I was going to post this when I read it on Monday, but completely forgot about it
The full report:
From itc.org.uk
Showing Complaints & Interventions Report for BIG BROTHER
Channel: Channel 4
Date & time: Friday 20 June: 10.00pm
Category: Other unfairness
Complaint from: 90 complaints
Background
This is the fourth series of the 'reality' show in which twelve young men and women live together in a house cut off from reality for nine weeks. Housemates are regularly evicted from the house on the basis of viewers' votes. The survivor wins a cash prize.
Issue
Federico Martone was the fourth housemate to be evicted. Immediately after leaving the house, he was interviewed by the show's presenter, Davina McCall. She showed him a clip of three female housemates discussing the size of his penis, and then asked him about it. He affected not to understand the 'winkle/willy' terminology used, but appeared to be embarrassed. Ninety viewers complained, primarily on grounds that this was cruel and humiliating, but also that it was crude and offensive, and sexist insofar as such personal remarks would not have been publicly directed at a woman. Many of the complaints appeared to be part of an orchestrated campaign.
Assessment
The ITC was satisfied that the remarks about penis size were not inappropriate on grounds of general offence in a programme transmitted between 10 and 10.30pm, well after the watershed.
In deciding whether the remarks had been unfair to Federico Martone or had infringed his privacy, the ITC noted that no complaint had come from Mr Martone himself, a normal prerequisite for complaints to be entertained on such grounds. However, the ITC believed that people who submit themselves for inclusion in a show like Big Brother (now in its fourth series) where participants are filmed 24 hours a day, should be aware of the potential for personal references of this kind.
Conclusion
There had been no breach of the ITC Programme Code.