It’s not often you get to read this sentence anymore: Celebrity Big Brother ratings have improved.
Even though the 2012 series of the show, its second outing on Channel 5, has averaged marginally fewer viewers than its 2011 predecessor, figures for last night’s grand final bettered the equivalent episode from last year.
3.04 million tuned in last night to see Loose Women, Coronation Street and Waterloo Road star Denise Welch beat Frankie Cocozza, Gareth Thomas and Michael Madsen to the crown – a very slight increase on the 3 million who saw Paddy Doherty emerge victorious in September 2011.
The aftermath on Big Brother’s Bit On The Side was also a roaring success, with 1.54 million sticking around to see Emma Willis dissect the finalists further. Only 1 million tuned in to the equivalent episode last time around.
The main show also managed to beat former host Davina McCall’s Million Pound Drop, which went head-to-head with the Brian Dowling-hosted reality show at 9pm and lost by a margin of more than 2:1. It had 1.44 million viewers.
