The television actor became the first woman to win Bigg Boss, last night

Shweta Tiwari emerged the winner of reality show Big Boss Season 4, hosted by actor Salman Khan on the channel Colors. The audience chose the television actor over the three other finalists -- actors Ashmit Patel and Dolly Bindra, and professional wrestler The Great Khali. Khali and Patel were the first and second runners up, respectively.


Shweta Tiwari beat The Great Khali to win Bigg Boss Season 4.
PIC/ Deepak Salvi

Speculation was rife that Patel would win the title. But television actor Tiwari became the first woman to win the reality show with a prize money of Rs 1 crore announced at a grand finale in Lonavala on Saturday night. Tiwari gained popularity for her role as Prerna in Balaji soap Kasautii Zindagii Kay that used to air on Star Plus. She married actor Raja Chaudhary -- who incidentally also appeared on Bigg Boss Season 2, without much success -- and is currently divorced. The couple have a daughter named Palak.

Celebrity astrologer Bejan Daruwalla, who had appeared on the show, predicted that either Tiwari or Dolly will win.

All three runners-up took home a bike each, while actor-model Sameer Soni received a Chevrolet Cruze as a special prize for being the boldest and most stylish participant of this season.