spin-off show because of previous racist and homophobic tweets that had resurfaced.
When I put both of these examples to ITV Thursday morning and questioned why Rochelle was still in the house, I was told that each scenario is different.
Rochelle told 18-year-old Charlotte Nott, a quadruple amputee from Oxford, that she had ‘a bit of a fear’ of people with ‘no arms’
Creative director of Big Brother, Tamsin Dodgson, oversaw the exit of previous housemates Ellis Hillon and Trish Balusa when their offensive and racist social media posts surfaced
Rochelle’s disgraceful message, which has shocked Big Brother fans, was reshared along with the caption: ‘Love this’, as well as tagging friends she thought would ‘appreciate’ the offensive joke and adding: ‘Lol.'
A source told me: ‘She is in the Big Brother house with one person who openly practices his Muslim faith and another who was raised in a Muslim household.
‘How will they feel about her Facebook post?’
Essex-born Rochelle, who is a mother of three, has already been proved as one of the most controversial Big Brother contestants of recent years.
In a single week, the series attracted 1,654 Ofcom complaints after being rocked by a string of explosive rows, most of which included Rochelle.
Her comments about trans rights, feminism and racism have seen her cause quite the stir among housemates and viewers. One heated clash between her and co-star Johanne Cade prompted 493 Ofcom complaints from fans who accused Rochelle of racism and bullying.
Trish was evicted through the voting process on the show in 2023, but ITV did not allow her on the final or spin-off show
A source has said that Rochelle deleted the post after acknowledging its offensive nature and underwent respect and inclusion training which is given to all new Big Brother housemates
She has also been previously criticised for telling Charlotte Nott, 18, a quadruple amputee from Oxford, that she had ‘a bit of a fear’ of people with ‘no arms’. And has come under fire over comments about fellow contestant Millie Jarrett’s weight.
More recently, she upset trans activists by expressing her traditional views on women’s rights, telling housemates: ‘I wouldn’t be happy with a transgender in the toilet with me.’
However, the most controversial moment came during a conversation about ‘microaggressions’ between Johanne and Pauline Adeyemo, overheard by Rochelle.
The two were discussing their shared experiences as black women and a disagreement they’d had earlier in the series with Rochelle about cooking dinner.
Johanne said: ‘My situation with Rochelle felt like a microaggression because I feel like if anybody else was over there heating up their food... would [Rochelle] have reacted like that?
‘And that’s how you can really decipher a microaggression a lot of times – if you just put anybody there that looks like that person, would their behaviour still be the same?’
Rochelle, who heard the comment, proceeded to engage Johanne in a heated argument until Big Brother intervened and called Johanne to the Diary Room.
Her housemates clearly have strong feelings about her.
On Wednesday, Lynx Noumey voted for her to leave, saying: ‘Some of the things she says are really out of order on so many different levels.’
Four other housemates also voted for her to leave.
In 2023, ITV confirmed they had created a new welfare package for housemates.
In it, the broadcaster said: ‘Housemates will be required to adhere to a social media blackout and will undergo respect and inclusion training to set out expectations around use of language and acceptable behaviour in the house’.
It also states that before filming, ‘housemates undergo a series of background checks including checks of their social media by an independent specialised service’.
A source close to Rochelle told the Daily Mail: ‘Eleven years ago, Rochelle reposted a meme on her social media which she later deleted after becoming aware of the offence it could cause. She regretted sharing it and would never want to cause anyone hurt or upset. She would be genuinely sorry to anyone offended by the post, and the language used in it does not reflect her values.’
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