Australian TV evicts Big Brother

The first Australian version of Big Brother started in 2001

The Australian version of Big Brother has been axed, seven years after it began on Network Ten.

The show will not return after the current series, which actress Pamela Anderson has appeared in, ends in July. Ten chief executive Grant Blackley said the network was "confident this is the right decision at the right time".

"We are immensely proud of the show and the incredible success it has enjoyed," programming head David Mott said. "We're ending the season on a high."

Flagging ratings

He added: "Big Brother is the undisputed grand-daddy of modern, commercial reality television in Australia. Today's reality dramas have all, on some level, been inspired by Big Brother."

Pamela Anderson surprised housemates by entering the show

Mr Mott acknowledged the show had courted its fair share of controversy.

"The show has taken on topics of race, sex, homosexuality, eating disorders and alcohol abuse, many of which had been handled gingerly, if at all, on TV."

Last week Anderson, best known for starring in US show Baywatch, entered the Big Brother house.

The 41-year-old was flown in by Ten in an attempt to revive the show's flagging ratings.

When asked how much she had been paid for the TV appearance in a press conference, Anderson said the sum was: "Huge, a lot... much more than I am worth."

'Tired format'

The show's name comes from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, which revolves around an all-seeing leader called Big Brother.

The format was first used in the Netherlands in 1999, with Channel 4 screening a UK version a year later.

There's every opportunity for a broadcaster to step in and take over Spokeswoman for production company Endemol

It has gone on to be produced in 40 different countries, although it is not clear how many are still broadcasting the show.

Housemates are filmed 24 hours per day with edited highlights broadcast during prime-time slots.

An spokeswoman for Endemol, the production company which owns the Big Brother format, said: "It's by no means being axed. It's just the contract won't be renewed for 2009.

"So there's every opportunity for a broadcaster to step in and take over."

Meanwhile, bookmaker Ladbrokes slashed its odds for the cancellation of the UK version of the show from 16/1 to 8/1.

Spokesman Nick Weinberg said the news from Australia suggested the format was "getting a bit tired".