BB: Letter from Emma’s Brother

And so today a letter from Emma’s brother, Matt, responding to the public and media furore surrounding the death of her father.

Matt confirms the family’s wishes and prior arrangements that Emma not be told of his passing. As I wrote two days ago, we were only hearing one side of the story and that the BB production crew has been caught in an unfortunate situation of respecting family wishes whilst copping media barbs. It was a situation they simply had to ride out.

Many times BB seems to attract warranted criticism but this does not sound like one of them, at least given the information we have so far. It is a family tragedy which has pushed the production into the limelight. Amid growing criticism, it is not surprising that BB has found an olive branch via this candid family letter.

Big Brother is aware of and understands many of the concerns the public has expressed upon learning the sad news of Housemate Emma’s father’s death. Emma’s family is appreciative of the care and support her fans have extended. However, this week’s media speculation is mostly uninformed, inaccurate and the cause of much distress to Emma’s family. Emma’s brother Matt has written asking that we help clarify the situation. His letter appears here…

“Emma was aware of the possibility that our dads impending death may occur whilst she was in the Big Brother production. Our dad had been ill for a considerable amount of time and wasn’t taken from us suddenly; the family did have time to prepare themselves. We reassured Emma that, in the event that this did happen, grieving our dad’s death when she was released from Big Brother would be no less meaningful or significant than when he actually passed away.

I personally spent the last week of dad’s life by his side and one thing he was absolutely certain about was the fact that he didn’t want his death to impose either negatively or positively on Emma’s Big Brother experience.

He made us promise him that no-one would notify Emma of his death. He was adamant and clear in expressing this request. He also requested that his death remain private from the Big Brother ‘hype’ but unfortunately due to the indecency of the person who leaked the information to the media we have been unable to honor this wish.

Emma and I have maintained a close friendship for many years. We have previously and recently in ‘lock down’, discussed the possibility of dad’s death thoroughly. I can confirm with absolute confidence that Emma has prepared herself and her views have been considered in the family’s decision-making process.

People may cast their own views and opinions but these people are not privy to Emma and dad’s relationship. We as a family wouldn’t want to interfere with anyone else’s family affairs especially in their time of sadness so we’re stunned by the reaction of so many that have based their opinions on a total lack of knowledge of our family’s internal workings. As Emma’s family we know her very well and are confident we have made the right decision.

Our dad was extremely proud of Emma’s achievements so far on Big Brother. He would watch her each night proudly from his hospital bed heckling rivals and laughing at Emma’s wicked attitude and antics. Without you guys and this Big Brother experience he wouldn’t otherwise have had this opportunity and insight into his daughter’s life, thank you.

Rest assured that the family has made arrangements to postpone dad’s final service until Emma departs the house to ensure Emma is still given the opportunity to participate. As you are aware the funeral has already taken place however the family will reconvene with Emma to lay dads ashes to rest.

On behalf of Emma’s family including Tim [her partner], we sincerely thank the Big Brother production team for supporting and respecting our family’s decision. Our family is not familiar with all this media attention and we are extremely grateful and appreciative of Big Brother’s discretion and tact in dealing with this issue.

Regards
Matt”

Source: Big Brother