He was by far the biggest name on the bill so scores of fans who were unable to attend Reading Festival were no doubt excited to watch their idol Eminem on TV instead.

But the rapper instead infuriated his fans at home after he refused to let the BBC broadcast or record any part of his performance at the music event on Saturday.

The news was only revealed by officials from the festival on Saturday afternoon when a representative wrote on the event’s Twitter page.

Outrage: Eminem infuriated scores of fans on Saturday night by refusing to let his headlining slot at Reading Festival be broadcast or taped

The statement read: ‘Unfortunately we will not have any audio or video coverage of @Eminem from Reading or Leeds Festival . He asked us not to record his set.’

The stars were given the option over whether they were happy to let their sets be streamed on television.

But Eminem obviously didn’t want that to be the case as he made sure only the revellers at the festival got to see his performance.

Radio and TV presenter Greg James explained to BBC3 viewers watching at home: ‘We’re coming off the air at 10.30pm. The headline act Eminem declined to be filmed. All the artists who you see perform give their consent to be filmed – but Eminem didn’t. And that’s it.’

Announcement: It was only a couple of hours before his set that an announcement about the lack of broadcasting was revealed

Disappointment: He refused to allow the BBC rights to show his live set, causing many to vent their rage on Twitter

And the news was met with outrage from hundreds of disappointed fans who had wanted to tune in.

One wrote on Twitter: ‘Wish I was watching eminem live right now. Gutted isn’t the word,’ while another agreed: ‘Gutted Eminem refused to be filmed.’

Another vented: ‘Eminem Blocking the BBC from showing his performance live because its free! He is obviously the definition of a money driven p**ck!’

One other infuriated fan commented: ‘I’m so sad that Eminem brought Dido on stage with him for Stan and didn’t let the BBC broadcast it, what a poopy head,’ and another raged: ‘Eminem wont let BBC show his performance, what a little b**ch #probablymimed.’

Divided: Some fans at the festival praised Eminem for his stand out set – but some accused him of miming and being disappointed with the gig

Big return: Eminem was the big headliner for day two of the annual music festival

And if it wasn’t the fans at home complaining about his refusal to let them watch the performance, it was the fans at the actual event that had their other reasons to complain.

Some fans were left ecstatic and beaming about seeing his set – especially as he brought Dido on as a surprise to join him for their iconic 2000 hit Stan.

But others were left fuming and accused him of miming his tracks instead of performing them live after they’d paid so much money for a ticket to see him.

Miming? Some accused the star of refusing to have the set broadcast because of his alleged lip synching

One girl on Twitter commented: ‘I’d be so pissed off if I was a huge Eminem fan and just saw him miming for 90 minutes,’ while another that was there simply put: ‘Eminem is miming. Disappointing. #ReadingFestival.’

It sparked some to question whether his reported miming was behind his decision to ban it being broadcast.

But either way it seems the move is getting more and more common with big stars.

Catching a glimpse: Thousands of fans were lucky enough to be on site watching him on stage as it happened instead

Revellers: It was a big talking point on Twitter as Eminem took to the stage and brought on his old pal Dido to perform their 2000 joint hit Stan

It was only last weekend that Beyonce did the same and refused to be broadcast during her performance at V Festival.

The 31-year-old singer sparked controversy by reportedly refusing to allow the broadcast company the rights to film her performance.

And it all started with the Rolling Stones, who refused to allow the BBC to film their entire Glastonbury slot, allowing them to just tape the first four songs.