Big Brother: Winner of final series announced

The winner of the final series of reality TV show Big Brother has been named as Cameron Cole.

The housemate beat Akeem Griffiths to win the Channel 5 programme, which has ended after its 19th series.

Host Emma Willis struggled to hold back her tears as she opened the final, saying it had "brought real people from all walks of life into our homes".

The final episode of the reality TV show drew in just over 670,000 viewers.

In contrast, the final of the previous series in 2017 was watched by 1.11 million.

Willis said that the programme had "created a whole new genre of TV that changed popular culture forever".

Some of the highlights and best-known housemates since the programme began in 2000 featured in a montage to open the show, including first winner Craig Philips and the late Jade Goody.

Former host Davina McCall had wished Willis and fellow presenter Rylan Clark-Neal a good send-off ahead of the final, saying: "I know it is going to be hard tonight but I'm sending you so much love".

It was announced in September that the long-running reality programmes's 19th series would be its last.

Big Brother, which began on Channel 4 before moving to Channel 5, has seen a gradual decline in ratings over recent years.

The final of the first series in 2000, the first of 11 series hosted by McCall, attracted 9.45 million viewers.

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