[Scarlett.]

CHANNEL 4 chiefs will hold crunch talks over the future of Celebrity Big Brother after TWO MILLION fewer people watched the final.

Around 3.5million saw Ulrika Jonsson crowned this year’s surprise winner.

More than five million watched the past five finals, with Chantelle Houghton’s victory in 2006 seen by 6.8million.

The show is more expensive to make than regular BB, with bosses forking out thousands on celebrities’ fees.

They spent nearly a million this year. TV star Ulrika, 41, pulled in a massive £175,000 for the three-week show.

An insider said: “This series has basically been a flop and bosses are pretty unhappy as it costs so much to make.

“They expected ratings to be down a bit as the format is getting tired but losing two million was unthinkable.

“There are also problems with the audience. Most people who watch it are old and not attractive to advertisers.

“C4 and producers will now meet to find out what went wrong and there are concerns that CBB may bite the dust.”

Ratings were some of the lowest ever not just for CBB, but all versions of the show.

At one point last week it slumped to 1.2million viewers — beaten by BBC2’s Victorian Farm with a million more.

CBB was “rested” last year when C4 got cold feet after the Shilpa Shetty bullying scandal in 2007.

The Sun