[Hooly One]

Ladbrokes said more than A£5 million was bet on this year's Big Brother series, making it "the biggest reality TV betting event ever".

One punter from Central London scooped A£5,100 on the result after staking A£100 at 50/1 on an eventual win by Portuguese transsexual bank clerk Nadia Almada, 27, of Surrey.

Nadia, 27, duly claimed the A£63,500 prize.

With her squawking voice and grating laugh she seemed unlikely to endear herself to the British public, but became the favourite for victory.

With an exuberant character, she survived four evictions and won over the nation.

But Ladbrokes is now taking bets on the glamour girl winning a lucrative advertising contract for either lip gloss (2/1) or Nicorette patches (3/1) - although they are offering 8/1 for her to return to her job as a cashier by end of the year.

And they said they have now halved the odds on lovebirds Stuart and Michelle getting married by the end of the year, from 50/1 to 25/1.

Spokesman Warren Lush said: "Nadia is more likely to advertise lip gloss or Nicorette patches than return to her job as a cashier. It's 10/1 that she finds her dream man and marries by the end of the year.

"Many thought that Stu would turn his back on Michelle after he left the house but there is money to suggest that this no short term romance."

By the time the voting lines closed, 3,863,696 had voted for Nadia and 1,335,246 had voted for Jason. Shell and Daniel received 347,051 and 685,995 respectively.


Ic Berkshire

[Amy]

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