Yahoo News Has the time come to evict Big Brother from telly?
Big Brother, we love you, but is it time we said goodbye? With viewing figures falling, complaints on the rise and the number of genuine people, not wannabe reality stars, in the house at an all-time low, it's time to discuss the elephants in the Diary Room.
Channel 4 no doubt saw all this coming back in 2009 when it flogged the show to Channel 5. Ratings then were grim – like, seriously grim. That year, the series just managed to scrape an average of 2 million viewers, something of a dramatic plunge from the 10 million that regularly tuned in during its heyday.
But fast-forward to 2017 and, amazingly, the stats are even more dismal. It breaks our hearts to report that just 1.3 million viewers watched this series kick off, making it the lowest-watched launch in the show's 17-year history. But wait, it gets worse.
As this series has unfolded, ratings have plummeted further still. Despite getting plenty of attention from the press and on social media, according to initial overnight figures just 800,000 watched Saturday (June 24)'s highlights show, which aired hours before Lotan Carter was removed from the Big Brother house. This means that the show has now lost 92 per cent of its early-2000s peak era audience.
Awkwardly, it's not just viewers that seem to have had enough, either. Out of the original 16 housemates, almost half of them have already left – and it's only week three! Imran Javeed, Rebecca Jane and Mandy Longworth were evicted by the public as usual, but the majority have either quit or been removed from the house.
Sukhvinder left when her hubby Imran was eliminated, Arthur Fulford disappeared from our screens without explanation (although he later said he felt "bullied and isolated"), while Lotan Carter and Kayleigh Morris were both ejected due to aggressive behaviour that Big Brother deemed unacceptable. A proper Big Brother house exit has become a very rare thing indeed.
Indeed, it's now so likely another housemate will leave by the back door, rather than the front, bookmakers are offering odds of almost evens that another departure is imminent. Could this mean the series will finish even earlier than expected? If so, it would certainly make it one of the most disappointing series ever. Digital Spy spoke to Big Brother quitter Sukhvinder to get some answers.
"No, I don't think [it will end earlier]," she told us, "but I do hope producers come back and realise that people want to see real people – not these reality stars. You know most of the housemates in there already have agents, right? It is completely unfair."
Sukhvinder has a point. Out of this year's line-up, seven were already known to reality TV watchers when they were cast by Channel 5. It's increasingly narrowing the audience from general interest and all ages to the young and reality TV hardcore.
Kayleigh, Kieran Lee and Chanelle McCleary all had stints on MTV's Ex on the Beach, Ellie Young had been on Ibiza Weekender, Lotan had been performing with the likes of Scotty T and Gaz Beadle in The Dreamboys, Arthur and his very well-off family were in two BBC Three shows (The F**king Fulfords and Life Is Toff), while Rebecca has appeared on This Morning several times to talk about her all-female private detective agency.
"I get why Big Brother needs these people because they already have really big followings," added Sukhvinder. "But what [Channel 5 bosses] should do is just put civilians in the house, not these Z-listers. That was how the show started out. They need to trust in themselves and the show's original concept."
Although, show bosses may not get the chance to air another series if campaigners get their way. Last night [June 25], Big Brother viewer Gary Lack-Jones launched a petition to get the show taken off air once and for all after watching Lotan's aggressive outburst at Isabelle Warburton, during which was seen violently hurling a drink at her and fellow housemate Hannah Agboola.
"The producers supply the housemates with copious amounts of alcohol in the hope that it will cause eruptions [among housemates], to make what they think is good TV," argues Lack-Jones.
"Year upon year there are scenes of violence, racial harassment, unacceptable behaviour and this is condoned by TV producers, all in an effort to gain viewing figures. I am calling for Ofcom to ban this from TV immediately and prevent any further series from being produced."
Just 228 people have signed Lack-Jones' petition at time of press, although this may sadly be just as indicative of how few people actually care about Big Brother any more.
After checking in with Ofcom, Digital Spy has learnt that the government watchdog received 10 complaints about last night's show. This brings the total number of complaints this series to 107. This isn't a huge amount, but a spokesman reiterated that Big Brother is still one of the most complained-about shows on TV.
A thorough glance at social media shows that while there are some viewers praising the programme, the overwhelming majority of comments appear to be negative about Big Brother this year, and towards its future on our screens.
"@bbuk please go back to how bb was back in the days, all the series before 2011 were amazing and original with just normal people," wrote one fan.
A second added: "This is by far the worst series of @bbuk so far.. Can see this being the last series if they don't do something to save it..."
Shortly afterwards, a third tweeted: "I was reminiscing about the previous series before 2010 they were all AMAZING and the original BB! What happened seriously? Makes me sad."
Moments later, another posted: "It's extremely disheartening how @channel5_tv are treating #BBUK this year. After an amazing series in 2016,it's a big step back."
When Digital Spy reached out to Big Brother for comment, a spokesperson pointed out that the series is now in the later slot of 10pm, as opposed to the traditional 9pm airtime, and that the average ratings at this later time have increased by 25 per cent – which would be a tad more impressive if that wasn't previously home to Big Brother's Bit on the Side. Whatever the spin, the main event will always be more significantly popular than the spin-off show.
Big Brother also says it's seen a significant increase in the percentage of viewers watching the show via streaming and on-demand services, which is what you'd expect in 2017, although no figures were available. Perhaps it's time to start targeting the younger audience and airing the show online, be it on YouTube or Facebook, rather than on terrestrial?
We're not sure what lies ahead for the future of Big Brother given it's struggling to keep either its viewers or housemates happy. But it has one saving grace: Celebrity Big Brother is just around the corner.
A generally better-performing series that can get over 3m viewers in winter, and where Z-list celebrities are expected, not undesired, this may be Channel 5's last chance to pull it back from the brink.
Rumour has it that TV bosses are pulling out all the stops for the next series, which kicks off in August, to keep the Eye flag flying. Producers are said to be forking out huge cheques to attract A-list stars, with names like Caitlyn Jenner and Hulk Hogan lighting up fan forums. There's also word of plans to chuck in a few CBB legends. Who would YOU prefer: Stephen Bear or Stephanie Davis?
Until then, Big Brother, Digital Spy is watching. Well, watching this space.
Big Brother is on Channel 5, weekdays at 9pm.
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