Survivor 2 fails to beat original

The second Survivor series was revamped

The finale of ITV1's second Survivor reality TV series had two million fewer viewers than last year's show.

An average audience of 6.4 million people watched police detective Jonny Gibb scoop the £1m prize money on Wednesday, giving the ITV1 reality show its biggest audience of this series.

But the first series saw in excess of nine million watch Charlotte Hobrough win, a respectable audience for such an expensive show.

Meanwhile, Wednesday's Big Brother on Channel 4, which went out in the same primetime slot as Survivor, pulled in 4.4 million viewers.

Jonny Gibb was voted Survivor winner

So far the fervour for Big Brother has not waned as its third series starts, despite criticism that the new crop of contestants are less exciting than previous housemates.

Last year's series regularly attracted more than four million viewers, making it Channel 4's most popular programme.

Survivor, which featured 12 contestants marooned on a deserted island, was first billed as the jewel in the crown of ITV1's schedule when it launched in 2001.

Scandal

But early viewing figures last year proved a disappointment, leading to shows only once a week instead of twice.

The latest series has not gained nearly as much newspaper coverage as its predecessor.

Channel 4's digital E4 channel sees its ratings rise with live Big Brother coverage

Survivor 1 hit the headlines when it was revealed married Ms Hobrough was having an affair with one of the island inhabitants, causing her to be dubbed Charlotte the Harlot.

But the action from this series has gone largely unreported in the tabloid press usually so keen on getting the scandalous stories from reality TV shows.

In contrast, the tabloids have leapt on Big Brother 3 and its contestants, running stories every day since the housemates entered on 24 May.

And the decision of Sunita to leave the house after just seven days looks set to give E4 a boost as her departure is screened live on the digital channel.