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For the first time since 2006, Channel 4 will not be donating to charity a share of the money raised by the weekly telephone votes in Big Brother. The reasons given are that the Channel cannot afford to give to donate cash in the current financial climate and advertising revenue slump. The cost of phone votes will remain at 35p, in line with recent series, which is a bit cheeky considering we are all suffering the same financial climate!

According to the article in the Guardian, Channel 4 have been losing money through the phone voting system for years and are no longer prepared to bear the losses. From a charity’s perspective, this is disastrous for as well as now missing out on badly needed funds, the exposure they could have received on such a high profile show has now been denied them. Unfortunately, charities are the first to feel the brunt of a recession as we discussed here a few months ago.

Just to remind ourselves to have faith in the generosity of the human spirit, here’s a clip of Craig Phillips, winner of the first Big Brother who gave his £70k winnings to his friend to help pay for her heart and lung transplant in the USA.