£100k Fails To Pay Off For Big Brother

Last night’s desperate efforts by Channel 4 bosses to boost Big Brother‘s viewing figures fell flat, with the double bill of surprise live shows attracting an average adult audience of just over 2.6 million and 3.3 million respectively.

The Bill over on ITV1 was the most watched programme in the 8pm to 9pm timeslot, up against the first BB show. Former Casualty actress Georgina Bouzova guest starred in the drama filled episode, which was watched by an average of more than 4.9 million adults, giving ITV1 a 27% viewing share.

The first Big Brother show, which revealed that the housemates were going to have to undertake a live task, gained C4 a 14.7% share between 8pm and 8.30pm. This was followed by new US drama series Brothers And Sisters, with Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart and Aussie actress Rachel Griffiths, which was watched by around two million adults on average (10.4%).

More people tuned in for the second episode of Big Brother than the first, between 9.30pm and 10.30pm, with an average of just over 3.3 million (16%) seeing newcomer to the house, Liam, nominated to take home a £100,000 cash prize.

However, it was Traffic Cops on BBC One that lured the most viewers during Big Brother‘s second outing, with the adrenaline laden, fly-on-the-wall police show luring 4.2 million adults (20.6%).

Over on ITV1, a new series based on two previous one-off thrillers, Cold Blood, was also successful in the timeslot. The show, which guest starred Matthew Kelly alongside a cast including John Hannah and Pauline Quirke, gained an average adult audience of close to 3.9 million, which was equivalent to a 19.3% share.

Meanwhile, BBC Two’s Rome attracted 2.1 million (10.3%), whilst Five’s film, the grimy gangster thriller starring current Bond Daniel Craig, Layer Cake, was watched by more than 1.5 million (8.2%).

Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks, ITV2 and Sky One.

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com Channel 4: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk Five: 020 7550 5555 www.five.tv