MUMBAI: US broadcaster Fox's tantalising action show 24 is leaving viewers wanting for more, all the time. A case in point is the number of calls a cell phone received after being featured in an episode.

In India the show airs on AXN.

More than 50,000 Americans watching the episode were able to decipher the phone number shown on a cell phone screen. They dialed it. In reality the number belongs to the prop master on 24..

In the episode Day 4: 11 am - 12 pm which aired on 17 January, Debbie Pendleton played by Leighton Messter, who was just killed by Dina Araz played by Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo received a call on her cell phone. The caller was Debbie's mother.

American fans with a DVR were able to pause the shot and see the actual incoming number. Thousands of fans have since been dialing that phone number. Crew members of 24 - along with stars Carlos Bernard, Reiko Aylesworth and Mary Lynn Rajskub - have been taking the calls.

This is no doubt due to the fact that the show takes place in real time. The big twist at the end of each episode automatically leaves viewers wondering as to the fate of the characters. For the uninitiated each episode of 24 features an hour in the life of counter terrorism agent Jack Bauer. It was the first entertainment show in the history of television to try out this format.