BIG Brother contestant Nichola Holt returned to Bolton last night . . . a celebrity.

Nichola, 29, of Turton Road, is certain to be recognised on the streets of Bolton after having her every move filmed and shown on millions of TV screens every night.

She has led a hectic round of interviews and TV appearances since being voted off the Channel Four show two weeks ago.

The Bolton Evening News snatched a few words with her before she set off from London where she has been staying with friends.

All she said was: "I have been very busy. I'll be glad to get back home."

She has been the focus of intense attention since she was evicted from the camera-rigged Channel Four Big Brother house in a show watched by almost seven million -- a record late-night audience.

She has experienced a roller-coaster ride of publicity - including lurid stories about her sex life in tabloid newspapers.

She has appeared on breakfast television and even been interviewed by the magazine for the homeless The Big Issue.

Even going shopping means that she is mobbed by Big Brother fans, something she has confessed to finding difficult "to get her head around."

The former art student and Canon Slade pupil has said she joined the Big Brother programme to show to the world her abilities as an artist as well as trying to win the £70,000 prize money.

She wants to set up her own business in textile and costume design.

During the five weeks she was on the show, she brightened up the Big Brother house with sculptures based on parts of the body and made her own wire dress which she wore on the night she left.

However the extrovert also caused offence when she put down Bolton women as "wearing high heels and shell suits" - something her family insist was a tongue-in-cheek comment not meant to be taken seriously.

Her family, parents Joyce and Frank and sister Karen, welcomed her home.