Golden Ticket draw broke rules, but not a fix

The Big Brother Golden Ticket draw did break industry rules - but there was no fix - a watchdog has announced.

An Advertising Standards Authority investigation has concluded that sponsors of the draw to pick a new housemate failed to provide an independent observer when a winner was picked.

Producer Endemol held the draw in association with Nestle and Channel 4 after hiding 100 golden tickets in KitKat bars. Some viewers and elements of the media suspected the draw had been rigged for model Suzie to win and 11 complained to the watchdog.

"We investigated whether the promotion was conducted under the supervision of an independent observer," the authority said in its ruling. "On this point, the promotion breached the Committee of Advertising Practice Code clause 35.7 (prize promotions)."

It added that promoters must make sure future competitions were held in line with the code, but it rejected allegations that the ball numbers were rigged. An observer had been used to check that all 34 numbered balls were entered, while slowed-down footage showed Susie's number had "undoubtedly" been selected.

The joint sponsors of the draw said Big Brother rules did not allow outsiders to come into contact with housemates so an observer could not have been used. They pointed out that it was monitored by 10 housemates, the production team and then by five million television viewers.