Celebrity Big Brother dropped a major eviction shake-up on Friday’s episode as Mickey Rourke luckily avoided being booted out of the house.

The American actor, 72, found himself nearly evicted as he battled it all out against Coronation Street’s Jack P. Shepherd and Michael Fabricant on the first live vote-off of the series.

Ultimately it was the former Tory MP Michael, 74, who got the chop, making him the first housemate to be evicted after receiving the most nominations from his fellow contestants. 

After the result was announced, he said his goodbyes – teddy bear in hand – before exiting to a mix of boos and cheers, where he was greeted by hosts AJ Odudu, 37, and Will Best, 40. 

But in a huge shake-up to the show’s usual post-eviction format, Michael’s exit interview was included in the main show, instead of the spin-off Late & Live as had been the case when the format was revived by the channel.

The interview was also conducted on a stage next to the famous house, instead of in the Late & Live studio. 

Celebrity Big Brother dropped a major eviction shake-up on Friday’s episode as Mickey Rourke, 72 (pictured) luckily avoided being booted out of the house

The American actor found himself nearly evicted as he battled it all out against Coronation Street’s Jack P. Shepherd and Michael Fabricant (pictured middle) on the first live eviction

Eagle-eyed fans also noticed Hollywood star Mickey made a sly attempt to leave the house behind Michael. 

However those watching slammed the result, branding Mickey a ‘homophobe’ after he left lesbian dancer JoJo, 21, in tears after he insinuated he would be able to ‘make her straight’ during their time in the house and branded her a ‘f*g’.

The latest eviction comes after the celeb’s first week in the house was filled with drama, tears and tension.

Meanwhile, Mickey sparked further backlash earlier in the episode after a blunt comment left EastEnders star Patsy Palmer, 52, in tears. 

The housemates were gathered around the kitchen table enjoying lunch prepared by the actress, 52, when the actor criticised her cooking.

He swiped: ‘What do you know, you can’t cook.’

While she initially laughed it off, Patsy soon headed to the diary room to let off some steam to Big Brother.

‘Sorry,’ she said before breaking down into tears. ‘I tried to talk that one out but it didn’t really work. I feel like I let myself down there and I don’t want my reactions to be like that.

Ultimately it was down to the former Tory MP, 74, to take the chop, making him the first housemate to be evicted after receiving the most nominations from his fellow contestants 

But eagled-eye fans noticed Hollywood star Mickey also made a sly attempt to leave the house behind Michael

On Wednesday Mickey, 72, left lesbian dancer JoJo, 21, in tears after he insinuated he would be able to ‘make her straight’ during their time in the house and branded her a ‘f*g’ 

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‘I always want my kids to always stand up for themselves. Maybe it was just a joke – maybe I need to look at it like that.’

‘I need to try to rise above it. It doesn’t mean I have to like him,’ she added.

Fans of the ITV show have now demanded that the actor be removed from the house following his homophobic outburst to JoJo Siwa, body-shaming of actress Donna Preston, and insulting EastEnders icon Patsy’s cooking in a misogynistic tirade.

Following Mickey’s outburst Chesney Hawkes, 53, was quick to praise JoJo for her maturity in handling the situation as he remarked how she reminded him of his own daughter, Jesse, who also identifies as part of the LGBTQ community.

 Speaking to Big Brother in the Diary Room, the One And Only hitmaker explained: ‘This incident with Mickey and JoJo kind of knocked me a little bit. 

‘It’s funny because JoJo is the same age as my daughter. My daughter is also part of the LGBTQ community so it just reminded me of her and I think she really handled it well. 

‘So I was just sort of proud of her in a fatherly way.’ 

Celebrity Big Brother continues on Sunday at 10pm on ITV1 and ITVX. 

CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER 2025: MEET THE LINEUP!

MICKEY ROURKE 

AGE: 72

FAMOUS FOR: The actor and former pro boxer is one of the show’s biggest ever signings and after public feuds with Robert De Niro, two marriages and a string of high profile relationships, he will be bringing plenty of drama.

DALEY THOMPSON

AGE: 66

FAMOUS FOR: The double Olympic gold-medallist is considered one of Britain’s greatest athletes. He broke the decathlon world record four times.

PATSY PALMER

AGE: 52

FAMOUS FOR: It’s an open secret that Patsy is leaving EastEnders, with the actress enjoying a wild leaving party this month. The Bianca Jackson star posted a snap of her character on Instagram with the caption: ‘Bye bye B, always grateful to see her again.’

DONNA PRESTON

AGE: 38

FAMOUS FOR: While Donna has featured in several TV shows and movies, the comedy star is known for hosting Apocalypse and for the role of a circus Compere in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald. She plays Den in Coronation Street, has featured in Pants On Fire in 2019 and even wrote and co-produced BBC Three’s Comedy Threesomes.

CHESNEY HAWKES

AGE: 53

FAMOUS FOR: The singer topped the charts for five weeks in 1991 with his hit The One And Only, before making a string of acting and TV appearances. His arrival on CBB has been described by a TV source as ‘perfect timing’, as he’s just released a comeback album

ANGELLICA BELL

AGE: 49

FAMOUS FOR: The TV presenter is said to have landed a staggering five-figure deal to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. Fans will be keen to see if the CBBC legend spills all on her untimely exit from The Martin Lewis Show – which left fans baffled back in 2023. Angellica currently co-presents Hits Radio while Fleur East is on maternity leave.

 

DANNY BEARD 

AGE: 32

FAMOUS FOR: The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner – whose real name is Daniel Curtis – has signed up as a late entry. Danny previously made headlines after swearing on Big Brother’s Late & Live last March whilst doing an impression of housemate Louis Walsh. The incident saw the guest say the word ‘c***’ before immediately apologising after being informed they weren’t allowed to say that on the show.

CHRIS HUGHES

 AGE: 32

FAMOUS FOR: After shooting to fame on Love Island in 2017, Chris went on to become a sports presenter and regularly hosts the horse racing coverage on ITV.

JOJO SIWA

AGE: 21

FAMOUS FOR: The American singer, who sH๏τ to stardom on reality show Dance Moms, is expected to draw a big American audience. The hitmaker has made a name for herself in the U.S. pop charts and is known for her outlandish looks and being a vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community.

 

TRISHA GODDARD

AGE: 67

FAMOUS FOR: The talk show host regularly presented on ITV from 1998 to 2004 and then shifted to Channel 5 from 2004 to 2010. Trisha has been suffering horrible side effects of her chemotherapy – but has bravely battled on.

JACK P. SHEPHERD

AGE: 37

FAMOUS FOR: The actor has played David Platt in Corrie since 2000 and is following in his pal Colson Smith’s footsteps by taking part in the popular reality show. He has won a string of awards for the role including Best Actor at the British Soap Awards.

ELLA RAE WISE 

AGE: 24

FAMOUS FOR: Producers have been keen to land the TV personality, who previously dated Pete Wicks and has had an on-off romance with Dan Edgar. Bosses are hoping the TOWIE star might reveal all about some of her other famous exes.

MICHAEL FABRICANT 

AGE: 74

FAMOUS FOR: The former Conservative politician is understood to have signed a lucrative six-figure deal to take part after political stars were banned from the broadcaster’s other reality show, I’m A Celeb. He served as MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire from 1992 until his defeat in 2024 as well as vice-chairman of the party under David Cameron. But he is perhaps best known for his blond mop for which he has been widely ridiculed but previously denied is a wig.