Channel 4 ties up TV's Housewives

The show has been a huge hit in the US and UK

Channel 4 has renewed its deal to keep US drama Desperate Housewives on the network for the next two series.

Trade magazine Broadcast claims Channel 4 outbid ITV, Sky and Flextech - which owns Living TV - to keep the series.

Broadcast also reports that Channel 4 is paying over £900,000 an episode to screen the hit drama.

But Channel 4 refused to confirm or deny the figures. Last week it was beaten by Sky One to the rights to show castaway drama Lost.

Sky's deal for the show, based on a plane crash on an island, was widely reported to have cost the channel £20m.

The first series of both Lost and Desperate Housewives were ratings winners for Channel 4, attracting more than four million viewers on average.