Josie wins Big Brother before ex-housemates return

Financial sales rep Josie Gibson, 25, from Bristol, is the winner of the final series of Big Brother.

The bookmakers' favourite beat David Vaughan, a Christian minister from Pontypool to win the competition.

Josie won £100,000 and immediately returned to the house to take part in Ultimate Big Brother, with famous faces from the show's 10-year history.

Among those who have returned for the extended run are "Nasty" Nick Bateman, Ulrika Jonsson and singer Preston.

Josie received 77.5% of the votes and got a kiss from her house boyfriend John James Parton to celebrate her victory.

Josie, who lives on a farm near Bristol, had formed a romantic relationship with Australian contestant John James during the series.

Mario Mugan, JJ Bird and student Andrew Edmonds were also in the final this week.

'Bromance'

Josie, who was the first contestant to enter the house said: "I can't believe I did it".

She said she found it difficult to stay in the house without John James and said: "Every minute without him felt like an hour. It was really hard. When he was not there I got really down."

She said "all right" when the show's host Davina McCall asked if she wanted to return to the house.

Josie told McCall she planned to give 20% of her winnings to cancer charity Clic and would also use some of her winnings to buy her former housemate Steve Gill a new pair of legs - "if the government hadn't got their finger out to pay for them".

Ulrika Jonsson and host Davina McCall prepare for the last few days of Big Brother

The former serviceman lost both legs and an eye when a bomb exploded while he was on patrol in Belfast in 1989.

The series Ultimate Big Brother will be the Channel 4 swansong for the reality show format after 11 regular series, seven celebrity editions, one youth version and the 2007 series Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, which allowed celebrities to set Big Brother-style tasks for young contestants.

The 18-day series will feature winners and other memorable contestants from the regular series and the celebrity version.

Glamour model and the original non-celebrity winner of Celebrity Big Brother (CBB) 2006 Chantelle Houghton and her one-time husband singer Preston - whom she met during that series - were the first to join Josie in the house.

Boos and cheers

Preston said he was looking for "bromance" this time around. He hugged his ex-wife, whom he met on the 2006 show, as soon as he entered although both looked surprised to see each other.

Nadia Almada, the winner of Big Brother 2004, also returned for the extended series.

She was followed by television presenter and 2001 winner Brian Dowling, showbusiness personality and 2009 CBB winner Ulrika Jonsson and racing pundit John McCririck.

US rapper Coolio performed before the crowd outside the house with a customised tune saying he was going to be the "ultimate housemate".

Housemate Makosi Musambasi from the sixth Big Brother series and Nikki Grahame from series seven also entered.

"Nasty" Nick Bateman who was thrown out of the first series of Big Brother in 2000 for trying to influence votes was the final contestant to join the lineup.

Wearing a shirt with the slogan "it's only a gameshow", he was booed by much of the crowd before he went in. He told Davina he would abide by the rules this time.