George Galloway came under fire today for his decision to desert politics for reality television and spend up to three weeks in the Big Brother house instead of looking after his constituents in East London.

The combative MP for Bethnal Green and Bow is the most intriguing of a bizarre cast list for the latest Celebrity Big Brother that also includes Faria Alam, Sven-Goran Erikson's former lover at the FA, and a blonde wannabe from Essex who is only pretending to be a pop star.

Mr Galloway also appears to be its biggest draw, attracting a whole new audience for the Channel 4 programme. Ratings peaked last night at 7.6 million when the MP made his entrance to the Big Brother house, where he will spend up to 23 days if the viewers like him.

According to unofficial overnight figures, the average audience for the opening show was 6.5 million, giving Channel 4 a huge ratings boost.

Crtiticism of Mr Galloway's participation came from Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, a Labour peer and former Scottish MP, who said: "This means that the people of Bethnal Green and Bow, his constituency, will not be represented properly for all the time he is on the programme.

"Assuming that he does take his parliamentary salary, which is provided by the taxpayer, he will not be able to look after the needs of his constituents over this period."

Lord Foulkes added: "His constituents will now realise that, when Labour’s Oona King was their MP, they were represented by someone who cared more for them than by someone who appears to prefer the TV studios to the chamber of the House of Commons."

But Mr Galloway was clearly expecting the criticism and released a statement even after his seclusion in the Big Brother house defending his decision and nakedly appealing for viewers' votes.

"It’s good for politics. I believe that politicians should use every opportunity to communicate with people," Mr Galloway said.

"I’m a great believer in the democratic process. Big Brother is watched by millions. More young people vote during Big Brother than in the general election. I hope they’ll all be voting for me over the next few weeks."

He added: "If I win, it will be my greatest election victory since, well, since my last one."

Mr Galloway, a left-winger who was expelled from the Labour Party over his attacks on Tony Blair and the decision to commit British troops to the invasion of Iraq, inflicted a shock defeat on his former party when he narrowly captured the Bethnal Green seat from Ms King, a Blair loyalist, in May's general election.

Last night, he sauntered along the red carpet into the Big Brother house to a chorus of boos from the crowd, before pausing to make a victory sign and shout "Stop the war!".

Once inside the house he introduced himself to the others, accompanying each handshake with the words: "I’m a Member of Parliament".

Mr Galloway’s presence was the second major twist to emerge during the evening. An unknown member of the public, 22-year-old Chantelle from Essex, has been planted in the house with the mission of convincing the real celebrities that she is famous.

The blonde model promoter has been briefed to pretend she is in a girl band called Kandyfloss. Initially she seemed to be having a degree of success, possibly because her fellow "stars" did not recognise each other either.

Apart from Mr Galloway, Ms Alam and Chantelle, they include the fallen entertainer Michael Barrymore, basketball player Dennis Rodman, former Baywatch star Traci Bingham, glamour girl Jodie Marsh, actress Rula Lenska, 1980s pop star Pete Burns, and rock musicians Maggot and Samuel Preston.

Maggot’s band Goldie Lookin’ Chain have enjoyed a few hits in the UK, while Preston’s group The Ordinary Boys boast a number one in Japan.

If Chantelle manages to convince the others that she is a pop star she will win the right to stay on the show. If she fails, she will be evicted on Sunday.

The Channel 4 show - won last year by Happy Mondays dancer Bez - is due to run for a total of 23 days this year and producers promise it will be more "evil" than ever before. This time around the house is equipped with single beds, a gym and outdoor pool.

Bookmakers initially installed Marsh as the favourite to win the popularity contest, but she was quickly replaced by Barrymore after the comedian received an ecstatic reception from the crowd.

The decision to use the show to resurrect Barrymore's career has already been attacked by Terry Lubbock, whose son Stuart was found dead in the star's pool in 2001. Mr Lubbock was especially critical of the decision to include a hot tub in the house.

He told the News of the World: "Channel 4 are obviously going to gain ghoulish publicity and viewers on the back of this. But I find the whole thing sick. "

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