"I played the game from the very beginning. I played it very well and I won," Mauro Marin, winner of this year's Grande Fratello, admits shamelessly.

With a big grin on his face and his wavy hair held back by a pair of sunglasses, Mauro explained how he went in straight for the kill - a honey pot prize of €250,000 - as soon as he entered the most popular and spied-upon house in Italy.

"I think I was the first guy in the 10 years of the programme to walk into the house and started playing the game. I was very clever. I surprised the audience and brought them over to my side," he said.

The 29-year-old was in Malta for a two-day visit, organised by Paul Curmi Dance Company, where he met his fans at a nightclub in Qawra.

Before being propelled to stardom, he used to help run his family's salami business in Veneto, a region in the north of Italy known for its wine and cured meats.

But, in Big Brother, he kicked his relaxed background to become embroiled in arguments with every single contestant in the house, especially bodybuilder Massimo.

Mauro was hated by the contestants, many of who complained about him constantly over the four-month-long show. However, the audience loved his antics and voted him the winner with an 80 per cent majority.

Yet, he has doubts on the strategy he employed during the show, especially in the first few days. "Before entering the house, I was kept inside a hotel for two weeks with no access to any information. I was cut off from the rest of the world." When he entered the house, he felt the resentment of the contestants and had no idea how popular he was with the audience. "One day, I saw a plane with a banner saying 'Mauro you're great' and then I knew that, maybe, I had a chance to win."

Everyone could become a Grande Fratello winner, he insisted. "If I could do it, then anyone can. I'm just like anyone else."

But Mauro also learnt that everything, including fame, comes at a price and admitted he found it hard to cope in the beginning. "You are not used to people recognising you and it was very hard in the first two months. I used to find a huge crowd of people waiting for me to open the shutter of my bar."

Now he is more comfortable with the camera and seems to have learnt the ropes as, before the interview, he asked the cameraman if standing in a particular spot would create a glare.

When asked about how he was spending the prize money, Mauro said he would be paying off some of his family's business loans and then use the rest to enjoy life.

Like most Grande Fratello contestants, Mauro has dreams of becoming an actor or having his own television show. "I'm going to try but I will not stress it," he said, wearing a big grin.

He still keeps in touch with some of the other contestants such as David, Cristina and Gabriele and, surprisingly enough, even Veronica. The two had a tumultuous relationship with huge fights breaking out during the show but seem to act normally behind the scenes. "I just spoke to her yesterday. After all, when the game is over, it's over."