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The winner of Big Brother Australia was crowned on Monday December 8, with Coco Beeby walking away with the $135,000 cash prize.
But the eagerly-anticipated finale served up a twist fans weren’t expecting, when an exit interview with the show’s popular runner up, WA primary school teacher Emily Dale, wasn’t shown on TV.
Emily and former childcare worker Coco, from NSW, were the last two housemates to make it to the grand finale – but after TV viewers heard Emily say that winning would be “the cherry on top”, she wasn’t heard from again.
Instead, footage aired on Channel 10 cut to Coco’s win, with the single mum breaking down in tears as she thanked fans for giving her their vote.
“I missed my beautiful babies more than anything else in the entire world, but they were the reason that kept me going,” Coco told host Mel Tracina. “They were there every step of the way.”
But Emily’s TV snub outraged viewers, who took to social media in droves to vent their frustration.
“Very sad that Emily got totally ignored when evicted from the house, everyone else got interviewed on stage,you would have thought she would have got some recognition for coming second,” one viewer shared on a Big Brother fans’ Facebook page.
“Now I’ve just found out she was, but we didn’t see it on TV..”
“Found the picture of Em on stage… didn’t see it on TV,” another vented.
“Was not right poor Emily she deserves the same stage presence as the others got,” another viewer wrote.
Another fan, who said they were “in the audience” during filming of the finale, explained that Emily did get recognition from those in attendance, explaining the segment “wasn’t televised because of time constraints”.
The viewer insisted, “we made her feel welcome and love, but yes she was ripped off.”
And Coco’s win hasn’t gone down well with all fans of the show – with some viewers claiming the single mum was given a “winner’s edit” because of the amount of airtime she was given.
Evicted housemate Vinnie Brigante weighed into the conversation, in an interview with Chattr, explaining Coco “was shown… probably more than I thought, but I think that’s just because she’s a vocal person, and she shares her opinion a lot”.
“I wasn’t shown a lot [near the start] because I’m not really one for drama,” he went on.
“I don’t think Coco is a drama seeker, but she stands up for what she believes in. She’s a proud woman.”
