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Big Brother tops UK Yahoo '09 list, job search 3rd
Job seekers muscled in on celebrity and sport at the top of Yahoo! searches in Britain in 2009, reflecting rising unemployment during the recession.
Job seekers muscled in on celebrity and sport at the top of Yahoo! searches in Britain in 2009, reflecting rising unemployment during the recession.
Top of the list was reality TV series Big Brother, a surprise considering disappointing viewing figures for the 10th instalment of the show in Britain.
Channel 4 announced in August that it was ditching Big Brother, after estimates showed that around two million people had been tuning into the latest series, a fraction of peak audiences of 10 million.
Second in the search list for Yahoo! UK and Ireland was talent show X Factor, a hit this year which has boasted audiences of up to 14 million.
According to Yahoo!, the real stars of this year's shows were twins "Jedward", who have now been voted off.
In third position was the job centre, and with unemployment at around 2.5 million, the site expects job seekers to remain in the top 10 for some time to come.
Celebrity deaths featured prominently, with Michael Jackson, who died suddenly in June, fourth followed by former Big Brother contestant Jade Goody, who died of cancer in March.
Following are the top 10 Yahoo! searches in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2009:
1. Big Brother
2. X Factor
3. Job centre
4. Michael Jackson
5. Jade Goody
6. Premier League
7. Swine Flu
8. Katie Price
9. Cheryl Cole
10. Train Times
