Big Brother fans blast show's lack of disability access as quadruple amputee housemate has to remove her prosthetic legs to enter the house

ITV show Big Brother has been criticised by fans for apparently failing to provide a quadruple amputee housemate with suitable disability access to the house.Big Brother returned to screens on Sunday night with a live launch episode for its twenty-third series, its fourth on ITV.Among the 16 housemates entering the west London house was Charlotte, an 18-year-old student from Oxford, who explained in her introductory VT that she lost her hands and feet to meningitis at the age of three.Charlotte explained that she regularly wears prosthetic legs, adding that she often forgets why some people 'stare at me, I'll be like, "Oh my God, I must be looking quite nice today!" and then I remember it's actually because I've got no limbs'.Charlotte's entrance was due to follow the format of the other housemates. She was driven up to the outdoor stage where she was expected to climb a short flight of steps where she would be greeted by hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best.But as she emerged from the car, her high heel came off. Presenter Will rushed over to try and put the shoe back on before the camera cut away. ITV show Big Brother has been criticised by fans for apprently failing to provide quadruple amputee housemate Charlotte with suitable disability access to the house As she emerged from the car, the 18-year-old's high heel shoe came off, with host Will Best rushing over to try and put it back on As AJ rushed over to help too, Charlotte could be heard asking Will 'can you take them off?' before clarifying 'no, no my legs'.With Will's help Charlotte then made her way up the stairs to the stage without her prosthetic legs, telling the show's hosts: 'My legs! My shoe came off. I'm so sorry, I had to take my legs off.'AJ reassured the teenager that there was 'nothing to apologise for', as the crowd cheered.Charlotte then entered the house, shouting out 'I’m in the Big Brother House with no legs!' before greeting her housemates and telling them 'it's a long story, my heel broke and I had to take my legs off'.Viewers criticised the show, pointing out the apparent lack of adapted access for Charlotte. 'Big Brother being quick to cast disabled people but failing to make the house entrance accessible is just an absolute mockery,' wrote one on X. 'No are you actually joking?! THEY DIDNT PLAN AN ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE FOR CHARLOTTE????' agreed another. In a statement sent to the Daily Mail, a Big Brother spokesperson said: 'Prior to Charlotte's entrance to the House, we worked closely with her and a specialist access co-ordinator to understand her access requirements and agree, with her, the arrangements for her entrance and time in the House.' As AJ rushed over to help too, Charlotte could be heard asking Will 'can you take them off?' before clarifying 'no, no my legs. Charlotte then made her way up the stairs to the stage without her prosthetic legs, telling AJ and Will: 'My legs! My shoe came off. I'm so sorry, I had to take my legs off' Charlotte, an 18-year-old student from Oxford, explained in her introductory VT that she lost her hands and feet to meningitis at the age three 'A plan was put in place based on those discussions and agreed with Charlotte; however, she had an unforeseen issue with her shoe.'The Daily Mail understands that ITV offered Charlotte the use of a ramp, but she said she would prefer to use the stairs. Will also rehearsed the entrance with Charlotte. The house has had a number of changes made to it to ensure it fully meets Charlotte's accessibility requirements and ITV consulted Charlotte and a specialist access co-ordinator prior to the launch to ascertain her needs. It's thought Charlotte spoke with Big Brother after the live launch who confirmed she was OK. Charlotte is currently favourite to win the show and the £100,000 prize fund according to the latest odds from Coral, who place her at 5-1.Fans watching on X declared: 'Okay Charlotte is already an icon,' adding 'CHARLOTTE to win!' Viewers criticised the show, pointing out the apparent lack of adapted access for CharlotteBefore entering the House, Charlotte revealed she would buy herself a new pair of prosthetic legs if she won the £100,000, explaining: 'my prosthetic legs are about £25,000 per leg, so probably put half in savings and half on that.'She added what she hopes viewers will take away from her time on the show, pointing out: 'Obviously, as a quadruple amputee, people are surprised at anything I do, even normal things like cooking, doing my makeup, getting dressed, stuff like that.''And obviously they're going to be watching me 24 hours a day so they're going to see me do all those things.''They're probably going to be surprised at the most normal things for me, those are going to be the most shocking for everybody watching.'Big Brother airs nightly at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.