SHANGHAI: Big Brother Xu Wenqiang has returned to TV screens, with the same dark overcoat, fedora, and a cigarette dangling from his lips.

Nothing wrong with his trademark paraphernalia, except that his smoking has triggered a storm of protests.

"Almost all the scenes show the actors smoking. Xu (the hero) even smokes while fighting and flirting... there is no drama without smoke," wrote a viewer named "Wanglinwang" on the sina.com website.