[JohnnyBB]

The odds on Big Brother being axed from British screens have shortened after Australian TV chiefs pulled the plug on the reality TV show.

Big Brother has been pulled from the Australian schedules by Network Ten seven years after it began there.

The current series, which featured a surprise appearance from Pamela Anderson, will be the last when it ends later this month.

Former Baywatch star Anderson, 41, was flown into the house last week in an apparent attempt to revive the show's flagging ratings.

Ten programming head David Mott said of the decision to axe the series: "After eight successful seasons and 1,316 episodes, Ten has announced that Big Brother will not be returning in 2009. We are immensely proud of the show and the incredible success it has enjoyed. We're ending the season on a high.

"Big Brother is the undisputed grand-daddy of modern, commercial reality television in Australia. Today's reality dramas have all, on some level, been inspired by Big Brother," he said. "The show has taken on topics of race, sex, homosexuality, eating disorders and alcohol abuse, many of which had been handled gingerly, if at all, on TV."

Big Brother originated in the Netherlands in 1999 and the UK version launched on Channel 4 a year later. In 2006, Channel 4 secured the rights to Big Brother until 2010 in a deal though to be worth up to £180 million.

But viewing figures have averaged 3.3 million in the current ninth series, 5% down from the 3.6 million this time last year.

Bookies have now slashed the odds for Big Brother to be axed in the UK following the ditching of the format in Australia from 16-1 to 8-1.

Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg said: "Big Brother's fall from grace down under demonstrates that everything has a shelf life. It suggests that the format is getting a bit tired."