Channel 5 agrees Big Brother deal

Reality TV show Big Brother will stay on our screens until the end of 2014 after Channel 5 signed a new two-year deal with production company Endemol.

The channel will also broadcast an extra second series of Celebrity Big Brother later this year.

Former winner Brian Dowling will continue to host the main show, with Emma Willis presenting the spin-off Big Brother's Bit On The Side.

Jeff Ford, director of programmes at Channel 5, said he was "hugely excited" by the return of the show, which would be "a key part of our programming schedule".

The latest series of Celebrity Big Brother, broadcast in January, saw Denise Welch crowned the winner ahead of X Factor reject Frankie Cocozza.

Other contestants included the former captain of the Welsh rugby team Gareth Thomas, glamour girl twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon and Reservoir Dogs actor Michael Madsen.

Big Brother was launched in the UK in 2000 after it had been a big hit in the Netherlands.

It made stars of contestants including Ryanair flight attendant Dowling, who went on to present SMTV Live and become one of the first openly gay children's TV presenters, and Jade Goody.

Goody, a dental nurse from Bermondsey in south-east London, became an unlikely celebrity and remained in the public eye until her death from cervical cancer in 2009.

PA