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It was the same when Brian, a gay man, won Big Brother 2, the warmth of his personality eclipsing the stereotypes that gay people have had to put up with on television in the past. Or when Nadia triumphed in 2004 and proved that a transsexual need not be dismissed as a 'freak'. And the story was the same for 2006's winner, Pete, a Tourette's sufferer, a charming man afflicted by a foul mouth.

Trevor Phillips, head of the Commission for Racial Equality, has previously praised Big Brother for the racial understanding it has promoted.