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Big Brother sponsor refuses to rule out dropping £2m deal over abuse row
Schwarzkopf 'closely monitoring' Ofcom as it investigates 1,225 complaints over aggressive behaviour and racist language


Big Brother: Conor McIntyre was allegedly abusive to Miss India UK title holder Deana Uppal. Photograph: Channel 5
Schwarzkopf has refused to rule out dropping its £2m headline sponsorship of Big Brother, admitting that it is closely monitoring the outcome of Ofcom's investigation into more than 1,200 complaints about instances of abuse and racism on the Channel 5 reality TV show.

The media regulator is investigating three incidents, which have attracted a total of 1,225 complaints, including abusive behaviour, a black contestant being called "a gorilla" and housemates labelled as "*******".

The official sponsor of Big Brother, the celebrity edition that will air later this summer and spin-off show Bit on the Side is hair colour giant Schwarzkopf.

The brand – which has used presenter and former singer Louise Redknapp in its advertising, although she does not appear in the TV idents made to support the Big Brother sponsorship – signed a £2m tie-up with the Channel 5 franchise earlier this year.

A spokeswoman for the Richard Desmond-owned broadcaster was keen to point out that the brand has no control over what the housemates do or what it chooses to air.

"We are prevented by law from influencing editorial content or policy as this responsibility rests firmly with the makers of the show," she said.

She refused to be drawn when asked whether Schwarzkopf was definitely standing by its sponsorship, or is reconsidering its relationship with the show.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation, but it would not be appropriate to comment any further at this stage of Ofcom's investigation," she said.

The media regulator is expected to take at least several weeks to decide whether the incidents were in breach of the UK broadcasting code.

Schwarzkopf's deal, struck by parent company Henkel, included product placement for sister brands such as Right Guard deodorant and Theramed toothpaste.

The main focus of the £2m deal is the Schwarzkopf brand – as well as TV idents stunts have included the housemates and presenter Emma Willis dying their hair the brand's distinctive red colour.

One senior media buying executive said that there is as yet no sign, to his knowledge, of TV advertisers pulling back their campaigns in light of the investigation.

"It is a case of innocent until proven guilty," he said. "There are no rumours of anyone set to pull a campaign. However even though there were only a few complaints about racism if that turned out to be upheld by Ofcom then I would expect there to be a definite advertiser reaction."

The incident that prompted the most complaints from viewers, 1,108, involved housemate Conor McIntyre being abusive to Miss India UK title holder Deana Uppal.

McIntyre was warned about his behaviour by Big Brother, in which he used a string of expletives and called her "a piece of ****". The incident occurred at 9.40pm on 25 June on Channel 5 show.

The second incident involved housemate Caroline Wharram calling Adam Kelly, a black contestant, a "ridiculous gorilla ... with no sanitation".

Ofcom received 114 complaints from viewers about the perceived racial slur which occurred on 28 June at 10.25pm.

On 4 July, a former Big Brother housemate, Victor Ebuwa, appeared on spin-off show Big Brother's Bit on the Side.

Ebuwa referred to the housemates as "functioning *******", which prompted three complaints to Ofcom. The incident occurred at 11.20pm.

"Channel 5 is committed to complying with Ofcom's broadcasting code and will help to facilitate a speedy investigation into this particular episode of Big Brother and Big Brother's Bit on the Side," said a spokesman for the broadcaster.

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