Bizarre Mix Of Celebs Draws 6.2 Million To C4’s BB

More than 6.2 million adults tuned in to Channel 4 last night as the latest bunch of celebrities clambered up the Big Brother staircase and into the lions den.

Channel 4 took a 27% viewing share in the timeslot for the start of series five of Celebrity Big Brother, which is set to run for three weeks, the longest run of the programme so far.

The revealing of the eclectic collection of stars and z-listers, such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict, Leo Sayer and Spinal Tap-esque rock shocker Donny Tourette, managed to lure more viewers than ITV1’s The Bill, which took an average adult audience of around 5.1 million (22.6%).

The start of a new series of Desperate Housewives followed on from Celeb BB on Channel 4, but didn’t manage to draw as many viewers as a new episode of Taggart. The Glasgow based crime drama, which inevitably centred on a murder, was watched by an average of around five million adults, giving ITV1 a 22.7% viewing share at the time, whilst the residents of Wisteria Lane attracted an audience of almost 3.3 million (15%).

The second day of the new series of BBC One’s singing version of Strictly Come Dancing, Just The Two Of Us, was seen by more than 3.7 million adults during Taggart, giving the channel a 16.5% viewing share. The programme’s results edition, on after the News, took a 21.5% viewing share or an audience of more than 3.4 million.

Coronation Street on ITV1 broke the 10 million barrier yet again, with more than 10.2 million adults on average tuning in to the soap, giving the channel a 48% audience share between 7.30pm and 8pm.

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.

Channel 4: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk