'Big Brother Canada' looking at cheating claims, Emmett's position in jeopardy

TORONTO - "Big Brother Canada" is investigating allegations that one of its most popular players cheated to gain key powers on the reality TV show.

Dairy farmer Emmett Blois was crowned "head of household" following a goofy challenge that put houseguests in bulky bee costumes and sent them racing around a yard to collect plastic balls of "pollen" from fake flowers.

At stake was the right to nominate rivals for eviction from the house, and a week-long stay in a private suite.

Competitors were told to carry the balls in pouches attached to their knees but some viewers complained online that Blois appeared to hold one or more in his hand.

Show host Arisa Cox says the footage is being reviewed to see "if appropriate steps need to be taken."

She says a verdict would likely come down Friday but that viewers won't be told until Sunday's episode on Slice.

"We take this stuff really, really seriously because the game only works if you do take everything seriously," Cox said Friday of the controversy.

"It's fun, it's entertainment but for the people in the house it's their reality and we have to respect that. So we are reviewing all of the evidence and if appropriate steps need to be taken they will be taken."

Cox said no houseguests have complained but that "Twitter exploded" when it appeared the 24-year-old Blois may have carried one or more balls.

"It did look like Emmett had been holding a ball or two," she said of the beefy baby-faced Nova Scotian, who forged a powerful alliance early in the game with other key players.

If the rules were broken "definitely some steps would be taken, rather dramatic steps potentially."

"We don't want to have anything hanging over anyone's head so if Emmett needs to pay the price he'll have to pay the price," she said.

"I'm not suggesting he'll be kicked out of the house or anything.... Emmett is a wonderful, wonderful houseguest in that people love him or they despise him. Which is fabulous for the show, of course. But there will be moves."

The controversy emerged Thursday, immediately after Aneal Ramkissoon became the third houseguest to be evicted from the inaugural edition of "Big Brother Canada."

The 21-year-old university student was sent packing in a surprise twist that allowed viewers to save rival competitor Suzette Amaya from the chopping block.

On Friday morning, Ramkissoon — who was voted out 8-2 — said he was still shocked but looking forward to seeing his family in Richmond Hill, Ont.

"I knew a twist was coming and I figured it was a double eviction," Ramkissoon said of his whirlwind exit. "My gut was telling me something."

As in other versions of the global reality smash, contestants must live together in a camera-rigged house completely cut off from the outside world. They must compete in mental, physical and social challenges to avoid elimination. The winner gets $100,000, a $25,000 gift card to The Brick and a Chevrolet Trax.

Ramkissoon suspects he was voted out because he didn't forge a strong alliance with other players, leaving houseguests unclear about his allegiance.

"Had I had time to campaign or compete for a veto it would have been a different story," he says, noting that the twist left him little chance to save himself. "There's nothing I regret, (there's) nothing I could have done."

A longtime "Big Brother" fan, Ramkissoon took a semester off from his Communications program at Florida Atlantic University to be on the show. He said he hoped to pitch an undergraduate thesis based on his observations.

"Big Brother Canada" airs Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on Slice. "Big Brother Canada After Dark" airs on Slice seven days a week from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. ET/ 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. PT. A 24-hour live feed is available at bigbrothercanada.ca.