Big Brother '08 featured a guest appearance from Pamela Anderson

Reality television series 'Big Brother' appears set to return to our screens as of next year, with channel Nine understood to have penned a deal with show producers Endemol. The show will be revamped as 'Big Brother: Secrets', with each housemate having a secret to conceal.

The show ran for eight seasons on Channel Ten until the network cancelled the show as a result of a sharp decline in viewers. Not even a guest appearance from Pamela Anderson in 2008 could revitalize viewing figures and the show has been off-air in Australia ever since. Quite where the demand for its return is fails to be seen, but Nine will hope it proves to be a ratings winner as they apparently fought off competition from Channel Ten in securing the deal.

The story is strikingly similar to that of the British 'Big Brother' which surfaced again this year on UK network Channel 5 after being cancelled on Channel 4, which had shown the series since it first reached British shores. The British show was cancelled after a racism row erupted on the celebrity version and became an international incident. The UK version like its Australian counterpart had also experienced a consistent decline in viewing figures.

Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty, who were both involved in the race row that signaled the end of the British Big Brother on its original network

The Australian reboot is thought to be on a smaller scale than before so the likelihood of special celebrity guests will be minimal and the shows hosts or air date are yet to be confirmed. Reboot or not the jury is surely out on whether the shows return will materialize as a wise investment for Channel Nine. If the show remains fundamentally the same then it is likely that those viewers who deserted the show in the first place will not be back anytime soon.