Eurovision Trounces Big Brother

Big Brother was battered by Eurovision on Saturday as the song contest picked up an average of 7.4 million adult viewers, a 36.5% share of all adults watching television at the time.

Well over 9 million adults watched the finale as Finland’s Lordi romped home with their outrageous brand of theatrical heavy metal.

In contrast, Big Brother could only pull in an average of 2.8 million viewers, a 13.2% share of the audience, which is surprising, as there does not seem to be too much difference between this year’s house mates and the members of Lordi.

On Friday, the first Big Brother golden ticket – placed by Channel 4 in Kit-Kat wrappers and giving the chance to join in the fun and games inside the house – was found and immediately put on eBay, where it attracted bids in excess of £5 million. However, eBay soon stopped the auction, as it said that the seller’s own terms of trade meant the ticket had to be withdrawn.

There are another 99 golden tickets to be found in the Kit-Kat bars, which went on sale on Thursday at 10.30pm, and the finder must ring a special hotline number in order to be in with a chance of winning a place on the show.

Channel Four: 020 7396 4444 www.channel4.com