Celebrity Big Brother champion is crowned

Reality star David Potts has been crowned the winner of Celebrity Big Brother.

The Ibiza Weekender star beat Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin to the title, after Coronation Street actor Colson Smith placed third, former X Factor judge Louis Walsh came fourth and TV presenter Fern Britton placed fifth.

Potts said “I genuinely didn’t think I was going to (win)”, but said he has been himself throughout the whole process.

On becoming runner-up, Kuzmin said “it’s just weird to see people, actual human beings” after being evicted during the live final of the ITV reality competition.

During the final episode, former This Morning presenter Britton said she has a renewed sense of enthusiasm for TV thanks to the reality show.

After placing fifth, Britton told hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best that she has “loved being around television again but I’m not looking for anything I promise you”.

Britton presented Breakfast Time in the 1980s, Ready Steady Cook in the 1990s and co-hosted This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield in the 2000s.

After exiting in fourth place, Walsh said there were “some nights I was in a really bad place”, describing the anxiety he felt and that he “nearly wanted to go a few times”.

He said he learnt that you “can’t judge a book by its cover”, having made firm friends with his fellow housemates.

While third-placed soap star Smith said he never thought he would have a podium finish, saying “it has been an honour to be in the house”.

A handful of the former housemates were seen cheering on from the sidelines, however the uncle of the Princess of Wales, Gary Goldsmith pulled out at the last minute after Kate’s cancer announcement.

Goldsmith was the first housemate evicted from the ITV reality show, with the businessman and podcast host surviving five days before he was evicted after a public vote.