Big Brother VIP: Luke Toki crowned as winner in grand finale

Three weeks ago, 12 celebrities from all walks of life checked into the Big Brother VIP hotel.

And on Tuesday night's highly-anticipated season finale, a trio of famous faces remained: Ellie Gonsalves, Luke Toki and Josh Carroll.

Luke Toki wins Big Brother VIP

Australia choose to crown Perth father-of-three Luke the winner, meaning Ellie and Josh were evicted tantalisingly close to the end.

Luke emerged from the house with some serious bragging rights and $100,000 for his chosen charity, the Perth Children's Hospital - Cystic Fibrosis Clinical Research.

It's a cause close to his heart, as his young daughter Madeline suffers from the debilitating condition after being diagnosed at only a few months old.

The third reality TV attempt was a charm for Luke, who missed out on the top spot on Australian Survivor in 2017 and again in 2019 when he returned for Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders.

Luke told Big Brother VIP host Sonia Kruger that he was 'so proud' to have won and couldn't wait to go home to his wife, Mary and tell his three kids — in particular his son, Lennox — his exciting news.

"Well, it means I get to go home to Lennox and tell him that Dad won!" he said.

When Sonia congratulated him on winning the $100k for the Perth Children’s hospital, Luke was quick to point out that it's actually $110k because he snagged an extra $10,000 during the last challenge for the series.

After hugging his fellow contestants, Luke thanked all his supporters for voting for him, saying, "This one is for you. I’ve finally done it. I’ve won something. Thank you to everyone that has supported me…I will remember this moment forever… love you guys!"

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Luke's Big Brother journey

Luke, Ellie and Josh made it to the final three in the penultimate episode after Josh sent Imogen Anthony packing in an edge-of-your-seat eviction decision.

Despite Imogen's last-ditch efforts to save herself, Josh stayed true to his alliance with Luke and Ellie and took them through to the finale.

Imogen's pal, MAFS star Jessika Power was given the boot the previous day after being nominated by Ellie.

Big Brother VIP's jaw-dropping moments

Throughout their Big Brother VIP journey, Luke, Ellie and Josh have rubbed shoulders with the likes of US politician Omarosa, former reality star Caitlyn Jenner and Meghan Markle's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr., all of whom provided ample gossip.

After being voted out by his fellow VIPs, Thomas revealed that he'd sent off the apology letter he'd written to his royal half-sister while in the house. It was an effort to make amends for a previous letter in which he called the duchess a "jaded, shallow, conceited woman".

And even though her stay in the Big Brother Hotel was on the short side, Caitlyn wasted no time in dropping bombshells about her transition and the infamous OJ Simpson trial.

The former Olympian also shared private details about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s wedding in 2014, as well as her opinion of controversial rapper Kanye himself.

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