Aaron Allard-Morgan crowned Big Brother winner

Aaron Allard-Morgan has won the 2011 series of Big Brother, as the first series of the show to be shown on Channel Five came to a close.

The 30-year-old self-confessed lothario fought off competition in Friday's final from Jay McKray, after receiving the most votes from the public over the past week.

Earlier in the evening 18-year-old McDonalds worker Alex Rose finished in third place while Mancunian model Louise Cliffe came fourth.

Aaron - who held hands with Jay in the house as they awaited the result - appeared scarcely able to comprehend that he had won when Brian Dowling broke the news.

Jay appeared unphased by the news, telling Aaron, "I knew you were gonna win, I tell you that," as he made his way up the stairs to the exit.

And afterwards Aaron - who emerged from the house to a number of boos from the crowd despite his victory - said that he couldn't believe it.

"I never in a million years thought I'd make it to the final," he said. "I can't believe it's happened. It's a lot harder being in there than it is watching it on TV.

"I've just come in and been myself," Aaron added. "If you come in and act in a stroppy way, you're not going to win any fans. I don't really think that's a gameplan as such.

He also confessed his true feelings for fellow housemate Faye Palmer, who was evicted last week - saying, "She's really funny, she's entertaining, she makes me happy and she's gorgeous."

Jay McKray, meanwhile, confessed his love for housemate Louise, saying, "I would say I do love her - wicked lass," and added he had remained calm in the house after his mother told him to. "My ma told me not to kick off," he explained.

Alex - who had been the bookies' favourite to win ahead of Friday - said being on the show was a long-held ambition. "I've been a fan of the show since I was 14 and I said 'I wanna be in here and I wanna do it - I just went in to be myself," she revealed.

And Louise - who also confessed her feelings for Jay, saying she "loved him to bits", also expressed surprise at how far she had come.

"I thought I'd be out the first week," Louise said. "I kept saying to myself 'I'm not crazy enough, I'm not unique enough. I just thought I was dead boring."

The first series on Channel 5, which followed straight on from Celebrity Big Brother, has had disappointing viewing figures.

However Brian Dowling confirmed the show would return next summer after he ended the show by putting out a call for prospective housemates to visit the official website to find out how to apply.

He also said that Celebrity Big Brother would return for its 2012 series in January.