'Nasty Nick' earns his fortune

Nick Bateman gives his side of the story

Just hours after being thrown out of Big Brother, Nick Bateman has signed a lucrative deal with a newspaper that called for his eviction.

The 33-year-old financial worker has signed an exclusive deal with The Sun to tell his story, and a portion of his fee will be donated to charity.

Nick's future?

50-1: New Big Breakfast host

100-1: Replaces Martin Kemp in EastEnders

100-1: Rejoins the Territorial Army

3-1: Leaves the country

Source: Littlewoods

The paper - which ran a campaign to Kick Out Nick - will begin serialising his story on Monday, while PR guru Max Clifford suggested that his reputation could make him a millionaire.

The news came as textile artist Nichola became the fourth person to be voted out of the house.

Nick was thrown out on Thursday after fellow contestants discovered he had been writing down notes about who should be evicted from their camera-filled house each week.

Reports indicate that up to 10 million hits were registered on the Big Brother web site as the drama unfolded.

In his first public appearance afterwards he told reporters he was just an "ordinary guy".

He denied he was hell-bent on winning Channel 4's surveillance game show - which has a top prize of £70,000 - and said he hoped his housemates would forgive his scheming.

He said at a London press conference: "I haven't committed a murder, it's a very small error."

"I haven't committed a murder"

Asked what he thought of his "most hated man in Britain" label, he replied: "I'm just an ordinary guy who took part in an unusual experiment amid scrutiny - I don't think the label attaches itself to me. I was just taking part in a game show."

Thursday night's edition of Big Brother was watched by 5.5 million people - Channel 4's biggest audience of the year, and its biggest late night audience in its history.

Tears

Viewers saw him cry as he realised he had been found out.

"Those tears were genuine. I was sorry to be leaving an environment I'd been in for 34 days."

Perhaps I was over-competitive - it wasn't a garden party, it was a game show

Nick Bateman

Despite the anger of his fellow housemates, Nick said he would like to meet them again.

"I haven't committed a murder, and as intelligent human beings we have a capacity to forgive and forget."

To laughter, he said: "I would never run down any contestant in the house.

'Over-competitive'

"I think people have portrayed us as playing to win. I participated in it, but I wasn't playing to win," he insisted.

"I wanted to get as far and enjoy it as much as I could."

Photographers try to catch a glimpse of "the most hated man in Britain"

"Perhaps I was over-competitive. I think everyone has a competitive streak - it wasn't a garden party, it was a game show," Nick admitted.

He said he used tactical voting "in a way that was picked up quite nicely", and said of being challenged by fellow contestant Craig: "He was doing what anyone else would do in the circumstances. I don't blame him."

Nick denied he was a 'plant', challenging reporters: "I resigned from my job a month ago - and you can check that."

He laughed off suggestions he had smuggled a mobile phone into the house, and said his early lies - including a claim his wife had died in a car crash - were hasty words spoken at an odd time for the contestants.

Nick said he was still adjusting to life in the outside world, less than 24 hours after his eviction - and found it difficult to cope with seeing rush-hour traffic as he left the house.

'Emotional swings'

"I'm having terrible emotional swings of feeling vulnerable and insecure.

Nick arrives with executive producer Ruth Wrigley

"I'm on edge because I haven't slept properly for 34 days," he said.

Nick is currently staying at a luxury flat with a health spa, as part of a week's refuge paid for by Channel 4.

Asked about his immediate plans, he said: "I'm still raw and inexperienced. It's very novel to see so many human beings in one room."

Fellow contestant Caroline O'Shea, who was evicted after his plotting last week, had offered him her support, he said.

He added that he believes Anna will win the show's prize, which goes to the person selected by viewers when only three contestants remain.

A replacement for Nick will arrive in the house at the weekend.