Is it all over for Big Brother? Just a handful of hopefuls turn out for auditions

Looking decidedly unenthusiastic, this is the sorry line-up of hopefuls which greeted producers auditioning for the programme's ninth series yesterday.

It was a far cry from last year, when hundreds flocked to St James's Park in Newcastle with the hope of winning a place in the Big Brother house.

Since then, critics of the show say it has had its day.

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Dismal turnout: This year's auditions for Big Brother in Newcastle drew just a handful of fans

Among the smattering who bothered to show up this time was shop assistant Matthew Robson, 20.

He said: "I got down early because I wanted an early audition but there was hardly anyone there.

"I've seen pictures from the last few years when there have been loads of people here, and it was really disappointing because there wasn't much of an atmosphere.

"This was for Big Brother 9 and I suppose sooner or later people will get sick of the show but I was still expecting to see more people there.

"It looks like the the programme is a sinking ship."

There were no long queues of wacky hopefuls displaying their talents to get on Channel 4's controversial show. Instead, bosses of the Channel 4 show only had around 100 wannabes to interview.

Charlie, a 20-year-old, debt collector from the North East said: "I'm always looking for something new to do so I thought I'd give it a go."

The Newcastle auditions were among a series being held across the country for Big Brother 9, which will be screened this summer.

Channel bosses turned to former Big Brother 5 contestant Michelle Bass to put in an appearance to to drum up support for the poorly attended auditions in her home town.

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Big Brother 5 loser Michelle Bass was at the Newcastle auditions

The Geordie had an on-screen romance with fellow housemate Stu. The 26-year-old said: "It's really brought back memories seeing people standing here, they've all got something to offer.".

Signs that viewers are tiring of the predictably raunchy antics on Big Brother were apparent last year after ratings for the first programme of the new series were down by a fifth on the previous year's opening show.

And last week Channel 4 announced the celebrity version of Big Brother has been axed for good following the race row last January that saw Jade Goody, 26, accused of racist bullying towards Bollywood beauty Shilpa Shetty, 32.

The media regulator Ofcom found Channel 4 guilty of "serious editorial misjudgment" over the way it handled the row and three separate on-air apologies were broadcast.

Channel 4 chiefs took the decision to scrap the show after the relaunched Hijack version has proved to be a massive ratings flop, and now believe it will be near impossible to attract celebrities to appear on the show.

Following the fallout from the bullying scandal Channel 4's deputy chairman Lord Puttnam admitted he is "not proud" of Big Brother but admitted it would be difficult to replace the money-spinner which accounts for 15 per cent of the channel's total revenue.