Brian beats twins for BB victory

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Victory salute: Brian's unassuming charm proved a hit with the show's viewers

Pipped: Twins Sam and Amanda were hot favourites to win

Thumbs up: Liam, who had already picked up a £100,000 cheque, came third

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Brian Belo is £100,000 richer having won the eighth series of Big Brother.

The 20-year-old data clerk from Essex, who famously told the housemates he had no idea who Shakespeare was, pipped twins Sam and Amanda Marchant in the viewers' poll to claim the winner's cheque.

He was hugged by the screaming twins from Newcastle-upon-Lyme after being told the news by presenter Davina McCall.

The bubbly pair, who counted as one person in the vote, were red hot favourites ahead of last night's final.

But Brian's unassuming charm won him thousands of fans with the public and he was always a strong contender.

Brian, wearing a white shirt and tie, black trousers and white shoes, constantly shouted "oi oi" to the crowd as he left the house. Fireworks erupted as he was showered with confetti as he bowed down in salute to the audience.

Earlier, the twins lapped up cheers from the screaming throng before taking part in an excitable interview with Davina.

In typical fashion, they exclaimed they had "loved it". "It was the best thing ever ever ever," they told the presenter.

Amanda was also quizzed about her fling with Brian, and said that she may be having second thoughts about putting a stop to it.

"He is dead sweet," she said. Her twin sister added: "I love Brian and I love it that Amanda loves him."

Liam, who came third, meanwhile spoke about the moment he was chosen to receive £100,000 during the show, and how he had felt "embarrassed" about
it.

"It was a mixture of emotions, I thought that everybody was going to give me a kicking. I felt embarrassed. I didn't feel like I deserved it," he told Davina.

Brian told Davina that his time in the house had been amazing and now all he wanted to do was "find a bottle of cider".

He also revealed that he was none the wiser about Shakespeare. "It was the director that directed Romeo and Juliet," he said.

He said it had been "pukka" to kiss Amanda, and said he hoped to see more of her but would understand if she just "wanted to be mates".

When the voting lines closed, Brian had received 60.3 per cent of the votes for the final two places.

On hearing the news he started to cry and looked stunned. With tears streaming down his face, he said: "I don't deserve to win...this is so mental".

The twins meanwhile did not show any disappointment at coming second and Davina revealed they had made it through the show without a single nomination.

Fourth in the public vote was former boyband member Ziggy Lichman, 26, whose romance with Posh Spice wannabe Chanelle was one of the main talking points in this year's show.

Youth worker Carole Vincent and museum visitor assistant Jonty Stern were the first two housemates to be evicted in the finale. Carole, a 53-year-old activist who has been in the show from the beginning, came fifth in the final poll while Jonty, 36, was sixth.

Carole agreed with Davina that she had become a bit too obsessed with cleaning the house but insisted it was not a trait she had in real life.

She added: "I have learnt loads of stuff: That I don't know it all, that I can let other people do stuff. Actually I am very bossy and that is a trait from a lot of women in my family."

Despite last night's fireworks, the series has been the UK's least popular since it began in 2000, with an average of 3.8 million viewers compared to the previous low of 4.5 million for Big Brother Six.

A record-breaking £10 million was still gambled industry-wide on Big Brother 8, according to bookmaker Ladbrokes. And a spokesman said it was left breathing a sigh of relief after Brian's victory, as the twins were clear favourites.

The 20-year-old had been as big as 16/1 to win the show and a 100/30 shot going into the final.

Spokesman Nick Weinberg, said: "Brian has been our knight in shining armour. Had he not won we'd have been selling the family silver."

During a post-show interview, Brian remained coy about the future of his relationship with Amanda.

He said: "We got on really well and I respect her a lot. Me and Amanda are great friends."

Asked what he was going to spend the £100,000 prize money on, Brian said: "I'm going to give my money to my old girl because I don't know how to spend it."

Brian wasn't the only one remaining rather tight-lipped about his Big Brother relationship.

Ziggy, whose affair with Chanelle ended after she left the Big Brother house following a row with him, said he would have to see what happened
with the Posh Spice lookalike.

He said: "I would like to take Chanelle out to dinner," adding that they needed "a big chat" away from the cameras.

 

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