Ryan Thomas has won the latest series of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’.
The former ‘Coronation Street’ star beat finalists Gabby Allen (6th), Sally Morgan (5th), Nick Leeson (4th), Dan Osborne (3rd) and Kirstie Alley (2nd) to be crowned the winner during Monday night’s live final.
During his exit interview (above), Ryan said he was lost for words about his win.
“I have no words,” he told host Emma Willis. “No words whatsoever. I don’t know what to say.”
He added: “I am completely overwhelmed on a different scale.”
During his time in the ’CBB” house, Ryan was accused of “repeatedly” and “deliberately” punching fellow housemate Roxanne Pallett, which she has since conceded was a “mistake” and an “overreaction”.
The scenes, described by producers as “play flighting”, prompted more than 25,000 viewers complain to Ofcom, and led to the former ‘Emmerdale’ actress leaving the ‘CBB’ house, fearing she was ‘the most hated girl in Britain’.
When he was asked about the incident, Ryan said: “It was totally unexpected. It was a sign of affection that I’ve used on Gabby, the boys. And unexpected because there was nothing in it and as it unraveled, as it became bigger and bigger.
“The thing that scared me the most was when Ben said she couldn’t stay in the room with me because she was scared. That rang alarm bells. Then the game became real life for me. I did break. I was a scared little boy. I just wanted out.”
Ryan added that he would be willing to forgive Roxanne as she had been “punished enough”.
“If [Roxanne] wants sort of forgiveness and it makes her feel better then I would rather give her that because I think she’s been punished enough by the public and the people around her,” he said.
Last week, in her first interview since quitting the series, Roxanne told Jeremy Vine: “Since I’ve been out of the house, the first thing I did was view the clip and reflect in a normal environment, because it’s not a normal environment [in the ‘CBB’ house]...
“My mind was clouded and my sensitivity was heightened, I wasn’t thinking straight, and that’s something I need to work on.”
The civilian version of ‘Big Brother’ returns to Channel 5 at 9pm this Friday.
Final position: Ejected, after nine days
Prior to entering the house, it was reported that Biggins would be the highest-paid of that summer's contestants, pocketing a £150,000.
However, once he was removed for a string of offensive comments, attention turned to whether he'd be paid it all.
It was later reported he pocketed just half of it, which admittedly is still not to be sniffed at.
Final position: Sixth
Producers were keen to get former 'Coronation Street' couple Bruce Jones and Vicky Entwistle in the house, but seeing as he was a lot more willing to sign up than she was, he bagged just 10% of her fee.
Final position: Sixth
Love him or hate him, there are few who would deny that Perez wasn't worth the money, proving to be the talking point on his series.
When 'All Stars' came knocking, though, he sent them away, claiming they couldn't afford to pay him the fee he felt he deserved.
Final position: Winner
Various outlets claimed that Ulrika earned £175K for appearing on 'CBB', later returning for 'Ultimate Big Brother' a year later.
Interestingly, she's the only housemate from the Channel 4 years to make the list of highest-paid housemates.
Final position: Tenth
Admittedly, not someone we were anticipating seeing on this list, reality TV veteran Stephanie is said to have bagged a quarter of a million for her stint in 'CBB' back in 2014.
Final position: Fifth
Danniella made no secret of the fact she'd fallen on hard times prior to entering the 'Celebrity Big Brother' house, and got an impressive quarter of a million for her much-awaited appearance.
Final position: Seventh
The highest-paid housemate of the 'UK vs. USA' series (yes, she got even more than Stevi Ritchie!), Janice was evicted just two days before the live final.
Final position: Walked, after six days.
Former housemate Cami Li has made a rather bold claim about Cheebs' 'CBB' fee, suggesting he convinced producers to give him a "daily fee", before then walking.
She wrote in the Daily Star: "[Jonathan] played them and they weren't too happy. When will they learn?"
Final position: Ninth
Kellie Maloney's arrival on 'CBB' came just weeks after she came out publicly as transgender, so producers were really willing to fork out to get her on side.
At the time, her fee was reported as being the biggest in 'CBB' history, though as you can see, she's since been overtaken.
Final position: Second.
Alright, so we don't know the exact figures, but it was widely reported that the former 'Apprentice' candidate had what was (again, at that time) the highest 'CBB' fee ever.
Final position: Winner.
Katie Hopkins' glee at her high fee didn't last long, though, as Katie Price trounced her by a full hundred grand - and she wasn't even in it all the way through!
When Speidi first entered the house in 2013, it's fair to say they pretty much dominated the show, and while they didn't end up winning, they were at the centre of the year's main storylines.
It's no wonder, then, that producers were so keen to get them back for 'All Stars And New Stars', to the tune of more than half a million pounds.
Final position: Walked, after 13 days.
Even The Pricey and Speidi couldn't compete with David Gest's fee, though, as he reportedly scooped £600,000 to appear on 'CBB'.
He eventually walked due to health problems 13 days into his run, and sadly died two months after the series wrapped.
There's been much discussion that at a million dollars, Ray J's fee is the biggest in 'CBB' history. Not the case, but he's still done pretty well for himself.
The actual highest 'CBB' earners ever are...
Final position: Third.
Yes! Channel 5 were keen to make sure that their first 'CBB' went off with a bang, so allegedly forked out a MILLION quid - the most they've ever spent on a housemate - to get Jedward involved.
They did manage to last the whole series run, so Channel 5 got their money's worth, but Kerry Katona and Paddy Doherty were the year's runner-up and winner, respectively.