Celebrity Big Brother 2018 came to its final episode on Friday night (February 2, 2018), with drag queen Courtney Act crowned the winner.
The CBB finalists included Wayne Sleep, Jess Impiazzi, Shane Lynch, Ann Widdecombe and Courtney Act, however it was Courtney who pulled through in the final public vote.
Wayne and Jess were the first of the five to leave the house as they finished fifth and fourth respectively, while Shane placed third, leaving Ann and Courtney to to battle it out for the top spot.
Fans took to Twitter to applaud Courtney, who had been a favourite throughout the 32-day series, particularly when voicing her opinions and standing-up for issues surrounding the LGBT community.
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After losing out to Courtney, also known as Shane Jenek, Ann said:
‘That’s okay, isn’t it? ‘From the chanting tonight I heard Courtney had a huge amount of support.
“I’m thoroughly bemused. Apparently I’m the runner-up in Celebrity Big Brother. Do you know how many times I’ve turned this programme down?”
Courtney reacted in shock by the win, despite her placement as the favourites by the bookies in the final week. She said:
“Is this real life? Look at all these faces?”
The drag queen dubbed her win as ‘slightly ironic’ due to the shows promotion as The Year Of The Woman, however she did open up about how much the victory meant to her.
Speaking to Celebrity Big Brother presenter Emma Willis, she said:
“I guess coming into the house is validation that it’s okay to be different.”
Fans were desperate to hear Courtney’s thoughts on her bromance with fellow housemate Andrew Brady, who was voted off the show on day 25 following an explicit rant about runner-up Ann Widdecombe. He called her the C word!
Courtney said:
‘The thing I love about Andrew is he’s just more comfortable with everyone and everything.”
“I do respect his boundaries and things, as much fun as it is to flirt, the thing I do really respect is we do have that understanding – only the two of us knew what it was.”
The series finale saw ex housemates re-enter the house, causing both emotional reunions and arguments. Ann Widdecombe and India Willoughby came to verbal they again, but Courtney shone brightest with her emotional response to the reunion the Andrew.