[Jamesy]

I don't think Big Brother would have returned if it was put to rest.

If no one bought the rights after the last C4 BB then no doubt the house would have been knocked down and used for other productions on that site. That would have meant any channel bringing it back years down the line would have to invest heavily in a new site to host the show. Not cheap when you consider how low viewing figures are. I doubt any channel could warrant the investment when millions could be pumped into some new hyped up reality show.

Maybe 20-30 years down the line the show would come back. But "a few years" rest would have never happened.

I think it's safe to say Big Brother is more of a cult show these days than it ever was. Viewing figures certainly confirm that there is a dedicated audience around the 1 million mark (probably more realistically around 800,000 to 900,000). Celeb BB seems more of a general show that more people watch. I can see civilian BB coming to a close in a few years time and CBB becoming a main event (that's if either actually get renewed, as far as things go BBUK ends this summer!). Then a few years down the line that will die out and I doubt Big Brother will ever return, or at the least it won't return for for a good decade or three.