More than 11,000 Celebrity Big Brother viewers have complained to Ofcom about Thursday night’s episode.
Former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett, 35, was left in tears after accusing fellow housemate Ryan Thomas, 34, of ‘punching’ her in the kitchen.
The incident resulted in Ryan, who apologised and said there was no malice intended, being given a formal warning.
Ofcom has now registered 11,215 complaints in relation to the incident.
Read more: CBB’s Ryan Thomas given formal warning over ‘punching’ Roxanne Pallett
An Ofcom spokesperson said the complaints will be assessed before Ofcom decides whether or not to investigate.
In tears in the diary room last night, Roxanne said she was in shock over the incident, telling Big Brother: “I need to speak to a member of production about something that’s made me feel really uncomfortable and I don’t want to go any further and talk on camera about something like this.”
She added: “I’m just a little bit in shock. I went from being upset to being angry, because a boy has punched me repeatedly unprovoked, he actually punched me like a boxer would punch a bag.
“And we weren’t play fighting, there was no banter, it wasn’t a joke, there was no exchange.”
Big Brother told Roxanne the footage was being reviewed and the matter was being “taken very seriously”.
Roxanne said: “I can’t believe you’re letting someone stay who did that. It’s not okay.”
The actress ended up sleeping in a separate bedroom as she “didn’t feel comfortable” sleeping in the same room as Ryan.
When Ryan was called into the diary room over the incident, he told Big Brother: “I think we both know, and Roxanne, that there was no malice or anger in anything I did,” before apologising.
The episode caused outraged on social media with some of Ryan’s soap co-stars criticising Roxanne’s reaction, including Brooke Vincent, Kym Marsh, Samia Longchambon and Simon Gregson.
Meanwhile, Ryan’s girlfriend Lucy Mecklenburgh has called for Roxanne to be evicted next, while brothers Adam and Scott have both voiced their outrage at the situation.
After fans argued that Roxanne’s reaction to the incident “made a mockery of domestic violence”, her rep issued a statement.
A spokesperson for Roxanne told ED!: “Roxanne has no contact with the outside world to make her own statement, however we do know that Roxanne has worked closely with various domestic violence charities due to being a victim of domestic violence herself.
“She would be very upset to find out she may have caused offence to others who have been through the same.”
The statement concluded: “We can’t make any more comment at present until such time as Roxanne is out of the Big Brother house and is able to address this situation herself.”
Meanwhile, a message sent from Ryan’s official Instagram after the episode aired read: “From the moment he walked in he’s just kept smiling and bringing the positive energy as much as possible! From his over the top reactions to his crazy laugh he’s been nothing but good fun!
Read more: Ryan Thomas’ brothers outraged over CBB warning
“What happened tonight was ridiculously unfair and it’s actually scary to see how another individual can try and actively tarnish someone’s character! But thankfully the footage is there for everyone to see. Don’t let them dampen your light brother! Keep shining.”
Celebrity Big Brother continues tonight on Channel 5.
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