THE first episode of Big Brother was the second most successful opening night in the history of the Celebrity version of the reality show.
The entrance into the house on Wednesday night by a new crop of inmates was seen by an average of 7.1 million viewers, compared to 6.5 million last year.
Only the second series of Celebrity Big Brother got a bigger audience on its opening night, with 7.4 million viewers.
The opening show of the fifth series last night claimed a 28.4 per cent share of viewers watching TV at the time.
The number of viewers watching the likes of The A-Team star Dirk Benedict and Jermaine Jackson peaked at eight million, compared to 7.6 million last year, according to unofficial overnight figures.
It made Channel 4 the most-watched channel in the 8pm to 9.30pm slot.
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