Online research firm Hitwise says that by the end of the first week, in which housemates Stuart and Michelle were believed to have had sex and Kitten created her own eviction through persistent rule-breaking, the website saw a more than seven-fold increase in visits since its opening day.
Last Thursday, the website for the current series became the 35th most visited in the UK and the most visited Entertainment TV website, taking a 12% share of the online TV sector, with the average session time peaking at 11 minutes 23 seconds.
However, these latest findings have been marred by the technical problem on Sunday when cameras switched to the 'Little Brother' studio and for more than 15 minutes broadcast a conversation between production staff watching a live feed of Michelle taking a shower.
One member of the crew is reported to have said that Michelle "had a face like a bulldog -- a face like a bulldog licking the piss off a thistle". There was no translation for those left wondering exactly what was being said.
Regarding the internet blunder a Channel 4 spokeswoman said the matter was being investigated. "As it was a hitch we haven't got a recording so cannot confirm whether any of the reported comments were actually made but we are looking into the matter."
The latest online figures compare with a disastrous run for the website that accompanied last year's series, which was labelled the most boring due to its lack of conflict and romance. According to Hitwise, almost half the online audience clicked off in the first week.
The session time for last year's 'Big Brother 4' website in the first week was just nine minutes.
Latest viewing figures for the weekend show a dip compared to last week. Saturday's show achieved a 2.8m average and peaked at 3.5m, while on Sunday the average was once again 2.8m but peaked at just 3m. This represents a 14.4% average share for Saturday and a 12.5% average share for Sunday.
Audience figures for last Thursday's show averaged 4.7m with a 4.9m peak however just 3.3m tuned in last Bank Holiday Monday.
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