With a chaotic two weeks of Celebrity Big Brother coming to an end, all eyes are on tonight’s final. But as the tension builds around who will receive the crown, there is one eviction that has got everyone talking. On Thursday night’s episode, Heartstopper star Bradley Riches was dumped from the house in a surprise backdoor eviction in a moment that has sparked backlash from fans.
This means the remaining housemates in with a shot of a victory are former This Morning presenter Fern Britton, who is the only woman in the final, former X Factor judge Louis Walsh, Strictly Come Dancing star Nikita Kuzmin, reality star David Potts and Coronation Street star Colson Smith.
So, what happened, and why are viewers up in arms about Bradley’s eviction? In the episode, the housemates were all told they would receive visits from their friends and family in the garden, while the other celebrities would watch on a screen from the sofas. Fern was greeted by her daughter Winnie while David’s friend Troy was on hand to offer some words of support. Meanwhile, Louis was greeted by Sinitta and Nikita by his girlfriend, Lauren Jaine.
In a shocking twist, when Bradley went outside expecting a friend of relative to greet him, he was instead met with host AJ Odudu, who explained that he didn't have any family or friends coming, and in fact he was being evicted instead, while his co-stars watched on. As the news sunk in, there was a heart-breaking moment when Bradley asked AJ ‘Can I have a hug?’
This led fans to call the eviction 'cruel' and 'brutal', noting that in light of Bradley's autism diagnosis (a condition that can make processing everyday information difficult) it was particularly mean-spirited to evict him in such a way. Bradley was diagnosed when he was nine, and revealed in the CBB house that he’s written a book about a boy who is diagnosed with autism growing up, based on his own experiences.
Bradley has already addressed the backlash at a round table interview, saying he wasn't upset himself at the way he was evicted. Reflecting on his time on the show, Bradley shared 'Being an autistic person, it obviously came with a lot of barriers and struggles, but I signed up for that. I knew I was going to be pushed to my limits so I was always expecting the unexpected.'
He continued 'When I saw AJ, I knew straight away what was happening, so I was quite at ease already. I think because I lasted so long as well and had such a positive experience and made so many new friends, I didn't see it as a negative and when I saw her I just felt fulfilled and grateful to have got that far.'
However, some viewers believe this CBB eviction went a step too far. One user wrote on X, ‘That was such a brutal eviction, I feel so bad for Bradley omg. As a fellow neurodivergent person I have NO idea how he didn’t burst out crying and shaking I know I would have.’ Another user agreed, writing ‘#CelebrityBigBrother as an autistic person what you did to Bradley was extremely cruel, we find sudden changes difficult and being put on the spot like that can really throw us , you should have waited until a regular live eviction.’
Bradley has been open about his autism diagnosis during his time in the house. In one conversation, musical theatre star Marisha Wallace asked, ‘Isn’t this a lot?’ to which Bradley replied, ‘Oh my god, yes,’ ‘It’s a lot but I've got my coping mechanisms, that's the main reason I wanted to come here, to push myself.'
Other users praised the way Bradley carried himself throughout his CBB journey and helped to raise awareness of neurodiversity. One X user wrote ‘As an autistic person, I am proud of Bradley. The fact he even went into the Big Brother is amazing. Allistic people won't understand how difficult this must have been. Having to socialize constantly, the sensory issues & having to self regulate in that environment #CBBUK.’
And of course, Bradley is no stranger to the screen. Alongside Heartstopper, he has featured in Goodnight Mister Tom, A Christmas Story: The Musical and Footloose. In the past, he has spoken about how acting is an ‘escapism’ for him, and also a way to advocate for the neurodivergent community.
‘I feel free and understood when playing characters when, most of the time, I felt misunderstood as Bradley,’ he told Metro. ‘I am so happy that I can show autistic people that they aren't alone and that they aren't invisible – they are beautiful and magical.'