BigShinyThing

If there’s one thing guaranteed to make the great British public take to the streets it’s messing with their reality TV. Earlier this week, in an attempt to boost ratings and secure media-friendly finalists, Channel 4 returned 4 housemates to the Big Brother house-next-door with one having the chance to go back in to the main house and be eligible to win the show. Viewers have reacted to the news that their phone votes were wasted with No Small Ire.

There have been to date been more than 2,500 complaints to the UK broadcast regulator from viewers who were under the impression that their votes resulted in permanent eviction from the Big Brother house. Channel 4′s claim that all of the proceeds of the most recent vote have gone to charity has done little to quell the furore.

Channel 4 shouldn’t really be surprised. Reality TV is the TV that viewers control and participatory culture is the genie that stubbornly refuses to get back in its bottle. The ‘former audience’ (as Dan Gillmour of We the Media rather cleverly described us all back in 2002) has spoken.