2:17pm UK, Wednesday June 02, 2004

Big Brother 5 is proving a turn-off for viewers despite the outrageous assortment of housemates, figures have confirmed.

The show won an audience of just 3.2 million on Monday, leaving it trounced in the ratings by the ITV's reality rival Hell's Kitchen, which was watched by 7.8 million.

BB5: ratings fear for C4

ITV confirmed that the celebrity cooking challenge also fared better on Sunday night, with 4.9 million viewers to Big Brother's 3.6 million.

The surprising slump in ratings for the Channel 4 showpiece comes just days after the opening programme pulled in an audience of around 7 million on Friday.

It had been hoped that changes to the format and a group of housemates regarded as the strangest ever would help to boost ratings.

Housemates have already been warned that any one of them could be evicted at "a moment's notice" if 24-year-old Kitten continues to misbehave.