Rumoured Celebrity Big Brother star Faryal Makhdoom has spoken out amid claims that she has been dropped from the show.
ITV is remaining tight-lipped about the line-up for the rebooted show, which launches on 4 March to follow-up on the success of autumn’s new Big Brother series.
But that’s not stopped speculation mounting about the famous faces we might see heading into the infamous house.
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One name that’s been rumoured to appear on the show is Faryal Makhdoom, the wife of boxer Amir Khan.
However, the Pakistani-American YouTuber has now claimed she’s been ditched from an unnamed ITV show, believing the move stems from her political beliefs.
Makhdoom took to Instagram to discuss the situation, saying she would never compromise her ‘integrity and values’.
While she mentioned ITV, the channel itself is not involved in the casting process of Celebrity Big Brother, which is produced by Banijay.
"As many of you know, I was offered to do a show for which the producers had offered me a few years ago and I had previously refused,” Makhdoom told her one million followers.
"This time they made a very lucrative offer and after a lot of convincing I finally agreed to sign for the show.
"I also wanted to do this show to make it more inclusive for the Muslim community.”
Makhdoom believes it is her pro-Palestinian stance that is deemed ‘not appropriate’ for the show.
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.
"I was told to step down 10 days before going in.
"I have never in my life been treated like this.
"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 them."
In a statement, Banijay said it uses a ‘number of factors’ to choose housemates.
“We meet numerous prospective housemates when casting for Celebrity Big Brother, however the final line up is not confirmed until closer to transmission,” it said.
“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.”
Topics: Celebrity Big Brother, Big Brother, Celebrity, TV And Film, ITV
Jess Hardiman