Yahoo News Celebrity Big Brother hooks 2.8million viewers with ITV1 launch
Celebrity Big Brother has divided viewers with its lineup
Celebrity Big Brother returned with a bang on Monday night with a peak of 3.2 million viewers (average 2.8 million) across devices, according to ITV.
It has already made waves in the TV world as it was the highest launch since 2016. Drawing everyone in, ITV1 had more than double the audience of any other channel between 9pm and 10.30pm last night.
Celebrity Big Brother also gripped the attention of the highest 16-34 audience of the night, with 463k and a 42.5% share across devices.
Plus, the celebrity reality series proved to be just a little bit more popular than Big Brother which launched late last year when 2.5million tuned in, according to the viewing figures.
After the success of Big Brother last year, TV bosses gave the celebrity spin off series reboot the green light. Press Box PR expert Lynn Carratt previously hailed Celebrity Big Brother as "TV gold" and a great opportunity for famous faces to get a boost for their showbiz careers.
She previously told Yahoo: "Celebrity Big Brother is often a runaway success; the likes of George Galloway, Vanessa Feltz, Gemma Collins, and Kim Woodburn have brought us truly iconic and outrageous moments over the years."
She added: "And the new series is reportedly set to be no different; with casting already under way, the planned lineup is supposed to be TV gold. CBB is the perfect place for stars who are riding off the wave of a scandal or have something big happening in their lives. So it wouldn't surprise me if they have approached the likes of Phillip Schofield - who could be looking for a career resurrection."
Celebrity Big Brother's lineup has got everyone talking. Some people complained TV bosses had "blown the budget" on Sharon Osbourne, who is the first ever celebrity lodger only staying on the show for a short stint. "I am here for a good time, not a long time, but a good time!" She cheekily quipped as she joined the Celebrity Big Brother house.
Former This Morning host Fern Britton has signed up to the show and TV bosses hope she will spill the beans about her ex colleague Phillip Schofield. But the TV host promised to tackle any topics with caution and kindness.
Ahead of her CBB stint, she told The Mirror: "Apparently I've signed up to spill the beans! Well, right now, I can tell you that I think let's approach with caution and kindness. It’s fair to say that towards the end we were not getting on. Things were tricky.
"There are some things that I think as a collective almost nation there are things you can't and wouldn't want to hear or see or be talked about. I haven't been on that show for 15 years. I don't know anything that's been going on since then."
There has been a lot of talk about Gary Goldsmith too, who is a millionaire but also more interestingly he is Kate Middleton's uncle. This arguably makes him one of Celebrity Big Brother's controversial signings in the history of the show.
In the past, he hasn't held back when talking about the royal family. Naturally royal fans are fascinated to see what insights into the royal family he may share on the show. Moments into his introduction, he name dropped Kate and praised her for being "simply perfect".
On the flip side, people have been complaining they had to google some of the stars including West End and Broadway star Marisha Wallace as well as presenter and YouTuber Zeze Millz.
