[Ruth]

I think that is the reason for the extra week. Personally I have stopped watching the live feed or the highlights show at night (although I still watch BBLB because I really like Dermot), and I think it's gone downhill ever since Science left. I do catch the repeated highlights in the morning. Quite a few of my friends have stopped watching it regularly as well. I think the main reasons I have heard given are that there has just been too much conflict this year - a bit of conflict is good, but not too much. Also the contestants seem more and more desperate for their fame, and will go to lengths which sometimes are a bit too far. I think the main reason for the housemates being stressed is that the program makers have deliberately picked people who they know won't get on. I have said this before, but I really believe that there weren't many people in the house this year that viewers could identify with. In the earlier series, the contestants had big personalities, but they were still people who you could identify with (I'm thinking of people like Helen, Paul, Bubble, Brian, Alex, Jonny, etc., etc). Most of the contestants in this series (and to a lesser extent in BB5) seem to be very OTT, and sterotypes. When a bunch of people are stuck together in a house where there's no escape, there will inevitably be conflict - sometimes I think the program makers try too hard to create extra conflict.