7.8m tune into BB final

The final episode of Big Brother drew in a peak audience of 7.8 million viewers, it has been reported.

16:05 13 August 2005

The final episode of Big Brother drew in a peak audience of 7.8 million viewers, it has been reported.

The Channel 4 reality TV show attracted an average of 6.7 million viewers during Friday's finale, which saw seventies disco dancer Anthony Hutton walk away with a 50,000 prize fund.

The final of the sixth Big Brother series was watched by more people than BBC One's coverage of the Live 8 concerts, which attracted an average of 6.6 million viewers.

The last episode in this year's series, hosted by Davina McCall, has provided Channel 4 with its highest rating figures in 2005 so far.

But despite attracting an estimated 43.4 per cent of Friday night's total audience share, the last show still fell short of the 9.5 million who tuned in to watch Big Brother's 2000 final.

Despite some TV critics questioning whether the reality TV series has had its day, Channel 4 are planning to screen a seventh series of Big Brother next summer.

"We are thrilled that Big Brother has once again been such a fantastic success," said the channel's commissioning editor Angela Jain.

"It is a show that consistently reinvents itself. We look forward to seeing it back on our screens next summer."