Newcomer Claire is voted out of 'Big Brother'

The Big Brother contestant chosen at the last moment to replace Britain's most hated man, "Nasty Nick", has herself suffered the humiliation of eviction.

The Big Brother contestant chosen at the last moment to replace Britain's most hated man, "Nasty Nick", has herself suffered the humiliation of eviction.

Last night, Claire Strutton was chosen by viewers as the sixth person to be kicked out of their enclosed world in east London, after her fellow housemates put her on a shortlist of two candidates for eviction.

The florist from Gerrards Cross, in Buckinghamshire, looked shocked when the result was called out by the show's presenter, Davina McCall. She had received 79 per cent of the votes, compared to the 21 per cent of votes cast in favour of evicting fellow nominee Craig.

By a strange twist, Craig was last night made the favourite by the bookmakers William Hill to win the £70,000 prize for being the last contestant. He has been given odds of 2/7 with the bookmakers, who face a six figure pay-out to punters if the Liverpudlian goes on to win.

"All week we've been seeing bets of up to four figures for Craig, with punters backing him as though he is a certainty," said Graham Sharpe of Hills. "We are now facing a pay-out of up to £100,000 if he wins."

Claire's nomination was her first after replacing Nick Bateman last month, who was sacked from the show for cheating. The first round of selections last night had to be abandoned after a sound problem accidentally disclosed Darren's choices for evictions.

Darren changed his mind in the second round and swapped his initial choice of Craig and Mel for Craig and Claire. Craig's nomination was his third in three weeks.

Earlier, viewers of the show had seen Claire and Craig frolicking on a makeshift water slide in the garden, apparently a sequel to a "wind-up" when Claire first arrived in which she and Craig simulated passionate moments in bed.

Of the other remaining contests, Anna has been given survival odds of 3/1 as second favourite, with Melanie at 8/1. Darren is now a 33/1 outsider.