BRIAN Dowling has been crowned the Ultimate Big Brother housemate.

The former trolley dolly, 32, beat Nikki Grahame and Chantelle Houghton after receiving 49 percent of the public vote.

Brian, who was dressed in a suit and tie, burst into tears and shouted "Thank you so much" as he was officially declared the winner of the final show.

As he danced down the stairs to fireworks, the crowd cheered on and Brian joked that they had got the winner wrong.

Speaking about the impact of the show, he said: "It's one of the best things I could have ever done. The show is also about hope, in the sense that it gives people the opportunity to make their life that little bit better."

Brian said he owed everything to the show and thanked the viewers who had voted for him.

As Davina showed Brian a montage of his time in the house she told him she wanted to see him on TV soon.

The Irishman told Davina to get her people to contact his people, adding he would be taking a holiday first and perhaps perform panto in Ireland.

Nikki Grahame came second after receiving 30.2 percent of the public vote but was happy Brian had won.

Nikki congratulates Brian

"I love you. Well done," she said before heading outside.

Nikki, who first entered the house in 2006 dressed as a Playboy bunny, was known for her tantrums.

Grahame, 28, told Davina that taking part in Ultimate Big Brother "has meant the absolute world to me".

Nikki, said she was so thankful for being part of the show and said has learnt to control her fiery temper.

She said: "You have to consider the other housemates. I have had to bite my tongue lots of times but I kind of erupted inside. I have learned to do that. It's taken four years."

In third place was Chantelle Houghton who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2006 despite being the only housemate who was not actually famous.

Chantelle obtained 20.5 percent of the vote and talked to Davina about her feelings for ex-husband Samuel Preston.

Chantelle will speak to Preson about her feelings

The Essex glamour girl, who took part in the 2006 celebrity show when she had to pretend to be a singer with fictional pop band Kandy Floss, met the Ordinary Boys singer in the house and romance blossomed.

The couple married but split after just 10 months together and later divorced.

They remained friends and viewers were delighted to see them reunited in the house this summer, many hoping the pair would get back together.

Chantelle, who admitted she still had feelings for Preston, told Davina: "It's a different outcome now. Obviously we're not going to be together."

She was often tearful in the house and said: "My head was a complete mess the whole time.

"It's such a sad situation. I don't think I realised how sad it was until I spent so much time with him.

Chantelle admitted: "I hadn't ever really got over what happened between us."

Preston remained oblivious to her misery until this afternoon when she confessed, anxious that he would hear about it during his post-eviction interview.

Chantelle said that she would be speaking with her ex-husband tomorrow.

During his ex-wife's interview Preston looked uncomfortable as the camera panned back to him in the crowd.