KILDARE-born former airline steward Brian Dowling was voted winner of Ultimate Big Brother, which featured top housemates from the past 10 years.

Dowling, who took the programme's crown in 2001, yelled "Oh my God!" when he won the Channel 4 show's final vote.

Nikki Grahame, who first entered the house in 2006, came second, while the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2006, Chantelle Houghton, took third place.

The long-running reality game show has been a summer staple on C4 since 2000.

On hearing of his win, Dowling, who was dressed in a suit and tie, burst into tears and shouted "Thank you so much".

He then joked: "I'm sure you've got it wrong."

Speaking about the impact of the show, he told host Davina McCall: "It's one of the best things I could have ever done. It allowed me to be myself and allowed other people to accept you for who you are. The show is also about hope, in the sense that it gives people the opportunity to make their life that little bit better.

"I owe everything to the show, everything, and people have voted again. You say thank you, but sometimes thank you is never enough."

Grahame, who entered the house in 2006 dressed as a Playboy bunny, said Dowling was "the most deserving winner".

Bookies Paddy Power had made Dowling favourite to win, with odds of 2/9.