A young Scottish politician was tonight crowned the winner of Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, bagging himself a £50,000 prize.

John Loughton, 20, from Edinburgh beat Emilia Arata, 18, from Birmingham, to win the new Channel 4 reality show.

He received 53.9 per cent of the vote to Arata's 46.1 per cent after guaranteeing his place in the final on the very first night.

Viewers of the broadcaster's latest twist on its signature reality show had been voting since last Friday for the winner.

But the programme has not received the cult following which has built up around the show in the past.

Last year's Celebrity Big Brother opened with 7.1 million viewers on Channel 4 alone.

Celebrity Hijack, however, launched earlier this month with a combined total of 3.4 million viewers on Channel 4 and E4.

Apart from the simulcast on both channels for the launch, the show was then only broadcast on E4.

Channel 4 bosses decided to change its format after last year's race row involving Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty.

This year the housemates were 12 young people chosen for their intelligence and talent while the celebrities took it in turns to take over the role of Big Brother.

Little Britain's Matt Lucas was the first star to take control of proceedings, while others included Jimmy Carr, Joan Rivers, Brian Sewell and Ian Wright.

Loughton, chairman of the Scottish Youth Parliament, became the early favourite to win after passing a secret task set by Lucas.

Viewers saw him squirm as he was directed through a hidden earpiece to do whatever Lucas ordered - including claiming he was a psychic, a boxer, a musician and the author of The Sound Of Music score.

He was also made to insult his fellow housemates, dance an Irish jig, feign an attack of cramp and crawl around the house on all fours.

By passing the task, Loughton, who is studying for a politics and sociology degree, earned himself a guaranteed place in the final.

Arata's special skill was as a circus performer - specifically a roller-skating contortionist.

She performs across Europe in a double act with her brother Victor, who was also on the reality show.

Amy Jackson, 21, from Leeds, a conceptual artist, came third with 21.9 per cent of the vote and Anthony Ogogo, 19, a boxer, from Lowestoft, was fourth with 21.6 per cent.

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