It all began on a chilly Thursday evening, when we welcomed our expectant eleven, Rylan, Frankie, Tricia, Paula, Ryan, Gillian, Sam, Lacey, Razor, Claire and Speidi. If the celebrities thought it was going to be easy, they were in for a shock, as Rylan and Frankie forced half of them downstairs to the live in the dirty basement before they'd even had a chance to catch their breath.

The first few days were blighted with basement-filled drama, with Speidi refusing to meet the other housemates and help them win hot water. This followed with Frankie switching places with the stubborn reality stars, putting himself up for nomination to win the basement dwellers freedom, before moving back upstairs. Seriously, we just couldn't nail that little jockey down.

Week 1 was rounded off nicely with the first nominations of the series, which saw Paula, Speidi and the aforementioned Frankie facing the public vote.

We rolled into Week 2, with the multi-faceted shopping task that was 'Against the odds', where we witnessed the housemates get gunged and invade each other's personal face space in the pursuit of a luxury shopping task. They won, FYI – hoorah!

The good times did not roll, however, as not long after Paula was slung out of the House, dressed in her habitual beige sheepskin coat.  But this was only the start to the weeks trials and tribulations...

 Bear with us as we rattle through these - we had Speidi's staged walkout, followed by face-to-face noms seeing Ryan and Sam in the firing line, a lot of voyeuristic behaviour resulting in some miffed Americans and Sam got the boot.

Deep breath...

On the eve of Sam's departure Speidi returned, causing quite the ruckus and putting Claire and Rylan up for eviction to boot. We had more noms and the housemates were told that Lacey and Speidi would join chums Claire and Rylan in the public vote. And let's not forget the moment the housemates donned Zentai suits and got shocked because, well, it's just really funny.

Phew, so that ladies and gentleman, was another week done and dusted.

Week 3 didn't escape controversy, as we said 'hello' to Dictator Frankie and another luxury food budget, and 'bye bye' to Banghard. We had two rule breaks - one that resulted in a Cockney knees up and one that had the more serious repercussions of seeing all the housemates facing the public vote. To many aghast housemates, Gillian became the fourth evictee - she can thank naughty boys Razor and Ryan for that one.

The week was dominated, however, by the uproar that was Big Blogger, which came courtesy of yours truly (that's us, the digital team!).

Speidi unwittingly dished out a few home truths to the viewing housemates and pandemonium ensued (well, a few arguments).  And then any hope of reconciliation was quashed after the debacle that was the Diletter task and that clap. Or so it seemed...

We don't mean to spoil the ending of this saga, but they made up – Yay – and the last week started on a positive.

And the good times did actually roll on this occasion, as we had the thigh-slappingly fun task that was Boys vs Girls, the raucous hen party that followed, a letter drop that warmed some cockles and Paula Hamilton fleetingly returned to shape up the shabby housemates. Gawd, it was a right hoot.

But it all came down to the night that we, and the housemates, had all been waiting for... Finale night.

Prior to their quickfire ejection, housemates were forced to wait it out and reflect on the last 23 days. After a lie-in, they were treated to a good old pampering and spent the afternoon wondering how on earth it would all turn out. They didn't have to wait long. We had a winner to announce and when the evening of Day 23 rolled around, we found out just who had scooped victory.

The first of our final five to leave the House was Razor. He walked straight into the arms of Brian and gave us a great interview. Shortly after Mr Ruddock, Claire (from Steps) was given her marching orders, taking a highly respectable fourth place. Next out was Ryan – our lovely Aussie import taking third place – and he left the House with the kind of solid style we'd come to expect.

That left two. It had fallen to our Essex boy and our couple from The Hills to battle it out for the winner's place. When Brian announced the winner, Rylan went into quite a tizzy. The Essex Boy had beaten Speidi to the top spot. They took it in their usual, mixed, hot and cold way. We're still not sure what to make of those two. In stark contrast, Rylan gave us his signature joyful reaction. We dropped him out but we did it from the loftiest position possible.

So - Rylan Clark is the winner of Celebrity Big Brother. He'd wanted it for so long and he achieved it in quite some style. What's more, he did it Rylan Style. A deserving winner if ever we've had one!

What an incredible 23 days it's been - basements, bloggers, bitching, barneys and brilliant banter. Here are all the best bits in one place.

The Essex boy scooped victory and we managed to scoop his company for a quick chat after all the fun and fireworks. His stay in the House had it all. He laughed, he cried, he laughed again and he cried all over again. Let's hear from our Celebrity Big Brother winner on his feelings after 23 days of madness. Can you believe it was only in 2011 that he came up to the BB House as a regular punter?

He is now officially a reality TV winner and if you need proof as to how he won over your hearts - check out his finest moments from the House.

It's the big moment for YOUR winner - step forward Rylan Clark, Celebrity Big Brother champion 2013. Drop me out...

Drop me out - Rylan Clark won Celebrity Big Brother!

Drama-prone Rylan took centre stage right from the off, bearing the 'burden', alongside jockey and eventual buddy Frankie Dettori,  of deciding which housemates should be deprived of the main House for their first few days. The duo took to the task with particular aplomb, chucking celebrities into the basement without hesitation and saving themselves to boot – much to the annoyance of soon-to-be sparing partners, Speidi.

When Rylan and Speidi finally met in person, it was clear that there was bad-blood between the reality TV stars, something which would reoccur throughout their time in the House. First we had the post-basement argument, and then came the Big Blogger incident, rounded-off by the biggest tiff of them all following the Diletter task. We learnt one thing from their squabbles, never call the X-Factor contestant 'fake' – unless you want a very emotional Rylan all up in your grill.

Arguments aside, Rylan was also known for his comical approach to tasks. Whether it be necking chilli chocolates to win treats, singing heart-wrenching renditions of Spandau Ballet's 'Gold' for the pleasure of Dictator Frankie or beating the Claire from Steps at her own song, Rylan always made sure he performed to his true-diva standard. 

And let's not forget about his dedication to his look. If he wasn't sporting a pink onesie, Rylan could often be seen in one of his many tops-come-snoods, pouting to perfection and strutting like he was on a Milan catwalk. But his vanity didn't hold him back from being a top housemate, choosing to shave off half his beard to win Claire's letter from home – even though Speidi had a go at sabotaging his efforts.

One of the most popular housemates in the House, Rylan had a notable bond with his idol, Claire (from Steps), and an unlikely friendship with burly Razor, who he got naked with on the penultimate night for a skinny dip in the pool. These bonds were the tightest but he was there for any housemate in need of a quick cuddle and a cheeky anecdote to make them feel better. We'll miss the vivacious way he lit up our screens but know it won't be long before he's back. A personality that bubbly will always float to the top.

What a winner!