Celebrity Big Brother ‘housemate’ claims they’ve been ‘dropped’ from series 10 days before launch

Faryal Makhdoom has claimed she has been dropped from the forthcoming series of Celebrity Big Brother – just 10 days before the launch episode.

The content creator and wife of former boxing star Amir Khan shared a video to fans on Thursday (22 February), in which she declared that she had been recruited for the forthcoming season of the reality show for its first run on ITV2.

However, Makhdoom alleged that she had been let go by producers due to her avid support of Palestine on her social media platforms.

Claiming that she had been tried to be recruited as a housemate on several occasions, Makhdoom, 32, said that she’d been won over by a “very lucrative offer”, and agreed to sign up for the programme “after a lot of convincing”.

“I also wanted to do this show to make it more inclusive for the Muslim community,” she added.

Makhdoom then stated that her posts in support of Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli attacks led to her being considered an inappropriate choice for the show.

“But it seems my social media activity and being pro-Palestine is not appropriate for ITV and its sponsors,” she continued.

“Mind you, ITV and this particular show, has had many controversial people on it before. But, for some reason, I was singled out.”

Makhdoom added that she was “told to step down 10 days before going in”.

“I have never, in my life, been treated like this,” she blasted. “It’s a violation of free speech.”

“This is why cowards with a huge following, especially Muslims, refuse to speak on this issue, because they deprive you of opportunities and so you have no choice but to support them and stand by them.”

Makhdoom also claimed that she was “offered money not to speak on this certain issue” by an unnamed source, but rejected it.

After praising the makeup entrepreneur Huda Kattan for her continued support of Palestine, Makhdoom noted: “For me, no amount of money will ever stop me from speaking on the injustice happening in Palestine.”

When contacted by The Independent, a spokesperson for Celebrity Big Brother said that although the production team meets several potential housemates when casting, the final lineup is “not confirmed until closer to transmission”.

“As per our welfare protocols, we are unable to comment on the casting process for individual prospective Housemates, other than to say that suitability to participate is determined by a number of factors,” the statement noted.

Celebrity Big Brother launches on ITV2 and ITVX on Monday 4 March.