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After a series packed with rows, drama and a sea of Ofcom complaints, Big Brother 2026 saw one of its most controversial housemates crowned the winner on Thursday.
Rochelle was announced as this year's winner despite being booed by the audience, in a vote that was tipped to be one of the closest ever.
The housewife had sparked backlash with a range of comments during her time in the house, including 'fat-shaming' housemate Yasmin which led her to receive a warning from Big Brother.
She also clashed with rival Johanne on numerous occasions, and late arrival Twinks, who finished the series in second place.
Despite being pipped to the post, Twinks was in high spirits as she made her exit, with some of her fellow housemates chanting for a 'recount.'
After a raucous reception from the crowd Yasmin finished in third place, while Samuel was in fourth.
After a series packed with drama and Ofcom complaints, Big Brother 2026 saw one of its most controversial housemates crowned the winner as Rochelle triumphed on Thursday
The Essex housewife beat out her rival Twinks, who finished as runner-up in a vote that was tipped to be the closest ever
Earlier in the night, Catrin and Lynx were evicted in sixth and fifth place respectively, after a series that has been tinged with controversy thanks to a string of rows and drama.
This year the Big Brother brand surpassed 220m streams on ITVX. The current series and companion show alone exceeded 56m streams - an increase of over 22m streams compared to Big Brother and Big Brother: Late & Live last year.
This series is the most-watched series since Big Brother launched on ITV in 2023.
With a record 29 nominations, Rochelle proved to be one of the most divisive housemates in Big Brother history, and many of her comments sparked backlash among viewers.
Among them was a conversation with Charlotte Notts, who lost her limbs after contracting meningitis at the age of three, where she said she was 'scared of people with no limbs.'
Later in the series she was reprimanded by Big Brother for her 'language' after appearing to mock plus-sized housemate Yasmin's weight.
In what began as a light-hearted exchange, Rochelle suggested that Yasmin, who works as a teacher, would 'eat all the children's packed lunches' behind their backs.
She went on to do an impression of Yasmin eating the children's food whilst denying involvement, and later made another comment staying that her bed was 'going'.
Rochelle sparked backlash with a range of comments during her time in the house, including 'fat-shaming' housemate Yasmin which led her to receive a warning from Big Brother
Despite being pipped to the post, Twinks was in high spirits as she made her exit, with some of her fellow housemates chanting for a 'recount'
After a raucous reception from the crowd Yasmin finished in third place
Samuel was the top boy of the series as he left the house in fourth place
Lynx finished in fifth place, and reflected on his close friendship with Yasmin during his time in the house
Earlier in the night, Catrin finished in sixth place, after she and Twinks were the two late arrivals this series
The Welsh beauty was in high spirits as she celebrated being the first from her nation to reach a final during Big Brother's ITV era
Running at eight weeks, it seemed this year's run led to tensions between housemates being more heightened than ever, as the series has become one of the most complained about in reality TV history.
In total the show has received over 22,000 complaints to media regulator Ofcom, with a majority relating to Omar's 'coercive and controlling behaviour' towards his girlfriend Rhianna.
Following a tense series, viewers will also see the housemates reunite in a one-off special on Friday, where they will get to chance to address any house dramas, or dirty laundry that wasn't discussed on the show.
It comes after Omar broke his silence on the backlash surrounding his treatment of Rhianna, insisting he's learned he needs to 'listen more.'
Omar was grilled about his behaviour by GK Barry and Kate Lawler on podcast Big Brother: The Group Chat, with the pair noting that some of his conversations with Rhianna were 'uncomfortable to watch.'
He said: 'Like you said, we did have a lot of highs and lows and at the end of the day, we are navigating a relationship on telly.
'I remember there was a point where we sat down and was like ''I'm in a relationship''. There were times we did argue a lot but there was also great times.
'There were times where I was a bit nasty and I didn't mean to be that way, that wasn't my intention. There was a lot of miscommunication between the both of us.
'I feel there were times I was trying to communicate something but it didn't come out the right way.
'But we did have loads of conversations, loads of interventions, daily we'd always speak about things and we really did iron it out towards the end but we just never saw that side of things ever again really.'
Omar added that he will learn from his experience in the house, adding: 'I'll definitely be more open to understand, more open to listen, really just giving everyone a chance and really in everyone's point of view,' he continued.
'Life isn't just one perspective, it isn't just my perspective, it isn't just my world and the way I see it.
'Sometimes the way I am as a person and the way I come across, it's like 'everything I say is 'say, or do, or be all' but that's not how I am, that's not how I see myself.
'I have definitely learnt I should listen more.'
Rhianna herself previously spoke out on Omar's behaviour towards her in a TikTok livestream.
She said: 'I'm not gonna lie, I got told by a lot of production, by everyone to watch it back, cause in there my mind was so messed up that when I watched it back.
'I was like, even me, I was like ''why am I apologising right now?''
'But I think it's something that I'm, I'm young, I need to navigate it.'
'I would just say, wait for the reunion because there's somethings that I've watched back that I'm like ''I wouldn't, I would not ever, ever let a boy speak to me like that.''
'I have so much love for Omar, I genuinely do, I think he's hilarious, but at the end of the day I had to remind myself that during my arguments with him, no other housemates were there.
'I'm gonna be stronger, I'm with my family and friends, I have a bit to the reunion, and there is a sense of protecting him but it's also like, I need to protect myself too.'
Rhianna said that she is 'missing' Omar since leaving the house, telling her sister that it was 'OK' to be pining for him after they shared a bed together in the house.
Omar's behaviour has included scolding Rhianna for speaking about their fallout to other housemates, using worrying language such as 'don't talk about me', 'don't cry', 'don't look away from me', 'sort yourself out' and 'fix up'.
On Friday night's show, Rhianna was evicted alongside Philip Regan after the pair were nominated with Rochelle, Samuel and Twinks.
After she left, Rhianna said she felt like she spoke to Omar about how he was treating her and that he did change after that.
Hosts AJ Odudu and Will Best then told her that some viewers 'weren't happy' with how the situation played out but assured her that she didn't do anything wrong.
She then stood by the fact that she had told him she wasn't happy with his behaviour.
The staggering amount of complaints means it is the most a contestant has ever received on all 23 of the civilian series, including when it was on Channel 4 and 5.
It is also the third highest number of complaints for a single incident in Big Brother history, following Jade Goody's racism row (45,000 complaints) and Roxanne Pallett's punch-gate (27,000 complaints).
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