Celeb BB cancels phone vote
Thursday, 25 Jan 2007 16:45
Jo O'Meara is up for eviction this Friday
Bosses of Celebrity Big Brother have scrapped all of the votes cast so far for Friday night's eviction after an error was printed on television screens.
Viewers have been voting to evict two of five celebrities from the house but a message was shown on last night's show which stated "to vote to save Shilpa [Shetty]".
Endemol, the producers of the show, have decided that the text was misleading and people could have been calling or texting to save the Bollywood actress while unknowingly casting a vote for her eviction.
A statement from the company said that it was a "genuine mistake" which was due to "human error".
"We apologise to viewers and feel the best way to rectify it is to cancel the vote so far and re-open the voting again this evening, at the end of tonight's show," it said.
The decision was made after consulting with the programme's independent adjudicator.
Viewers who have voted already are entitled to reclaim their money; any unclaimed money will be donated to charity.
In a further attempt to pacify viewers and boost the beleaguered show's current image in the public eye, profits from the re-opened eviction will go to the contestants' charities.