Channel 4 have announced that they will be slashing the cost of voting by phone on this years Big Brother show, in a bid to engage as many viewers as possible.

Channel 4 spokesman, Andy Taylor stated:

“The voting has been fair and transparent throughout Big Brother’s eight years on air, but given the recent focus on the use of premium rate phone lines on TV we want to ensure the audience has absolute confidence in the evictions, which are absolutely integral to the show’s success.

“Cutting the cost of phone votes will hopefully encourage the highest possible number of our viewers to interact with the program.”

Previously 50p profit was made from each phone call, but this year each call will cost just 25p, to cover the administration costs and a 10p donation to charity.