The mother of Big Brother UK star Zelah has praised her son after his fellow housemate misgendered him.
On Tuesday’s episode (7 October), 56-year-old Caroline — who previously revealed she’s a friend of Reform UK’s Nigel Farage — misgendered Zelah, a trans man.
The first uncomfortable interaction occurred during a game of spin-the-bottle, when Caroline asked Zelah: “If you had a c**k, what would you do with it?”
The tension continued to escalate when Caroline turned to Nancy: “If you could shag anyone in this house on a desert island, there’s only one person left, and you’re able to make babies to start a new civilisation, who would you shag?”
Nancy, who has previously shared her pansexuality with her housemates, fired back: “So it has to be a guy?” After being reminded of Nancy’s sexuality, Caroline replied: “You like pans?”
Nancy revealed that her answer to Caroline’s question would be Zelah, prompting the Farage ally to misgender him: “She’s a girl.”
Although the other housemates turned away in horror and tried to stop the game, Caroline continued to spew transphobic rhetoric by asking: “But you haven’t got a willy, have you? Is that really bad?”
Zelah understandably removed himself from the situation and visited the Diary Room, telling Big Brother: “I just got called a girl. It’s been a while […] I genuinely didn’t think it would affect me that much.”
The personal trainer from South London went on to explain that transphobic interactions with people such as Caroline is what he didn’t “want to tell anyone” about his gender identity “from the get-go”, because “once people know, their true perceptions of you come out”.
“I think I have quite thick skin. I’m so down to have open conversations about things, I’m so down for people asking questions. It’s really important because, I think with silence comes divisiveness,” he continued.
“But sometimes my openness can come at the expense of my own feelings. That really hit… I can’t remember the last time I was that, ‘Oof,’ like words hurt me like that. Bit wounded, right now, I guess.”
Following the episode’s release, thousands of fans and queer stars showered Zelah with support across various social media platforms.
In addition to viewers and celebs, the 25-year-old personal trainer received love from his mother, Maya Glasson, who gushed about him during a recent interview with Your Local Guardian.
“I’m very proud of him. To us, he’s always been a winner because of the way he conducts himself. I’m just very proud that other people can see that,” she said.
“Because of opening dialogues like this and conducting himself so graciously, for us, he’s already won.”
In episode 10 of Big Brother UK (8 October), Zelah and Caroline sat down for a private chat to clear the air.
“All I wanted to do was make trouble, not for you but for Nancy and Cameron. And the whole thing was just so that she’d have to say ‘him’.
In response, Zelah said: “Yeah, fair enough. I think Feyisola and the others kind of noticed the direction it was going in because of the whole reproducing thing, and I think they were trying to help you in that and guide it away.
“What really hit me about what you said was first the sectioning me away from the guys with the whole reproductive thing, that was tough. And then it was like, ‘She’s a girl.’ It really hurt.”
Caroline went on to say that she had “no excuse” for her actions, adding, “Why did it come out of my mouth? I know what I said was wrong. Terribly wrong. But hurting you is what’s really hurting me.”
The pair’s conversation ended on a positive note, with Zelah telling Caroline: “I don’t want you to walk away from this thinking you’re not allowed to get things wrong. Because you are. You’re allowed to get things wrong.
“In situations like that, obviously, yeah, you might need to take a step back because obviously people’s feelings exist. But I think, minus last night, you’ve been doing a lot of learning in here, so have I. I’ve done a shit ton of learning in here. I do understand.”
You can watch Big Brother UK every evening on ITV at 9 pm.
Caroline and Zelah had a chat this morning #BBUK
— sᴜᴘᴇʀ ᴛᴠ (@superTV247) October 7, 2025