Susie's admission to the Big Brother house was not a fix

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Big Brother bosses insist their Golden Ticket contest was not a fix.

The independent adjudicator issued a statement backing up their claims.

Susie Verrico was selected to enter the house on Friday night's live show.

But several of the housemates recognised her and it emerged she had auditioned for the Channel 4 show a number of times.

The Daily Star claimed Susie, a 43-year-old model, told drinkers in a London pub two weeks ago: "Watch out for me, I'm going into the Big Brother house.''

Some reports have suggested the lottery-style draw was rigged and that Susie's number - 14 - was on every ball.

Channel 4 has released close-up pictures of the draw machine that appear to show balls bearing other numbers.

They also released a statement from the independent adjudicator that oversaw the draw.

Sian Roberts, deputy chief executive of the Electoral Reform Services, said: "On Friday 9 June, we acted as independent adjudicators for the golden ticket lottery draw. We were on site to verify the balls were correctly placed into the lottery machine.

"We then supervised the machine being moved into the garden area which was then locked.''

And Big Brother boss Phil Edgar-Jones insisted: "There is absolutely no truth in any of the rumours that the golden ticket draw was a fix.

"An independent adjudicator was on site to verify the balls were correctly placed in the machine.

"All 34 balls in the machines were labelled 1 - 34. The draw was totally random and took place live on air for all to see."

Golden tickets were hidden inside special Kit Kat bars.

Susie's husband is said to have bought her ticket on eBay for £4,000.

Maxwell Ward, a housemate from last year, also knows Susie after spending time with her in the "guinea pig'' trial version of the show.

He said: "It looks like a fix. It's fishy. She's the kind who fits perfectly and gets chosen out of all the poor sods who turn up."