‘Big Brother’ has been applauded by viewers, over a scene in which Cameron Cole came out as gay to his fellow housemates.
Throughout his time on the show, Cameron has hinted at his sexuality, and spoken cryptically about how he identifies to a select few people in the house.
In Monday’s highlights show, the 18-year-old gathered all of his housemates on the sofa, and in one of the show’s most emotional ever moments, let them know that he is gay.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” he began. “It’s very awkward and uncomfortable. I don’t know quite how I’m going to say it.
“Obviously I’ve come in here, I’ve tried to be as open and honest as possible, but obviously there’s one part [of myself] that I’ve been struggling with.”
Cameron went on to say he “naively” thought he could make it through his time in the house “without talking about it”, adding: “After day three, we had a coded conversation that wasn’t very coded. And probably if that was aired… the nation will already know and my family and stuff like that.”
Disclosing that he’d only come out to his mother “a couple of days” before entering the house, Cameron became visibly emotional, telling the group: “I can’t actually say the word, I don’t know why, I just can’t bring myself to that.”
When his close friend and confidant Lewis offered to simply “ask him”, he agreed, and when asked whether he was gay, Cameron said simply: “Yes.”
The moment was met with tears from fellow LGBT+ housemates Brooke and Cian, while the rest of the group got up to offer Cameron their support, as did ‘Big Brother’ fans on Twitter:
‘Big Brother’ narrator Marcus Bentley also shared the clip on Twitter, calling it the “greatest [moment] of the Channel 5 era”:
The current series of ‘Big Brother’ is the 19th and, presumably, last ever series on UK television, while past years have won praise for their representation of LGBT+ contestants, including past winners Brian Dowling, Nadia Almada and Luke Anderson.
This year’s run has pulled in distinctly lower ratings than the show’s heyday, but has won praise from loyal fans who have hailed it as a return to form in its last year.
‘Big Brother’ airs every night at 10pm on Channel 5.