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SHWETA TIWARI
In a season where Ashmit Patel and Veena Malik groped and giggled in the full glare of 52 cameras and Dolly Bindra hurled gaalis by the minute, Shweta Tiwari stood out with a quiet dignity. “People like Ashmit and Veena were providing all the masala for the cameras while I was either cooking or washing the dishes. I was so dull and boring (on the show),” the television bahu told t2 after the win. Non-controversial and not craving for attention, Shweta slowly but surely became an audience favourite with every passing week. Her win proved that the Indian viewer may be voyeuristic enough to gape at Ashmit-Veena and desperate enough to vote Dolly back into the house, but when it came to choosing the winner, it was sober Shweta all the way.
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VINDU DARA SINGH
A favourite from day one, Vindu often courted controversy in his three-month stay in Bigg Boss 3, but was smart enough to wriggle out of it every time. Poonam Dhillon was more popular, Raju Srivastava funnier, Shamita Shetty starrier and Sherlyn Chopra sexier. But Vindu’s policy of “a-foot-in-every-camp” worked well with the viewer. After his win, there were whispers of his long-time friend Akshay Kumar — yes, the Bollywood Khiladi — rigging the result in his favour, but there was no denying the fact that Vindu’s tough-simpleton image was a winner with the audience.
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RAHUL ROY
Rahul Roy’s win in Season 1 raised a lot of eyebrows (it was quite hair-raising, we must admit!). Especially when the Aashiqui hero was pitted against the likes of Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah and Ravi Kissen. Considered an underdog all through the season, Rahul fought shy of controversy and kept his interaction with other housemates to the bare minimum. He took up a leadership role early on in his stay. Also, while the other contestants desperately tried to woo the camera — sensuous oil massages included — Rahul maintained the image of a “family man”. Result? A shock win at the end of 84 days. Some of his co-contestants alleged that the actor had won by default — the audience had voted for him to be evicted, not knowing that in the final round the one with the most votes would be the last man standing!
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ASHUTOSH KAUSHIK
The dhaba owner from Saharanpur came from behind to win Season 2 of the popular reality format. As the more-fancied Rahul Mahajan shuttled between Monica Bedi and Payal Rohatgi and finalist Raja Chaudhury (Shweta Tiwari’s ex-husband) got nasty with Sambhavana Seth, Ashutosh quietly played his cards. What worked for the former Roadies champ? He made friends easily and made sure he wasn’t directly in the line of any fire. Even former Miss World Diana Hayden could not resist his charm, labelling Ashutosh an “honest guy”. Honest pays? Huh.
Women call the shots on Celebrity Big Brother, the original UK format. In the last four years, the popular show has had three female winners — including our own Shilpa Shetty...
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shilpa shetty
The Bollywood bombshell battled racism to win the show in 2007, the most controversial in the history of Celebrity Big Brother. The racist bully in question? Fellow-contestant Jade Goody (who was to make a brief and tragic appearance in Bigg Boss 2). The win resurrected the Baazigar actress’s flagging career, upped her brand value and made her a household name (in Britain!). From addressing the House of Commons to hobnobbing with the queen to starring in a Bollywood musical to owning an IPL team, Shilpa continues to spread her... wings!
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chantelle houghton
In 2006, the British television personality became the first “non-celebrity” to win Celebrity Big Brother, racing past the likes of Dennis Rodman, Jodie Marsh and Michael Barrymore. She now hosts her own TV show and has been the cover girl for many magazines — often topless. Houghton today is described as “the new Katie Price!”
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ulrika jonsson
The Swedish-born TV presenter won Celebrity Big Brother in 2009, describing her stay on the show as “singularly the weirdest experience of my entire life and I have had quite a weird life”. The unassuming Jonsson — till then only known as the weather girl on British breakfast television station
TV-Am — was the only woman to reach the finals that year, beating names like La Toya Jackson, Michael Jackson’s brother and a former member of The Jackson 5. Today, the mother of four — who once dated Prince Edward and controversial soccer coach Sven-Goran Eriksson — is writing a book on relationships.
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alex reid
The cage fighter — better known as glamour model Katie Price aka Jordan’s husband — was a surprise winner in the 2010 edition of Celebrity Big Brother, the first man to win the show in four seasons. Reid was voted Greediest Housemate and Least Intelligent Housemate, but still managed 65 per cent of the votes. Duh!
