CELEBRITY Big Brother will be back for a second series on ITV with bosses set to green light a sequel before this run even ends.

Explosive gossip from big names Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh have helped the reboot become one of the most talked about shows on TV this year.

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Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne were must-watch TV in the first week of CBBCredit: Rex

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Ekin-Su’s dramatic exit has become another massive talking pointCredit: Eroteme
Execs broke the bank to sign the duo but the investment has paid off.

Ratings show that the launch was watched by almost 4m viewers across TV, online and mobiles – the show’s biggest audience in over a decade.

So far, Celebrity Big Brother has been streamed over 12 million times on platform ITVX.

A TV source said: “Bosses have been thrilled with how CBB has performed.

“They were already looking forward to series two of the civilian series in the autumn and have now added a second series of the CBB to the pot.

“The number of viewers watching live has sat solidly above 1million all series which is meaty for a daily show at 9pm.

“Of course the majority of fans these days are watching on catch-up the next morning or on lunch breaks so that’s why execs were particularly chuffed with the consolidated 7-day results.

“The buzz has also been massive, with conversations about the show dominating social media just like the old days.

“It’s the kind of hallmark show that’s in ITV’s DNA.”

The last launch on Channel 5 was watched by 2m viewers, with ITV’s outing on March 4 delivering 3.8m so far and attracting 800k 16-34 year old viewers.

Ekin-Su should be praised for doing God’s work not slammed for ‘game playing’ on Celebrity Big Brother, says Love Island star Coco Lodge
So far Gary Goldsmith, Real Housewives star Lauren Simon, Levi Roots and Ekin-Su Culculoglu have been evicted from the spy house, whilst reality TV queen Sharon checked out after her agreed seven-day stint on the show as “house guest”.

Ekin’s exit has become shrouded in drama after a trolling row erupted over her treatment on the show.

Louis, Fern Britton plus the likes of Corrie’s Colson Smith and Strictly pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin remain.

The finale is on Friday and will be hosted by AJ Odudu and Will Best.

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AJ Odudu and Will Best have become a hot duo at the helm of CBB