BIG Brother contestant Jonny was this morning looking forward to life after the Big Brother house, after he finished runner-up to house- mate Kate.

The County Durham firefighter has drawn support from top celebrities during the nine-week show, including page three model Jordan and one of Hollywood's biggest actors, Dustin Hoffman.

Jonny's quiet existence in his Trimdon Grange home will never be the same again - not while the memory of Big Brother 3 lives on in people's minds.

He received the ultimate tribute on Thursday night - his character was portrayed by Hoffman, Oscar-winning star of Rainman and The Graduate, in a sketch with television host Graham Norton.

And the marginally-less prestigious Jordan revealed that she had voted for the North-Easterner to win.

She said: "He's not the most handsome guy in the world, but he is very natural. Whenever there is mischief going on, he is always at the centre of it."

The region had been backing Jonny last night, biting their nails down to the quick as he stayed in the house until only he and Kate remained.

"Please, please, please just don't let Jonny be the first out," whispered one of the lads on Blue Watch at Jonny's fire station in Peterlee, as the first result was about to be called.

His wish came true, with Jade voted out first, followed by Alex.

Moments earlier, the firefighters were scanning the crowd who gathered outside the Big Brother house, searching for workmates who had made the trip to London.

"Jonny to win" had been the poster message plastered on every house in Jonny's quiet home street in Trimdon Grange, last night.

Only one poster deviated from the rest, depicting a fire with the cheeky message: "Show us your hose".

Friends and neighbours were in party mood at local pubs and workingmen's clubs as the Channel Four show got under way.

One of Jonny's neighbours, Neil Chapman, said: "The nice thing is it's brought all the people of, our little street closer together."

Jonny's mother, Margaret Regan, in London last night to welcome him out of the house, told The Northern Echo: "I know I'm biased because I'm his mum, but I think he's been a brilliant contestant on Big Brother, always having a laugh and a joke or being a shoulder for the others to cry on."

His fiancee, Joanne Llewellyn, said: "It has been so, so hard having him away for that long. The worst thing was not being able to talk to him."

An average of five million viewers have watched Jonny and the housemates' antics during the last two months.