Jack's the Big Brother favourite

Comedian Jack Dee has taken over from Brookside's Claire Sweeney as the favourite to win Comic Relief's Celebrity Big Brother.

Bookmaker William Hill slashed the odds on Dee to 11-10 while Sweeney dropped to 5-4 and Boyzone's Keith Duffy remained the outsider at 15-8.

Dee has made repeated requests to the nation to set him free, but now believes the public will keep him in the house as a joke.

So far, the comedian's antics have included digging a hole by the fence with a rake, escaping from the house at 3am and winding up the security dogs by playing a didgeridoo in a strangulated fashion near the front door.

When Anthea Turner was evicted from the house on Wednesday night, he ran across the Big Brother bridge to kiss his wife Jane.

He shouted, "I love you" from a distance but when he received no reply, he quipped: "Answer back, you bitch."

After 30 seconds with his wife he had to be forcibly disentangled and shepherded back to the house by security guards.

When each celebrity had to fashion large underpants designed by the group, he made a specific request for Big Brother to find out if he still had a career.

The Big Brother house now has just three celebrities with Sweeney moving into the same bedroom as Dee and Duffy.

The show has raised £337,000 for charity so far and viewers now have to phone in and vote for who they want to win, rather than evict. One of the trio will be evicted later today. Then a winner will be declared and freed along with the runner-up tonight.