The Big Brother housemates were last night woken up and dragged out of the compound for fears over their safety.

At 2am, a tannoy alerted the contestants to get up and depart the house prompting the sleepy bunch to evacuate due to the security alert. The live streaming was cut with a message apologising for the lack of action on screen.

The housemates were finally allowed back into their home at 4am and their antics were once again broadcast on TV.

Last night, a show spokeswoman explained: “Due to a security incident, it was necessary to remove the housemates from the Big Brother house as a safety precaution, which therefore caused a temporary break in the live streaming.

“After the necessary checks were made, housemates returned to the house without incident and streaming was resumed immediately.”