Should Gary Goldsmith be Celebrity Big Brother's first eviction?
Gary Goldsmith has been a controversial signing for Celebrity Big Brother
Gary Goldsmith is the first star named to face the Celebrity Big Brother public vote on Friday.
As Celebrity Big Brother returned to our screens for the first time in six years, TV bosses decided to shake up the rules. Celebrity lodger Sharon Osbourne had the tough decision to choose three housemates to put at risk of the live eviction and then to finally decide on one person to definitely face the public vote.
With the help of long-time friend Louis Walsh, she put David Potts and Zeze Millz as well as Goldsmith at risk. After a round of three interviews, Osbourne decided Kate Middleton's uncle should face another housemate in the live eviction this week.
Arguably Goldsmith is one of the most controversial Celebrity Big Brother signings because of his royal connections. As Carole Middleton's brother, he is the uncle of Kate Middleton and he hasn't been shy about sharing his brutally honest opinions on Prince Harry and Meghan.
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But what do you think? Should Goldsmith be the first person to be evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house this week? Cast your vote in the poll below.
Women's Aid
Celebrity Big Brother has come under fire from charity Women's Aid for including Gary Goldsmith in the 2024 lineup. In 2017, he was fined and given a community order after he was found guilty of assaulting his fourth wife Julie-Ann in a drunken argument.
A spokeswoman for charity said: "The decision to include a man who has been charged, and pleaded guilty to, assaulting his wife, in the Celebrity Big Brother house demonstrates the lack of awareness that the production team has when it comes to survivors of domestic abuse.
"The producers should consider how Gary Goldsmith's appearance will impact women who have survived domestic abuse and how they will feel watching him on TV every night.
"At Women's Aid, we would urge the producers to consider how they approach this, as for many survivors of abuse, the inclusion of men convicted of abuse in entertainment programmes will already be a sign that these crimes are not taken seriously the entertainment industry has to consider the impact on women of who they give a platform to and derive entertainment value from."
In response, a spokesperson for Big Brother said: "All housemates undertake training in language and behaviour before entering the Big Brother house. All behaviour in the house is strictly monitored at all times."
A statement from Goldsmith regarding the charge: "I’m not perfect and I made a mistake, a personal row seven years ago which was publicly exposed that I've worked endlessly for seven years to put right. The offence is long since spent however my regret continues."
Yahoo has reached out to ITV for further comment.
Gary Goldsmith on the royal family
Goldsmith has been the talk of Celebrity Big Brother too due to his royal connections, which landed him a spot on the reality series. Already Goldsmith has been spilling the beans on the royal family just days into his Celebrity Big Brother experience.
Many of the celebrities have been grilling him on everyone from his niece to Meghan and Prince Harry. Asked by Louis Walsh how much he can say, he told him: "I can pretty much say my opinion about everything unless there’s a red laser dot on my chest."
In the Celebrity Big Brother house, Goldsmith has claimed Prince Harry and Meghan should lose their royal titles as well as sharing insights from inside the royal family. He said: "I genuinely feel that they should take the titles away."
Also, Goldsmith said he thought Meghan "rewrote history" as he said he felt Prince Harry was happy with Prince William and Kate. He said: "I have a feeling that Harry was massively loved and when they were a threesome [Prince Harry and William and Princess Catherine] they looked really comfortable together."
He added: "And then suddenly an extra dynamic comes in, puts a stick in the spokes and now there is so much drama that I genuinely don't think was there, and rewrote the history and said how unhappy he was. And I just don't think that's fair." He went on: "You can't throw your family under a bus and write books about them and expect to be invited for Christmas."
Goldsmith has only had glowing words to say about Kate and Prince William, who he hailed as the "saviours of the royal family". He called his niece "simply perfect" but admitted she can be hard to get hold of at times. Goldsmith said: "It’s difficult to get hold of Kate at the best of times, and she’s got children and I love the fact that she’s putting family first."
