Big Brother confirms date of the final will be AFTER Love Island ends to avoid clash and ratings slump

THE Big Brother final will take place on July 28 - four days after the Love Island finale.

Channel 5 bigwigs were said to have been planning on tying in the date with the finale of the ITV2 dating show, but The Sun Online can reveal they changed their mind following the ratings slump.

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Now Big Brother hopes that more people will tune in as Love Island will have ended on July 24.

Bosses have been plagued by a huge fall in ratings for this series of the usually popular show.

They even attempted to spice up the house by adding in four new housemates but it seems it has done little to persuade viewers to turn over.

Simone Reed, who became a viral hit a few years ago after stripping down to her lingerie in the middle of a job centre in a bid to win a dare, was put into the house alongside "Hurricane Sue" - a mum-of-one who was engaged to a secret cross-dresser.

Even Sam Chaloner - who became a love interest to unlucky-in-love Ibiza Weekender star Ellie Young, hasn't stopped the ratings from falling.

Big Brother fans have been vocal about their unhappiness with this series, especially when one fundamental rule was thrown out of the window as part of a task on Saturday night.

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Those at home were left unimpressed when scenes showed the housemates competition against each other to win time in ‘The Void’.

The Void was a designated area in the Big Brother house where housemates that won a spot inside could freely discuss nominations.

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Traditionally, the rules of Big Brother are that housemates are banned from talking about nominations and would face consequences for doing so.

During their conversation in The Void, Hannah, Andrew and Deborah discussed nominating Joe, saying they suspect he has a game plan.

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They also discussed who would make it to the final – suggesting Raph, Kieran and Chanelle will make it all the way.

Viewers of the show were split over the inclusion of a space for nominations to take place.

One viewer said via Twitter: "Speaking about nominations goes against what big brother is about what a s*** idea #bbuk ".

Another blasted: "All this f***ing about with THE VOID just let them discuss nominations for the day #BBUK "

However others liked the twist, with one tweeting: “The Void twist is a great idea! I hope the housemates use it strategically and it pays off. #bbuk”.

• Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on Channel 5.

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