[Mrluvaluva]

The Celebrity Big Brother race row saved the show from being "the most boring in years", Channel 4 bosses have admitted.

Chief executive Andy Duncan and director of television Kevin Lygo said the broadcaster had handled the furore "perfectly well".

They also revealed the broadcaster is in talks with Carphone Warehouse about its £3m sponsorship deal for the next series of non-celebrity Big Brother, this summer.

In an interview with Broadcast magazine, Mr Lygo said: "Let's put this in perspective.

"This was in danger of being the most boring BB that we'd had in many years and we were thinking `Oh dear, what can we do?'.

I know the girls said and did all those things, because we all saw and heard them, but have Channel 4/Endemol cleverly turned things round for themselves in the way they have portrayed this.