Luisa Zissman hits out at Big Brother's duty of care and accuses the show of 'prioritising ratings over well-being' after Omar's 'controlling and coercive behaviour' sparked 7,000 complaints

Luisa Zissman has accused Big Brother bosses of 'prioritising ratings over the well-being' of its housemates, after one of its stars sparked over 7,000 complaints with his 'controlling and coercive behaviour'.

Omar has come under fire in recent weeks after a clash with his girlfriend Rhianna in the house, leading to him being reprimanded by bosses.

Luisa has now claimed that ITV is 'sailing close to the line' by airing scenes involving Rhianna and Omar's dispute, noting it could lead to an 'awful situation' when they leave the house, and see the reaction online.

The former Apprentice star appeared on Celebrity Big Brother back in 2014 when it was still being broadcast on Channel 5, with ITV introducing robust duty of care measures when they revived the format three years ago.  

Luisa and co-host Anna Williamson also backed calls for the pair to be removed from the house and spoken to by the show's welfare teams about the concerns viewers have raised.

Omar and Rhianna had cooled off their romance after receiving warnings from friends and family, but after both confessed they were struggling with the distance, Monday's episode saw them decide to rekindle their romance.

Speaking on the latest episode of their Luanna podcast, Luisa said: 'I watched a clip, and actually I didn't think he was that bad, and when I watched this clip, and I think that he's emotionally immature...

'I think yes, this should be being shown actually, because in a way, and it's really hard saying yes should it be shown, because essentially then, you are using a real life situation to kind of educate I suppose. 

'But this is what is happening to her, and this behaviour is opening up this conversation, which is brilliant, but at the core of this we have two real people and one of them is being vulnerable, very vulnerable, and then where do we draw the line between entertainment and wellbeing. 

'Despite what you say Anna, about all the wellbeing, I don't buy that at all. Having been in these reality shows I know that sometimes you sit as a psych on them...

'We are still seeing issues like this, it's on telly now, we are still seeing issues despite all this duty of care b*****ks.

'These are entertainment shows. They are there for views and views create money. And that is the crux of it. The show is there for entertainment and money. 

'The more it's talked about, and they will sail so close to the line on this, and it's where they toe the line between that and the exposure which is making them more money.'

'And then where do they toe the line between that and the duty of care? How far will they let this go?

'And then in a year's time or two years time, or maybe even quicker than that, when she comes out, she will then be flipping this on them and being like you didn't protect me and you didn't have a duty of care, or we will see her absolutely crushed and devastated and then we're looking at a potentially really awful situation where she actually cannot cope with the public exposure that will come from this.

'You can't prepare someone who has lived a normal life like they have, and never been exposed to anything.

'And even with him at some point right? We could be talking about him in this way, he's going to come out and see all this and then the next thing you know, he's potentially doing something very stupid, and then what are we all saying then?'

Luisa also backed calls for Omar and Rhianna to be temporarily removed from the house, with herself and Anna agreeing they needed to be spoken to by bosses off-camera about viewers' concerns.

Last week Omar was reprimanded by bosses for his 'controlling behaviour', after one episode featuring a row between the pair sparked more than 7,000 Ofcom complaints.

While the housemates were visited by their loved ones, Omar was warned by one of his pals to be mindful of how things could be 'perceived' on the outside, and he and Rhianna agreed to put their relationship on pause. 

Alongside the Ofcom complaints, Women's Aid called for Omar to be removed from the house after concerning scenes between him and Rhianna aired.

Omar's behaviour has included scolding Rhianna for speaking about their fallout to other housemates, using worrying language such as 'don't talk about me', 'don't cry', 'don't look away from me', 'sort yourself out' and 'fix up'.

Once in the Diary Room, Big Brother told Omar: 'Omar, Big Brother wants to speak to you about some of your language and behaviour in the house.  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 responded: 'I fully understand. Just, I've never dismissed a housemate's feelings, in all honesty. If I felt like a housemate was feeling something towards me which was incorrect, I would say it was incorrect.'

'Not necessarily dismiss it, or tell them they don't deserve a feeling and they don't deserve to feel like that.'

He added: 'Let's be honest here. We're not talking about housemates, we're talking about my conversations with me and Rhianna. I've done nothing but look out for her. I've done nothing but try to accommodate her and be there for her and care for her.'

'At the end of the day, I didn't walk in with any bad intentions or any malice and I didn't attempt to exercise anything malicious towards anyone. Like I said, I've acknowledged my housemate's feelings.'

Big Brother then replied: 'Omar, you must always be mindful of the impact your language and behaviour can have on others.'

After the episode aired on Wednesday, viewers revealed they found it uncomfortable viewing and said it felt like Omar was 'trying to coercively control Big Brother'.

There were mounting calls for ITV to intervene and boot him off the show and charity Women's Aid has issued a statement calling his behaviour 'worrying'.

After the episode aired some viewers were disappointed with the warning and said that Big Brother didn't go far enough.

In just one day, Big Brother received 7,138 Ofcom complaints relating to Omar's treatment of Rhianna, making it one of the top ten most complained-about moments.

It is also the third highest number of complaints for a single incident in Big Brother history, following Jade Goody's racism row and Roxanne Pallett's punch-gate.