Gay BBC reporter at centre of Tyson Fury row enters Big Brother house
By Will Stroude
The gay ex-BBC journalist who found himself at the centre of a row over homophobic comments made by boxer Tyson Fury last year has entered the Big Brother house tonight (June 7).
Andy West was suspended from his post as a reporter on BBC Northern Ireland’s Newsline December 2015, after publicly criticising the broadcaster’s nomination of Fury for its annual Sports Personality of the Year Award.
The world champion boxer had previously compared homosexuality to paedophilia, and West took to his personal Facebook to say that nomination made him “ashamed to work for the BBC”.
West quickly found himself suspended from the corporation, before later confirming that he had left the BBC permanently.
Tonight, Andy became the third housemate to enter the Big Brother house, as the 17th series of the infamous reality series got underway on Channel 5,
In his introductory VT, Andy said: “I’m not proud to say I’m a gay man, I’m just a gay man. I don’t know why I want to go in the Big Brother house as I think it’s going to be really, really tough!”
As he entered the house, he explained to host Emma Willis that after leaving his job in in “weird circumstances”, he wanted to show that journalists “do have personalities” and are “decent types.”
What Andy’s presence might reveal about the controversy and his time at the Beeb, only time will tell…