[wheelyjo]

hi, im just about calm enough now 2 tell my little story of the final nite......as a huge bb fan [as we all r on this site] u can imagine my pure delight wen a friend rang up 2 offer me some tickets 4 the big nite..........

i thought wow! im finally going 2 experience the atmosphere of the specticle that is bb.....something that i had really enjoyed and followed avidly [no pun intended] 4 the past 3 summers........

i cuud hardly contain my joy as my friend told me that she wud ring the studios and let them no i was in a wheelchair........

4 the orgganisers it was as if my friend had uttered the worst of swear words [which wud at least warrant lengthy bird song on e4!]

she was informed that it was not even worth me going down 2 q as the max number of wheelchair spaces were filled.....

how many were there she asked, a poultry 3 came the reply 3 out of about 2000 is pethetic i think youll agree

i understand about fire regs and all, but not even to b given the chance 2 q is, i think, 2 quote alex DISGUSTING IT TAKES AWAY ALL SPONTANEITY

i think that it is particularly bad given that it is a new complex and access provisions cud have bn thought out more.....even the lucky 3 were stuck up on a platform with 1 other person with them [hardly part of the crowd which half the fun ]

my point is that no other section of society wud b so flatly denied the chance 2 get in - and yes i no none of the the tickets are garanteed -

im sick of just taking it, and think something shud and cud b done

what do you think pls tell me

[Amy]

I agree with you something needs to be done I am so angry about this!!!!!!!!!!! Why was it not given some more thought ! Surley they could have made sure that there was sufficient spaces for people in wheelchairs, i find it hard to believe that they could only manage three spaces.In a word this is disgusting!

[KateRules]

That is way out of order and they should've ensured you were treated equally as the others

[Romantic Old Bird]

It is indeed out of order. There were in fact only 800 places overall and I do admit space and security was extremely tight. I can't recall seeing any wheelchairs either queueing or inside.

Everyone was kept in very small areas and movement was strictlycontained within these areas. The whole setup was designed for TV camera accessibility rather than on site spectators I do agree.

The studios are largely made up of rather old buildings, with the 'house' parked incongrously in the middle, like a giant B&Q. After seeing Big Brother, Small World I had envisaged it all very differently. In fact they have squeezed the house in the middle of an existing lot, in the middle of a town, right next to Tesco's!

Back to accessibility though wheelyjo! I think you should email the makers of BB, and that we should do the same to support you.

[Boris]

My best friend would soon be 'on your case' .She too is wheelchair bound and gets very angry at lack of access etc.Only trouble she is not a BB fan and will not have seen this.

SORRY on behalf of those who SHOULD be saying it.

[peachy]

I'm totally with you, WheelyJo. I think we should all support you in this. I'm so sorry that you had your chance of being part of finale night ruined before it had even started. Perhaps Lee would be able to advise how we could go about getting our views across to the BB producers?

[Mairi]

I'm SO sorry, Wheelyjo.

I can't believe that the planners could be so selfish as to only allow for 3 wheelchairs. I do hope you get an apology and a full explanation from the organisers. They may even offer you a free ticket for next year's final so I'd definitely try ROB's suggestion and COMPLAIN.

[Janette]

I am absolutely appalled that in this day and age, people are discriminated against simply because they use a wheelchair!

To allow 3 places in an audience of 800 is disgraceful!

We need to do something about this, we're a fan based forum and one of our forum members has been treated VERY badly!

If anyone knows of a relevent E-mail address we can write to, then I'd be very grateful, and would certainly complain about this awful state of affairs!

Sorry WheelyJo, not all of us are discriminatory.

[wheelyjo]

thax 4 all ur support it means such a lot.. .......im thinking of emailing the sun 2 c if they take it up.........not my fa rag at all but they do seem 2 b hot on all thngs bb ...........and it wud get my point across 2 a large no off ppl.............wot d you think???

[peachy]

Go for it Jo. What have you got to lose??

Wheelyjo, it may be too late for the BB3 final night, but I wonder if anyone here knows anyone who could possibly fix it for you to meet a housemate. In some ways that would not be as good as being in the crowd last Friday, but in other ways you could actually talk to them!

Anyone know anyone?

[Sticks]

Have you considered taking an action against Channel 4 / Endemol under the Disability Discrimination Act

I would advise you to visit your local CAB to explore this possibility.