Channel 4 scheduled its 'Big Brother' coverage across three programmes last night. The first show, in a 30-minute slot at 8pm, was watched by an average audience of 3m viewers and a 15.8% share.
The 8pm instalment revealed to viewers that 'Big Brother' would fool the housemates into believing they were awarding the £100,000 cash prize for winning the series before a winner was crowned.
But, unbeknown to the housemates, the £100,000 winning prize still stands and another £100,000 was up for grabs last night.
A third instalment, in a 30-minute slot at 9.30, featured this week's evictee nominations -- Durden, Carole and Seany -- selecting the winner of the £100,000 prize in secret. It pulled in 'Big Brother's' biggest audience of the evening, with 3.8m viewers and a 17.2% share.
In the end, Liam, a 22-year old tree surgeon from Durham, was chosen as the winner of the £100,000 prize.
A second earlier instalment of 'Big Brother', in a one-hour slot at 8.30pm, attracted 2.2m viewers and a 10.8% share.
The return of ITV1's one-off thriller, 'Cold Blood', famous for Matthew Kelly's portrayal of a serial killer two years ago, pulled in 4m viewers and a 19.3% share in a 90-minute slot at 9pm. It suggests that ITV's investment in quality upmarket drama is paying off.
The inclusion of comedian and presenter Russell Brand in the cast of 'Cold Blood' was not enough, however, to edge the drama past BBC One's 'Traffic Cops'. 'Traffic Cops' won its slot 9pm slot with 4.5m viewers and a 21% share.
Yet, the BBC did not have all its own way last night, with the second season of 'Rome' on BBC Two failing to light up the schedules.
The first episode of the second season was watched by 2.2m viewers and a 10.3% share. The first season of 'Rome', a collaboration with US producer HBO was dogged by controversy because of its high production costs.
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