Big Brother house 'to be demolished'

The Big Brother house is due to come down

The Big Brother house in east London is to be knocked down after the end of the second series, according to reports.

The house in Bow is to be demolished because Channel 4 did not secure long-term planning permission for the site, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

The site will be turned into a "park", reports the paper, after the programme makers failed to anticipate the phenomenal success of the series.

A spokesman for Newham council told the paper: "They will have to clear up the area and leave it like it was.

"This means taking away the building materials and leaving it as an open space."

Ratings

A spokesman for Big Brother told BBC News Online: "We have planning permission for up to September and then after that, who knows?"

The spokesman refused to comment on whether there will be a third Big Brother but ratings for the second series have proved very strong.

Ruth Wrigley, head of entertainment at Endemol UK, which makes Big Brother, told the Sunday Telegraph: "I certainly believe there will be a Big Brother 3 and I am working on changing the format to extend it for a third run."

The house is not just the temporary home of the Big Brother contestants but also a sophisticated TV studio and production centre for the programme makers.

On Friday warehouse operative Bubble became the fourth person to be evicted from Big Brother house.

Computer designer Paul Clarke, 25, escaped eviction - for the third time.

The winner of Big Brother will emerge with £70,000 in prize money and undoubted media fame.