Christian becomes Celebrity Head of House

Music journalist Terry Christian will tonight secretly put the Celebrity Big Brother housemate he judges to have the biggest ego up for eviction.

The former presenter of 'The Word', who lists his interests on MySpace as “depravity of almost all kinds”, has been given the power by Big Brother after he became the first Celebrity Head of House.

It was as the housemates settled in to their new surroundings on Friday evening that Christian was told he had the title, giving him immunity from eviction for a week.

What his housemates did not learn was that he would be watching their behaviour during a task and deciding who had the most inflated opinion of themselves.

The housemates’ task – in keeping with programme-makers’ promise that this year’s tasks will be about life as a celebrity – saw Christian given a camera to film his companions.

The footage will be used to show the celebrities in the closing credits of tonight’s episode, the first and only time the show has ended the programme this way.

But before filming could begin, the housemates had to decide between themselves who should receive a credit and who should receive none at all.

Only one person could receive a “starring” credit, with two housemates labelled “co-stars”, two listed as “featuring” and three relegated to the status of “extras” – leaving three people with no mention.

The unlikely group of housemates are 2ft 8in tall movie star Verne Troyer, ex-Sugababe Mutya Buena, La Toya Jackson who is the sister of pop star Michael, firebrand socialist Tommy Sheridan, glamour girl Lucy Pinder, 90s pop singer Ben Adams, 'Shameless' actress Tina Malone, 'Shooting Stars' panellist Ulrika Jonsson, 'Gangsta’s Paradise' rapper Coolio and former Liberty X singer Michelle Heaton.

Deciding the parts, Malone told the group: “I wanna be an extra. And everyone who isn’t an actor should be a star.”

But veteran politician Sheridan put forward a more democratic way of choosing who got what, suggesting the credits should be decided alphabetically.

The celebrities have so far enjoyed a relatively drama-free time in the house, with Coolio cooking up a delicious chilli.

Even Jackson and Buena’s peek into Christian’s sumptuous Head of House boudoir, complete with hairdryer and straighteners, failed to provoke a row.

“That’s like a little palace,” commented Jackson.

The mood of the house prompted Sheridan to wonder: “Is this the calm before the storm do you think? We’re all friendly with one another, we’re all getting along.”

The return of the controversial show made an immediate impact on viewing figures with millions tuning in to see the new contestants, Channel 4 said yesterday.

An average of 5.66 million viewers watched the programme, with figures peaking at 6.06 million at 9.30pm on Friday night, making it the most watched show at the time of its programming.

The night’s viewing figures represented an increase on those watching the launch of this summer’s 'Big Brother 9', which drew an audience of 5.33 million when transmitted on June 5.

The reality show’s future appeared in jeopardy after the race row in 2007 surrounding the treatment of Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty by Jade Goody and other housemates attracted 45,000 complaints to Ofcom – the most in the regulator’s history.

The Ego task and its outcome will be shown in tonight’s 'Celebrity Big Brother' on Channel 4 at 9pm.