"ITV knew exactly what would happen, especially when there was an eviction the first night."
That was Nathan King's verdict following the eviction of conservative-leaning Emily Hewertson after a matter of hours into this year's new series of Big Brother.
Described as the "token Tory" by Nathan, ITV bosses put Emily's political values at the forefront of her promotional materials, inevitably whipping up the vastly liberal audience that still tunes in to reality TV.
And it's an experience Nathan knows all too well. An "unapologetic" Scottish Tory, he appeared on last year's series, and once his political alignment was clear, the torrent of abuse followed.
Nathan King spoke exclusively to GB News
|GB NEWS
In the year since his departure, death threats have filled Nathan's inbox. But when we speak the day after Emily's Big Brother eviction, it's clear the vitriol hasn't dampened his spirit.
We start by discussing Emily's departure. "I have been watching, and I remember when I entered last year, the first thing I was thinking was, 'I wonder what people's reaction was like', because I'll never get to experience such shock. And then Emily Hewertson walked in and I thought, 'Oh my goodness, I love it!'"
He went on: "I was so disappointed, I must start there, I was so disappointed to see Emily leave because they've certainly 'woked' up the series this year, I'm going to say. And Emily was, I thought, just the perfect counter to that.
"I predicted there would be one token Tory. It's really disappointing for Emily, firstly, but then from a viewer perspective as well. I don't see how anyone's going to disagree, they'll all just sit and just nod and say, 'Yeah, yeah,' and try and out-woke one another, I imagine."
Nathan was a finalist on last year's Big Brother
|ITV
But did ITV set Emily up to fail? "I think ITV knew exactly what would happen, especially when there was an eviction the first night," Nathan claimed.
"The thing with being a Tory or being Right when going on a platform like Big Brother, you need to survive the first week, and then people get to know you. Because actually, I think in this country we are conservative at heart.
"[Nigel] Farage went on (I'm A Celebrity) and did really well, I think he got to the final three or something. Matt Hancock did it, got to the final as well. So it's about getting to know them. And they didn't give Emily that opportunity.
"People say, 'Why did she make it so political?' Well, I know from experience that she'll have spent two hours in that room filming. And she'll have covered a whole range of topics, and that was what they chose to show because that's what they wanted.
Emily Hewertson was booted from this year's Big Brother after a few hours
|ITV
"So I believe that ITV will have known, and I think it's disappointing as well, because people take Big Brother as if that's a reflection on society and as if that's how we all think.
"'What? No one's right-wing, and as soon as we can, we'll get our hands on one of them, we'll boot them out'. That's not true. That's not fair, that's a fair reflection on a certain audience."
Despite being a victim of the vitriol that emanates from certain reaches of the online Left, Nathan still maintains that bridges can be built despite differences.
"I am unapologetically what I am and I will not change for anyone," he defiantly said. "And I went in there with that mindset. I see that just because people disagree in politics doesn't mean that they can't be friends and can't get along.
Big Brother star Nathan King reveals his dream housemate
LATEST CELEBRITY NEWS:
"And I think that is a problem that the Left has. The Left, if you don't agree with them on every single issue, then you're out. You're no good to them. And I don't think that's right, because that completely discourages conversations."
The death threats towards Nathan haven't abated even a year on from his stint on the show. On the day of our interview, he reveals he's received some that day for his opinions on one of this year's housemates who identifies as trans.
"I've had death threats for things I've posted online," he explained. "I posted something last night, because there's someone who identifies as trans on Big Brother, now, I posted on my social media - they said that they were living proof that it wasn't a choice to be trans - I disagreed with that.
"I said, 'Yeah, you're right, it's not a choice. I believe it's a mental illness'. It's what I think. That was today, and people tell me I should kill myself."
Would Nathan King ever return to the Big Brother house?
But does it ever affect him? "I've got skin like a rhino. You can say anything to me, and it just doesn't bother me. That's the advice I would give," he replied.
However, he soon conceded: "It still gets to you. But I think especially since what happened to Charlie Kirk, which was awful, it's almost emboldened me to think that no, we shouldn't back down just because people are vile online, and people say things that should actually give us more impetus going forward to get our point across.
"Because you can't back down to people who are going to threaten you and who are going to be vile to you online.
"It doesn't mean that you should change what you think. So I think you should just ignore the noise and have courage in your own convictions."
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking to students at Utah Valley University | REUTERSRight-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk was shot dead while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University last month.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested soon after, and President Donald Trump has made clear he'll be seeking the death penalty for whoever is found guilty for the assassination.