Only viewers of the show's live feed would have known about the moment - but it was quickly shared online
BIG Brother fans have hit out at the ITV show after 'cutting out a scene in which Marcello grabs Lily by the neck'.
In scenes that aired on the compound's live feed on Wednesday night, Lily was seen sticking her fingers up at Marcello as she walked by him.
In response, Marcello grabbed her by the wrist with one hand and put his other briefly around her neck.
Lily quickly pulls her head away from him, and he then throws his arm around her in a half-hug before she shrugs him off and walks away.
Insiders say Marcello was later given a talking to by Big Brother bosses.
A source told us: "The moment was spotted by fans during the live stream but didn't make the next day's 60-minute episode.
"However, Marcello was reminded of Big Brother's expectation for appropriate behaviour and language while in the house."
Fans who viewed the moment quickly shared it online, with it picking up steam after the scenes failed to air as part of Thursday night's episode.
As a result, fans threatened to complain to Ofcom about the situation and demanded Marcello be removed from the house.
Venting their feelings on X (formerly Twitter), one wrote: "if Marcello doesn’t go you will have a lot more ofcom complaints. This is unacceptable. Regardless if he and Lily were having a bit of fun a man SHOULD NOT put his hand around a woman’s neck!! You need to answer for this!"
"I can't believe they didn't show Marcello grabbing Lily's neck!! WTF?! Now only those of us who watched the live stream and who are on BB Twitter will know about it. Yet another massively disappointing thing from ITV," wrote another.
"Marcello is dangerous," wrote a third. "Big Brother didn’t want to show us, but Marcello put his hand to Lily’s neck last night and the only thing that stopped him was the cameras."
A fourth wrote: "Time to see how they handle what Marcello did to Lily on the live stream last night, if they ignore it or we see AJ defend him then it's an utter joke because there was no way Marcello putting his hand on Lily's neck was a joke and she looked uncomfortable."
"This video shows exactly the kind of pig Marcello is! No excuse for grabbing a woman’s neck, "fun" or not. Disgusting behavior that shouldn’t be tolerated," said a fifth.
Marcello has repeatedly come under fire by viewers for his behaviour in the house, with him being accused of 'misogynistic' remarks towards female housemates.
During one moment, Marcello was seen telling Sarah she "smelled like period" and asked her if she was menstruating when she was in a bad mood.
He was also asked by Ali to stop making sexually graphic remarks with the members of the house when they didn't ask for it.
The youth worker had previously falsely claimed he and Ali had kissed – prompting a wave of Ofcom complaints.
A Big Brother spokesman said of Marcello's behaviour when approached for comment: "Housemates receive Respect and Inclusion training and an extensive briefing from the Big Brother Senior team to prepare them for living in the House and to set out Big Brother’s expectation for appropriate behaviour and language.
"Housemates are monitored 24 hours a day and instances of inappropriate behaviour are responded to appropriately when required."
Big Brother continues weekdays at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.
