The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced the number of responses it has received on the BBC Charter review consultation.

The review had been announced by culture secretary Tessa Jowell. It is the first in which the public have been invited to give their views on the BBC.

"This review will be different," she said at the consultation's launch.

"For the first time the driving force will be the British people. They are in effect the BBC's shareholders".

A spokesman revealed the department has received nearly 5,500 responses by email, post or telephone.

There were 25,206 unique visits to the review website, and 50,000 visits in total.

The findings of the consultation will form the basis of a green paper to be published at the end of the year.

The review comes after a difficult year for the BBC in the wake of the Hutton Report.

Hutton blamed BBC bosses for a failure in journalistic management, after a broadcast on the Radio Four Today programme accused the government of manipulating an intelligence dossier which made the case for war in Iraq.

Both BBC chairman Gavyn Davies and director general Greg Dyke were forced to resign in the wake of the law lord's findings.

Ex-Channel Four boss Michael Grade was announced as Davies's replacement on Friday.