Telly chiefs told rape cops: Andrew Tate ‘good for TV’
C4 docu’s shock Big Brother claims
TV bosses kept Andrew Tate on Big Brother despite knowing he was being investigated for alleged rape, a documentary claims.
Producers for the Channel 5 reality hit were reportedly informed of the criminal probe but told police the controversial influencer was “good for TV”.
It was only when a leaked video emerged showing former kickboxer Tate hitting a half-naked woman with a belt in an apparent sex game that he was finally kicked off the 2016 series.
The claims are revealed in Channel 4 documentary I am Andrew Tate, which airs at 9pm tonight.
Misogynist Tate, 37, is notorious for his sexist comments about women and has been banned from several social media platforms.
He is currently in Romania, charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang, and has denied any wrongdoing. Tate has also denied separate allegations of rape and assault from four women in the UK between 2013 and 2015, which are pending civil action. In the C4 film, one of the alleged victims says Tate appeared on series 17 of Big Brother despite Hertfordshire Police opening a probe in July 2015. The case was closed in late 2019 and Tate faced no criminal charges, according to the force. The woman, whose identity is protected, said: “The police said they were trying to get him out but were having some pushback from Big Brother because he was good TV. It seemed like nobody cared.”
French film company Banijay, which produced Big Brother, admitted it took five days to decide to remove Tate after being told he was under investigation.
A spokesman added: “Extensive background checks are made on all potential housemates, including criminal record checks and self-declaration of any criminal matters. Given that no charges had been made against Andrew Tate at the time, the criminal record checks available to us were clear.”
Channel 5 deferred to Banijay when approached for comment. Tate’s media representative was also contacted.