Big Brother’s most controversial moments of all time

FILMING may have wrapped years ago — but the major controversies of the Big Brother series haven’t been forgotten so easily.

IT RAN for 11 seasons, featuring 211 housemates, whose every move was watched through 42 camera lenses across thousands of hours of footage.

Big Brother was one of our biggest-ever reality franchises — and produced some of television’s most genuinely shocking moments.

Here’s some you may have forgotten.

1. THE “TURKEY SLAP” INCIDENT

John and Ashley were given the chance to apologise two days after being kicked out.

Michael “Ashley” Cox, 20, and Michael “John” Bric, 22, grabbed national headlines and even earned criticism from then-Prime Minister John Howard when they were kicked off the show in mid-2006. Cox was accused of rubbing his crotch in housemate Camilla Severi’s face while Bric held her down on July 1.

The alleged incident was streamed live on the show’s website but not broadcast on Network Ten.

2. MERLIN PROTESTING AUSTRALIA’S TREATMENT OF REFUGEES

Gretel tried to regain control of the situation after Merlin took over with his protest.

Australia was left in shock in 2004 when fresh evictee Merlin Luck walked onstage for his exit interview with Gretel Killeen — holding up a sign saying ‘Free The Refugees’ with black tape over his mouth

It was a curveball no one saw coming, and caused a major headache for the Big Brother host. It only lasted a few minutes — as soon as it became clear he had no intention of speaking, he was whisked offstage (where he most likely copped a bit of a serve from producers.)

Also, if you’re wondering what Merlin’s up to now, you can read his recent interviewwith news.com.au.

3. BREE’S FALSE EVICTION

Bree’s (first eviction.)

Heads must have rolled over this epic stuff-up. In 2004, a tallying error meant Bree Amer was kicked off the show prematurely. Four days later, she was sent back into the Big Brother house at the cost of Wesley Dening, to the extreme shock of all the housemates. Worth it though — she ended up landing second place in the competition.

4. CAT AND ‘LOVE RAT’ LAWSON

Lawson and Cat hooked up in the house. while his girlfriend watched from the outside.

There was just one small issue with the fairytale romance of 2014 between housemates Cat Law and Lawson Reeves: his longtime girlfriend on the outside, Candace Leeder.

The controversial hook-up earned Lawson the title of ‘Australia’s biggest love rat,’ but in fairness — it appears the ex-contestants are still together.

5. MICHAEL AND DAVID’S ‘KISS’

Host Gretel Killeen tore shreds off Michael McCoy during his post-eviction interview after he accused the show of ‘editing’ footage to make it look like he was kissing gay contestant David Graham. Killeen instantly bristled, telling him: “Listen mate, if you’re going to tell me when I’ve worked on a show for six years that we have edited something and it has not been edited, I would like to know who told you that.”

6. BELINDA’S MURDER SECRET

Belinda took herself out of the house.

A drunk Belinda Thorpe let slip one of the most shocking comments in Big Brother history in 2003 — that her sister was involved in the murder of a homosexual man. Her fellow contestants were rattled by the story and interrogated her for details, and unsurprisingly, Belinda became the first housemate ever to voluntarily remove herself from the house. The incident caused the show’s website to be flooded with complaints and hate-mail surrounding the comments.

7. PETE AND CHRISTINA’S DANCING DOONA

Pete and Christina’s romance progressed a lot from here.

Pete Timbs and Christina Davis set tongues wagging in the first-ever season of Big Brother — after a particularly steamy romp in the bedroom. The pair has never confirmed what they were up to under the ‘dancing doona’ — but plenty of people have taken a guess.

Originally published as Big Brother’s most controversial moments of all time