Mrs Gilbert admitted she was “very, very anxious” about her son, who is a parish councillor in his village, going on the show.
“He’s had a lot of hate on social media, but I think people are starting to see the real George now and the tide is turning,” she told the BBC.
“He’s quite opinionated, but he’s never nasty with it.
“In these days where people are easily offended, sometimes people are quite surprised when he’s saying what a lot of people think but aren’t prepared to say.”
Mrs Gilbert said “keyboard warriors” immediately began targeting Mr Gilbert online on Tuesday, when he was introduced as one of four new housemates brought in to stir things up.
“[They were] saying ‘I hate George, get him out, he’s creepy’ – getting really personal,” Mrs Gilbert added.
“Even on his looks, it’s really quite bad. But I do feel the tide is turning. It’s pantomime, isn’t it?”
