[Arneldo]

Since the vote lines opened for Rex and Belinda at 6pm on Tuesday 15th July there has been a technical issue with Belinda's vote line in Republic of Ireland and as a result viewers in Ireland have not been able to vote for Belinda. Channel 4, in consultation with Electoral Reform Services, has suspended Rex's Republic of Ireland vote line until this issue has been resolved.

To ensure that this is a fair vote for both Belinda and Rex, when the vote lines for both housemates re-open for viewers in the Republic of Ireland, Rex's vote total from ROI will be re-set to zero. Anyone from the Republic of Ireland who has voted for Rex up until his line was suspended will be entitled to a full refund.

To claim your refund you can write to Big Brother at the address below. You will need to send a copy of a phone bill to verify the telephone number you voted from as well as your name and address and you will need to tell us how many times you voted. You will need to include a stamp on your envelope. Once your vote(s) have been verified we will send you a cheque refunding you for the votes you cast and your cost of postage.

We are working with Channel 4's appointed Service Provider to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Apologies to all Big Brother viewers in Republic of Ireland. This issue does not affect the UK vote lines.

Callers from the Republic of Ireland will not have been charged for any vote cast for Belinda while Belinda's line has been down or for any votes cast for Rex after his line was suspended. Channel 4 is making no profits from this year's Big Brother vote. Any profit will be shared amongst this year's charities: PAPYRUS, Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Scope.

C4