The Osbournes, the reality TV show that follows the lives of eccentric rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his family, is to be shown on Channel 4.

The deal will make the show, which has become a surprise hit on MTV, available to UK viewers without digital or cable TV for the first time this autumn.

Ozzy starred at the Queen's Jubilee rock concert

Channel 4 won a bidding war with an offer of $150,000 (�100,000) per episode, according to trade magazine Variety.

ITV and Channel 5, the UK's other commercial terrestrial channels, were also keen to snap up the hit show, the paper reported.

The show takes a fly-on-the-wall look at Osbourne family life, and is watched by six million people per week on MTV in the US.

In the UK, it has drawn audiences of 450,000 - MTV's biggest ratings apart from awards shows.

There has been huge publicity surrounding it and it has helped revive interest in Osbourne, the former lead singer with heavy rock group Black Sabbath.

Teenage daughter Kelly also features in the show

It earned him an invitation to the White House and a slot at the Queen's Golden Jubilee rock concert at Buckingham Palace earlier this month.

He was previously best-known for biting the head off a bat live on stage and urinating on the Alamo, a historic US monument in Texas.

The show sees Ozzy, his wife and manager Sharon, and their children Kelly and Jack, go about their unconventional family life in their Beverly Hills mansion.

As well as the family there is a whole host of other "characters" including pets, assistants, roadies and the neighbours.

Sharon Osbourne manages her husband

The family has just signed up to make a second series, in which they will be watched by 55 cameras for 24 hours a day.

"We are truly overwhelmed by the incredible response to the show. We never expected that by inviting MTV into our home, we'd get such a positive reaction from fans young and old," Sharon Osbourne said.

Canadian broadcaster CTV has also just signed a deal to screen the show.