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Here Are The Most Memorable Big Brother Contestants Of All Time

Emma Rosemurgey

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Here Are The Most Memorable Big Brother Contestants Of All Time

Featured Image Credit: Channel 5

Last night saw the live final of the 19th - and quite possibly, the last ever, series of Big Brother.

There's no doubt the iconic reality programme paved the way for much of the TV we know and love today and as an emotional Emma Willis pointed out, it all began 18 years ago, long before the introduction of iPhones, Facebook and Twitter.

Marking the dramatic end of the show, Emma said: "It brought real people from ordinary homes into our lives every single night and creates a whole new genre of TV, which changed popular culture forever.

"The 19 series alone have given us 1,352 days - that's 3.7 years of television and 327 housemates."

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While some of the 327 housemates simply did their time in the iconic house and then went back to their regular lives, never to be thought about again, others are etched on our brains forever, thanks to their Big Brother antics.

To mark the end of the reality programme, we've put together a handy little reminder of the five most memorable housemates over the last 18 years, and it's only right to start with the original series one bad man, nasty Nick.

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Nick Bateman was one of the very first housemates to ever walk into the iconic house back in 2000 and he remains one of few to maintain a successful media career.

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He now lives in Bondi Beach in Australia with his wife Carol, and while he currently runs a marketing business, he revealed last year that he has big plans to launch his own reality TV programme.

During his time in the house, Nick was repeatedly accused of sneaking in a mobile phone - something which he still denies, but despite being dubbed Nasty Nick by the UK press, he was the only housemate to never receive a single nomination.

However, after 36 days, he was finally exposed for playing the housemates off each other, after they were tipped off by producers. Naughty. naughty.

Credit: Channel 4
Credit: Channel 4
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Geordie gal Michelle Bass kept us all entertained throughout the whole of series five when she famously bedded fellow housemate 'chicken Stu' Wilson in a makeshift loveshack under the kitchen table in perhaps one of the most iconic moments on British television.

But she won the hearts of the nation when she was forced to watch all the action from the house in a tiny little bedsit, where she famously shouted "NO NAKED JACUZZI-NESS!!!"

Despite dating chicken Stu for around a year after leaving the house, Michelle went on to marry psychologist, Steve McKeown, in 2013, before going on to have a little boy and girl together.

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Nikki Grahame, the absolute queen of sass and tantrums. Despite her being the runner up from all the way back in series seven, she's easily one of the most talked about former housemates, even to this day.

Nikki became renowned for her no-filter rage and diary room rants that left us all asking "WHO IS SHE?!?!?!"

She had many rages but one of her most famous lines is probably "I can feel the venom pouring out of me as I breathe".

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Since her time in the house, Nikki has spoken candidly about her struggle with eating disorders and mental health issues, even going on to appear on Channel 5's In Therapy, where she admitted faking some of her TV tantrums to gain her 15 minutes of fame.

Ahh, Nikki - we can certainly forgive you when they're this entertaining.

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One Big Brother winner who really made waves was series eight champion, Brian Belo, who pipped student twins Sam and Amanda Marchant to the post to be crowned winner in 2007.

Brian was known for his lack of common sense from day one, when he admitted he had no idea who William Shakespeare was.., but that didn't stop him getting the public on side and taking the top spot.

Since his time in the house, Brian has had an attempt at a music career and reached a legal settlement with ITV and Lime Pictures after he took legal action against the makers of TOWIE, claiming they stole his idea.

Credit: Channel 4
Credit: Channel 4

Last but not least, we pay tribute to Jade Goody, who shot to fame during the third series of Big Brother, in 2002, where she was ridiculed for thinking East Anglia wasn't a part of the UK.

After winning the hears of the nation, Jade went on to return to the infamous house for Celebrity Big Brother in 2007, where she became embroiled in a race row after she accused of being racist towards the series winner, Shilpa Shetty.

Jade later returned to the public eye and redeemed herself during her own reality series, Living With Jade Goody, before it was confirmed she had life-threatening cervical cancer in 2008.

In February 2009, Jade's publicist confirmed her cancer terminal before she tragically died in her sleep in March 2009.

As a result of the media attention around Jade's illness, the Government agreed to review the NHS policy to not screen for cervical cancer until age 25. This legacy is something Jade was "immensely proud of".

RIP, Jade.

Topics: TV News, Big Brother, TV Entertainment

Emma Rosemurgey
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