BB Ratings

The boss of Big Brother makers Endemol has praised the show’s “extraordinary” ratings.

The Channel 5 series is now into its fourteenth series, having started on Channel 4 well over a decade ago.

And while ratings are no longer the 5 million figures posted in its peak in 2005 and 2006, the show has helped regularly boost Channel 5 ahead of rivals Channel 4 and BBC Two.

Speaking to 5Live’s Richard Bacon, Endemol UK Chairman Tim Hincks was quizzed on the success of the series.

“I don’t know what more we can do… it is the biggest rated show on Channel5!” he explained. “Ratings for this series are up on last year which is an extraordinary victory as everything is normally down. So 14 years in, it is still central to a terrestrial TV channel.

“The point about BB is in essence, it is incredibly simple. It changed television. If there was ever a battle over if reality TV was good or not, it is clear reality TV won.

“The point is there is a hardcore of fans for Big Brother who are non judgmental, who are always open minded, tolerant and broadly young viewers who don’t have the prejudices of the older generation. Big Brother still works.”

He added: “The evidence around the world is that Big Brother is popular. The way we watch TV around the world is different now to 10 years ago but I think the big brands like Big Brother and The X Factor really mean something now, have a currency in the white noise of digital television and actually have a value which is almost greater than when they started.”

But the TV boss didn’t think Channel 4 made a mistake in axing the series, saying: “It was exactly the right time for them… I think it was the right thing for Channel 4 to do, you have to move on. I completely understand they need to reinvent themselves every so often.”