Pete was favourite to win the show from the first week Pete's reaction

The 24-year-old, who has Tourette's Syndrome, jumped around the Big Brother house and screamed wildly when he learned of the result.

He won 61% of the votes for the final two places, beating Welsh lifeguard and school head boy, Glyn Wise.

Model Aisleyne Horgan Wallace, 27, came third, followed by Canadian waiter Richard Newman in fourth place.

Pete's love interest from the Big Brother house, 24-year-old Nikki Grahame, came fifth, and sales adviser Jennie Corner, 18, was sixth.

HAVE YOUR SAY I found BB really dull this year but I was really pleased that Pete won Nicole, London Send us your comments

An aspiring musician, Pete had been favourite to win for the entire duration of the reality programme's seventh series.

After being told he had won, he turned over all the sofas in the Big Brother house, hiding underneath one of them as host Davina McCall called him outside.

As fireworks went off, he slid down a staircase to meet a cheering crowd of fans.

In pictures: Big Brother final

In his victory interview, he told McCall that appearing on the show had saved his life after he went "a bit bananas" last year.

He has previously said he will use the show's prize money to pay off his mother's mortgage.

Shaky start

The current series of Big Brother has been the longest so far.

It got off to a shaky start when three contestants walked out in the first fortnight of the show.

Two of them, Shahbaz Chaudhury and George Askew, left the house of their own accord.

Dawn Blake, an "exercise scientist" from Birmingham, was thrown out by the show's producers after they claimed she broke the rules on making contact with the outside world.

The finalists were Glyn, Aisleyne, Pete, Jennie, Nikki and Richard (l-r)

A series of twists and turns has kept viewers watching over the summer, with viewing figures regularly topping four million.

One member of the public, Susie Verrico, gained entry to the house after obtaining a golden ticket from a bar of chocolate.

And four contestants were introduced to the Big Brother house in the seventh week of the series, after spending time in a "secret" house next door.

The final twist came in the penultimate week, when 24-year-old evictee Nikki returned to the house and became eligible for the show's prize fund.

This sparked complaints from viewers who were unhappy at being asked to vote again for contestants they thought had left for good.

Premium rate phone watchdog Icstis has launched an investigation into the situation, and could decide to fine Big Brother's premium rate service providers up to �250,000.