Channel 4’s Celebrity Big Brother series proved a huge hit last night as it drew in 7.1 million viewers for its launch show.

This puts this years launch show at the second highest spot out of the last five series of the show.

The second episode of BBC duet talent show Just the Two of Us saw its viewers fall from 5.4 to 3.9 million.

Channel 4 also launched the third series of Desperate Housewives on Wednesday, screening two episodes back-to-back.

The first instalment was watched by 3.6 million, which fell to 2.8 million for the second episode at 2230 GMT.

A Channel 4 spokesman said: “We are delighted that both shows, scheduled together as a post-holiday treat for Channel 4 viewers, were so warmly welcomed by TV audiences to give us a fantastic start to 2007.”