Pete wins Big Brother 7 as 8.2m tune in for finale

by Joanne Oatts, Brand Republic 21-Aug-06, 08:30

LONDON - The finale of Channel 4's 'Big Brother 7' was watched by a peak audience of 8.2m people, achieving a 45.6% share of Friday night's TV audience.

Unofficial Barb overnight figures recorded an average of audience of 7.7m for the entire show, which saw Tourettes sufferer Pete walk away with the £100,000 prize after receiving 61.2% of the final vote.

This is up on last year's series finale, which averaged 6.7m viewers, and peaked at 7.8m.

Friday night's show was the highest rating show of the 93-day run, the second highest being the launch night on May 18, which attracted an average of 7.1m viewers.

This series has sparked controversy following the return of ex-housemates to the show, with viewers complaining they had paid to have them evicted by calling to vote them off. Premium rate phoneline watchdog Icstis is currently conducting an investigation after receiving more than 2,700 complaints.

An estimated £1.2m was raised for charity through the voting lines, with every 10p of each vote raising money for Shelter, Teenage Cancer Trust and the Tourettes Syndrome Association, winner Pete's chosen charity.

Welsh student Glynn came in second, while self-proclaimed "ghetto girl" Aisleyne came third. Canadian "sexual terrorist" Richard was fourth, while house returnee Nikki and Scouser Jennie, came fifth and sixth respectively.

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