[Jason.]

So we all know the combination of Nikki returning in BB7, the CBB5 race row and the abysmal production of BB8 are what led to the decline of the Channel 4 show, and arguably, the franchise as a whole, as the show hasn't been the same since then, has it?

But over the past year or so, interest and ratings seem to have sunk even lower. BB just about scraping a million viewers (sometimes even less) and CBB averaging almost half of what it was a few years back. Compare that to the earlier C5 series, where civilian BB could comfortably average 1.6m+ (almost 2m in BB14's case) and the renaissance of CBB, which saw an increase in tabloid coverage, as well as ratings above 3m for CBB13/15.

Granted, C5's performance doesn't hold a candle to C4, they were doing somewhat well a few years back. Now it's not even their highest rated show anymore.

What went wrong?