Big Brother gets passionate

Cameras are watching the volunteers' every move

The Big Brother house has seen its first moment of passion - when contestants Andrew and Melanie shared the first kiss.

The pair's encounter was the first since the Channel 4 surveillance series began three weeks ago, but viewers have picked up on a growing attraction between the two.

On Thursday, sales executive Melanie told Andrew she did not want to stay in the house if he were voted out by viewers.

She said: "I will go if you go. I couldn't stay somewhere where I don't trust anyone."

Melanie: Went to the same university as Andrew

They stroked each other's faces and hair before they kissed.

She told him: "We shouldn't do that," while Andrew replied: "I know, but I want to."

But their passion came to an abrupt end when Nicholas - whose plots to evict other contestants have seen him become a hate figure among the show's fans - burst into the room to tell them a house meeting was about to begin.

A spokeswoman for the show said: "It wasn't quite a snog, but it was lingering. The first serious kiss.

"They have been working up to this. There have been many long chats since they realised they went to the same university."

Andrew: Boasted about being a ladies' man

Andrew, 23, has boasted of being a ladies' man, but Melanie, 26, teased him about stringing him along.

Nine contestants are living in a house in Bow in east London without access to the outside world, but they are being watched by scores of cameras for a nightly Channel 4 show and a continuous webcast.

Last week saw writer Sada evicted by viewers, this week the housemates have nominated Andrew and telephonist Caroline to be thrown out - with viewers deciding in a phone poll which closes on Friday evening.

The remaining contestant at the end of the series wins £70,000.

Caroline spent Thursday accusing builder Craig of not pulling his weight during one of their tasks - a challenge to cycle 1,800km between them on an exercise bike.

Hate figure: Nicholas interrupted the couple

Craig, who has been suffering from an injured knee, hit back, saying she was frequently drunk.

Big Brother has helped Channel 4 to its highest weekly audience for nearly three years, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The station had 11.6% of the TV audience in the week ending 30 July, with 3.4 million people watch Sada walk out of the house late on Friday.

Big Brother has also been a huge hit for CBS in the US, which is showing its own version.

On Wednesday night, viewers there voted to evict a former topless dancer from Minneapolis, Jordan.

"I bought such cute clothes for the show," she cried before leaving.